A good domain name is short and easy to say, has no spelling traps and doesn't step on anyone else's trademark. Below are the criteria that really matter, plus a checklist you can work through in 15 minutes before you pay.
Your domain is your business's address online. It appears on your website, in your e-mail addresses, on invoices, on the company van and on your business card. You will use it for years, and a .ro name cannot be modified once it is registered. Change even one letter and you have a different domain, which must be registered and paid for separately. So it pays to choose carefully from the start.
1. Short and memorable
There is no perfect length, but the practical rule is simple: the shorter the name, the harder it is to get wrong. Technically a domain can have up to 63 characters before the extension. In practice, aim for 6–15 characters and no more than two or three words.
- Good:
florariaelena.ro,servicefrigo.ro - Hard work:
florariaelenasiflorilecelemaifrumoasedincraiova.ro
Use your business or brand name rather than a descriptive phrase. A short brand name can grow with your business. A description like “cheap-phone-repairs” ties you to one service and one selling point.
2. The phone (or radio) test
Say the domain out loud to someone, once, and ask them to write it down. If they ask “with an i or a y?”, “one word or with a hyphen?” or “double s?”, you have a problem. Avoid:
- letters that sound alike (k/c, x/cs, y/i, w/v);
- numbers that could also be spelled out (“4” or “four”?);
- doubled letters where two words meet (
casasoareis hard to read); - word combinations that, run together, spell something you didn't intend, sometimes something awkward.
3. Diacritics: be careful with IDN domains
The .ro registry (RoTLD) also accepts domains with Romanian diacritics (ă, â, î, ș, ț), known as IDN domains. It sounds appealing, but keep a few things in mind:
românia.roandromania.roare two different domains. Registering one does not give you the other.- Behind the scenes, a domain with diacritics has a technical form (for example
xn--romnia-yta.ro). That form appears on invoices and sometimes in software or e-mail. - RoTLD itself notes that not every browser and e-mail system handles IDN correctly, and that you will occasionally have to use the technical form.
- Only ș and ț with a comma below are valid. The older cedilla versions are not accepted under .ro.
Our advice: use the version without diacritics as your main address, for the website and especially for e-mail. If you like, also register the version with diacritics and redirect it to the main one. The official details are in RoTLD's FAQ on domains with diacritics.
4. Hyphens: only when they really help
A hyphen (“-”) is allowed, but not at the beginning or end of the name. Sometimes it makes a name readable (auto-ana.ro versus autoana.ro). The downside is that people forget it when typing or when passing your address on. If you choose the hyphenated version, register the one without the hyphen as well and redirect it. Otherwise some of your visitors, and some of your e-mail, may end up with someone else.
5. Check registered trademarks
A domain being available doesn't mean you have the right to use it. RoTLD's rules say plainly that registering a domain does not confirm any legal right to the name, and disputes with trademark owners can end with you losing the domain. Before buying, search the name in:
- the OSIM database (Romanian trademarks);
- TMview (EU trademarks and those of other participating countries);
- Google and the ONRC trade register, to see whether a company with an identical or very similar name works in the same field.
If you find an identical trademark in your line of business, pick another name. Doing that now costs far less than doing it after you have printed flyers and won customers.
6. Check availability and secure the important variants
Search for the name on our domain availability page. If it's free, think about which variants are worth protecting:
| Variant | When it's worth it |
|---|---|
| .ro | Almost always, if your customers are in Romania |
| .com | If you sell abroad or want to protect your brand |
| .eu | If you target the European market |
| With and without a hyphen | If your main name contains a hyphen |
| Common misspellings | Only for well-known brands or busy online shops |
You don't need to buy everything. Pick one main domain to use everywhere, and have the others simply redirect to it. You can see prices per extension on the domain pricing page.
7. Social media handles
Ideally your domain and your Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn accounts share the same name. Quickly check whether the name is free on the platforms you use or plan to use. If it's taken everywhere, that may be a sign to look for another name. If it's free, create the accounts straight away, even if you won't post anything yet.
8. What to avoid
- Names that contain other companies' trademarks (“iphone-service”, “dacia-parts”), even if they seem merely descriptive.
- Names tied strictly to one town or one product, if you plan to grow.
- Abbreviations only you understand.
- Leaving the domain in someone else's name, such as the agency building your website. The holder must be you or your company.
In short: the checklist
- Is it under 15 characters and at most three words?
- Does it pass the say-it-once-on-the-phone test?
- Is your main address free of diacritics, with any IDN version only redirecting?
- Have you avoided the hyphen, or taken both versions?
- Have you checked OSIM, TMview and Google for trademarks and companies with the same name?
- Have you checked availability and decided which extensions to take (.ro, .com, .eu)?
- Is the name free on the social networks that matter to you?
- Will the domain be registered in your name or your company's name?
If you've ticked everything, you're ready for domain registration. And if anything is unclear, write to us at [email protected].
