Hello Dream Code fellas,

I'm graduating this year, as a Interactive Multimedia Developer and I'm looking to have my own website. Everything made by me, 100% original.

The only problem is, I'm unsure if having your own full name as a domain name is a good thing. I've taken logo, web style, typography and all that did pretty good but I'm always uncertain about logos, branding, names & domain registration.
I guess I'm just trying to reach perfection? or is there something wrong with me?

I also know names don't mean anything, it's how your company (or whatever you run) does well.

So my question is:
Is the name Matthew Bolowski good enough to just have my own site?

Also the reason why I'm asking this is because of the last name. Yes I'm Polish (live in Canada). Is the foreign name good? Bad?

I would really appreciate feedback's.

*Oh and... What is the website about? Right now I'm just looking to host, design sites for fun, so I can get better. But in the end I think this will turn out to be my portfolio site.

This post has been edited by skillionaire: 23 Sep, 2008 - 07:17 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. I've got http://girasquid.com, which is a made-up word. I've also got http://buildingbrowsergames.com, which is two non-made up words. You can have a site at your name(for example, http://tylerjameslee.com), or anywhere else - it doesn't really matter. Pick the one you like better.

This post has been edited by girasquid: 23 Sep, 2008 - 07:32 PM

If you are into SEO & PR value, then yes, a well chosen domain name will hold value. However if your marketing skills are targeted else where, the domain name itself carries little value.

Hi!

If your homepage somday turn out to be your portfolio site, i think your name is the best domain. I would do so too!

It depends on what you want your website to contain. If your site is a portfolio, then, yes, your name is the most relevant. You could do it better, for example MatthewBolowskiDesign.com (if it`s your portfolio , about designing websites )

Oh, and if your website will be in Polish it's better to use the local domain. Or if it is for the people from Canada especially, again, use the local domain.

I have used for my personal blog gothik12.com .

This post has been edited by gothik12: 29 Sep, 2008 - 11:39 AM

My two cents on domain naming. Easy to remember and easy to spell is much more important than something descriptive.

Amazon
Google
Yahoo

Nothing really to do with what the sites do, yet easy to remember and spell, i had an idea for a domain once, i was going to use the name infosmash, mainly easy to remember and easy to spell (someone else owns it now)...

Course I came up with this when it turns out most variations of my name were owned by others.

Personally I wouldn't go to the extent of having your name followed by design, think about cutting it down a bit possibly even just use your last name. Your domain name should be short and snappy, something easy to remember. If you're planning on targeting your local area I would make heavy use of your last name as it may be unusual in your area and would certainly help give you a unique identity as a designer.

Hope you can take something from what I said.

p.s. Whatever you do don't use dashes in your domain name. Domain names with dashes look horrible, difficult to remember where they appear if its a domain you've visited and if someone passes on your domain name by word of mouth you can't guarantee that they are going to mention the dashes.