How to choose between two names you both like
Two finalists, one decision, and a room that has stopped being useful. Five tests that separate names the shortlist cannot, and the tiebreak that always works.
Webba Journal
Practical notes on choosing, pricing and buying a company name and its .com domain.
Naming the company or naming the product
One name, two jobs, and a decision most founders make without noticing. What changes the day you ship a second thing, and the three architectures that follow.
Why good names fail out loud
A name can read beautifully and still collapse in conversation. The four ways that happens, how to test for each, and what it costs when nobody checks.
Why some new names sound established on day one
A name nobody has heard can still sound like it has been around for years. The four properties that do it, why they matter to a new company, and how to test for them.
Available is not the same as brandable
A free .com proves one thing: nobody wanted it enough to register it. The five things a name has to do that availability tells you nothing about, and how to check each.
Does a startup still need the .com?
The honest answer is: it depends on who has to find you. When another extension is fine, when it is not, and how to tell which company you are before you commit.
Why every AI startup is starting to sound the same
The AI naming conventions of the moment, why they converge, what it costs to sound like your category, and four ways out that do not put AI in the name.
How to run a naming session that ends in a decision
Most naming sessions produce a longer list and no answer. The structure that produces a name instead, and the four ways the room usually fails.
How to check a company name before you commit to it
The checks worth running before a name goes on anything, the order to run them in, and the two that need a lawyer rather than a search box.
How buying a domain name actually works
From the first enquiry to the name in your account: the three kinds of listing, how offers work, what escrow does, how a transfer happens, and where deals stall.
What to do when your startup's .com is taken
You have a name and the .com belongs to someone else. The four real options — buy it, modify it, change extension or change the name — and how to choose between them.
How much should a startup spend on a domain name?
What you are paying for when you buy a domain someone already owns, how asking prices and offers work, and a practical way to set a budget for your stage.
Invented vs descriptive company names: which should you choose?
Descriptive names explain themselves, invented names can be more distinctive, and suggestive names sit between. What each gives you, what it costs, and how to choose.