Choosing the right name for your online store

Naming your online store is a small but vital thing to get right. A good business name will be catchy and hard to forget, but it also needs to let customers know what you’re selling.

How do you strike a balance between those two things? It’s difficult, especially since the names of many successful businesses are also quite short (such as IKEA, Nike or Uber). Luckily, we’ve put together a list of tips to guide you through the process.

Convey meaning

Your online store’s name should not only tell customers what you sell, but can also hint at why they should buy it from you. Is there something unique about your items that competitors don’t have? Find a way to get that into your name.

For example, Death Wish Coffee sells, as the name implies, some of the strongest coffee out there. And the fitness company Gymshark is similarly clear about what they sell – workout gear – while associating themselves (and their customers) with strength by using the word ‘shark’.

Be memorable

A brand name that people will remember should be enduring, since it takes an average of 7 views for customers to memorise it. To help your name stand out, you should:

• Keep it short: Some of the best names are only a few syllables long, if that. Fusing two shorter words together (like HelloFresh or Facebook) and making up a word (like Google or eBay) are good ways to do this.

• Use alliteration: Word pairings that start with the same letter automatically become snappier (like Best Buy or Shake Shack), and make it easier to remember your name.

• Be distinct: Look at the competition’s business names and pay attention to the words they use, then try to come up with different ones. For example, instead of HelloFresh, which already exists, a good name for a meal prep service might be ReadyNow.

Use a business name generator

If you’re stuck or need to spark your creativity, don’t be afraid to use a business name generator. These let you type in a word or two and come back with endless options that include what you typed. A few good business name generators are:

• Freshbooks

• Namelix

• Getsocio

The names you’ll find range from the classic and straightforward to cleverer and more abstract. You may not end up using any of them, but they’ll be invaluable in narrowing down your search.