SherWeb

Having an online presence is an important tool for businesses operating in the modern, technologically savvy society of today. However, running a website is not restricted to businesses and entrepreneurs. It is also a good way for creative people to showcase their talents, to provide information for educational purposes; or for the average person to make his/her voice heard through a personal blog.

But what does your domain name say about you, your site and perhaps your business? A domain name has the potential to influence millions of potential viewers surfing the net. To emphasize just how important selecting the right domain name to register is, here are some of the strangest ones found in cyberspace. Perhaps the impression that you get from these will make you choose your online label with a little more care.

What’s In Name?

A domain name is essentially a label that is used on the Internet in order to define a realm of administrative authority or control. Domain names are also used as hostnames to identify Internet Protocol resources like websites.

Domain names are important since they are the easy-to-remember labels given to a numerically addressed Internet resource. The key element here is that they are in fact ‘easy-to-remember’. Therefore, the domain name is something that will stick in the minds of many of your viewers and potential viewers.

Think of it as a first impression. It has often been said that first impressions last a lifetime; so you may want to make a favourable one. This is why choosing the label for your unique identity on the Internet is just as important as securing a good web designer to create your website and finding an efficient and reliable web hosting resource to support your site. To emphasize the influence that domain names have, here are some of the most accidentally hilarious ones around.

whorepresents.com

At first glance this website appears to be one stop shop for ‘Johns’ whom are searching for a gift for their special ‘trick’. The site is actually called “Who Represents” and is meant to be a website where people can find out the name of the talent agent who represents a particular celebrity.

firstbaptistcumming.org

At first, this domain name may seem like a vulgar joke about John the Baptist. This is actually the official website of a Baptist Church; they are either unaware that their domain name choice can be misunderstood or they are just not worried about it.

expertsexchange.com

This website has nothing to do with hormones or undergoing life-altering surgery. The name of the site is “Experts Exchange”. It is an online community for programmers to exchange ideas, opinions and tips. It seems that after numerous emails related to sex-change operations the online community adopted a hyphen in their domain name.

therapistfinder.com

My first thought when I saw this domain name was that it was a humour website which took its name from the classic SNL “Celebrity Jeopardy” skit. This is really a website called “The Therapist Finder” that helps people to locate a local therapist.

penisland.net

It is possible to mistake this website for an X-rated site that displays nude male models. It is actually a company website for a business that offers custom made pens. The name of the company just happens to be “Pen Island”.

powergenitalia.com

This unfortunate domain name belonged to an Italian power generator company, Powergen Italia, who specializes in special battery products. However, the domain name gives the impression that this website hosts a company that specializes in manufacturing industrial-strength genitals.

speedofart.com

When you first read this unfortunately selected domain name you may get a disturbing image of bloated males, wearing nothing but Speedos and breaking wind. In reality this website hosts a group of artists who chose to name their online project is “Speed of Art”.

gotahoenorth.com

Your first impression of this domain name may be that it is for a Northern prostitution ring that is trying to duplicate the success of the “Got Milk” ad campaign. However, this is a website for a North Lake Tahoe ski resort called “Go Tahoe North”.

Hopefully this list of some of the most unfortunately named domain names will make you realize that first impressions count. Be careful when selecting the name for your online presence.