# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  3D Printing Domain Names

## Maggie

I've been looking for a good domain name for a 3D printing business i am considering starting up.  i am looking for something generic like 3D printing.com, etc.  i know what such a domain would cost me an arm and a leg though.  

*2 Questions. * 

 - What do you think a domain like 3Dprinting.com or 3dprint.com is worth?

 - Would a branded domain like 3dgirlz.com be memorable enough you think, or should I go with something more generic.

The business we be dealing with schools bringing them educational 3D printing material.

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## PhotoSteve

Well I just checked 3dgirlz.com .......glad I wasn't at work(NSFW).Most of the common names are going to be taken already. So you will have to be real creative with names so go for location, business type coupled with 3d.........or 3dprint........

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## Eddie

From experience, I know that the majority of domain names related at all to 3D Printing have been taken.  I've tried a lot before getting 3DPrintBoard.com and purchasing 3DPrint.com
Ed

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## old man emu

If your area of business concentrates on supplying schools with 3D printing material, consider using names that reflect that, such as schoolhous3D.com, schoolroom3D.com.

Old Man Emu

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## 3DFuture

Please don't spam your sales here. Use the Self Promo Section.

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## KevinDU

No selling of domains here, use self promo section.

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## ralphzoontjens

Generic may be fine, but since the 3d printing world is not all that small anymore you may look into a more specific domain name targeted to appeal to a more specific customer base. That would be my advice, or to devise a creative name related to your business but not literally referring to it. It may generate much more attraction and recognizability. I'm a designer and go to websites called Boingboing, Wired, PinkTentacle, it works much better than having to refer to a bunch of generic names.

Another tip is to do what they did at Grounded, you turn the last e into a 3 -> Ground3d. Or leave out a vowel - printr, makr. Just make sure it also looks appealing as a word.

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## TeddyYan

> I have for sale at Sedo.com  http://www.3dprinters3d.com  You can make me an offer. Just look up my email address at WHOIS. Thanks!


Not a bad domain, but it's kind of redundant.  3DPrint.com is an awesome domain that will eventually be worth in the $XXX,XXX or even $X,XXX,XXX

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## 3DFuture

3DPrint.com will obviously be worth a mil eventually. 
As other people in this thread have mentioned, you can either get a targeted, descriptive domain, or a more generic shorter domain. The second choice can be catchier later on, but initially, it makes it harder for people to find your business.
Gluck & let us know how your venture's developing.

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## greatestalive

3dprinteducation is a good domain name.  Not sure what it would be used for but eventually all colleges, universities and high schools will have 3D printers.

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## johnbennett70

You could try a hyphen, which I used with www.bahamas-rental.com for a long time, and did well.  Like 3dprinting-shop.com, or something of that nature.  Try to put a few key worlds in, like maybe 3dprint-machine.com, or 3dprint-copier.com, etc.

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## intohim

Wow 600+.  that much cost you about $5,000 a year to keep registered.  Would you be able post your list there?  Are you looking to sell any?

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## RobH2

Maggie,

Branding needs to be done with careful thought because, once you start rolling with something you are going to want to stick with it as business starts to build. You don't want to just pick any ole' name to get going and then change it in two years when you realize that wasn't the best choice. Your initial post asked if something like "3dgirlz.com" (before you checked it out) was memorable enough. Not much about a name like that identifies you as a 3d printer. "Girlz" is going to be attractive to teens looking for photos of booty, not people looking for 3d printing. Yes, it's memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. So, as you search for a name and a path to do your branding, be sure that the name conveys the correct message. It can be clever but not silly. You'll be competing in a professional arena and you don't want to come off as inferior or not serious. A good way to go about it is to list a bunch of names that you think have merit and then show them to friends and family. Don't even tell them what it is for and ask them to pick out the names that they think are good. Then tell them what you are doing and go through those names and narrow it down. 

Just think about it a lot before you lock in on a name you might regret because it takes too much work to get a business up an running. And once you have that momentum, it's hard to get it back if you change your name and no one knows who you are anymore.

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## QuiveringToad

I could see huge amounts of money exchanging hands on domains like 3dprinting and 3dprint.com, and perhaps slightly less for 3dprinters.com and 3dprinter.com.

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## MessierGoal

I don't see the appeal of all the new GTLDs.  They won't ever have any significant value.  3dprintingtool.com is a good domain.  It's crazy how so many people have invested so heavily into 3d printing domain names.  It may be a good 10-15 years before most of these have any value.  that's $90 - $150 per domain in registration fees.  Quite a bit of money in my opinion.  By the time 3d printing is that popular, for all we know we won't even be using domain name any longer.

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## Maggie

3DFuture, do you know what price 3DPrinting.Guru sold for.  I'm just curious.

thanks!

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## 3DFuture

Maggie, 
I couldn't find the exact sales price on Google. But just for reference, here is the link to an article about the 3DPrinting.Guru sale. http://domainshane.com/was-3dprintin...new-gtld-ever/

MessierGoal,
I think it will take some time before 3D Printing realizes even half of its potential. However, the 3D Printing market is widely expected to undergo double-digit growth over the next decade. So, as more 3D Printing startups become established each year, the demand for 3d printing domains correspondingly rises. 
Although ipv6 may partially augment domain names once the Internet of Things takes off, I think that domain names will still be around in order to facilitate branding.

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## 3dprintingfiles

I can answer you that the domain name is not the only important thing for a website, a simple name sometimes holds better than composite name at google it to cons by importance, for example my case 3d-printer-files.com was already taken so I played on the second keywords and I bought 3d-printing-files.com the goal is to reach the top without having more links.

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## JMK

> I can answer you that the domain name is not the only important thing for a website, a simple name sometimes holds better than composite name at google it to cons by importance, for example my case 3d-printer-files.com was already taken so I played on the second keywords and I bought 3d-printing-files.com the goal is to reach the top without having more links.


I believe that the domain name 3dprintingfiles.com would rank higher than 3d-printing-files.com on domain name alone in google.  I remember a while back this wasn't the case, but I think google has changes their algorithm to not favor domains with hyphens in them as much.  I personally like shorter domain names.  Easier to remember and type in than the longer ones.

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## 3dprintingfiles

Hello, 

yes you are right but without hyphens it is even more difficult to remember for me, this is why I Chosin hyphens.

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## 3DSavvy

@3DFuture - What is ipv6?  How will ipv6 augment domain names?  What is going to happen once the Internet of Things takes off?

How will the Internet of Things decrease the need for domain names?

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## 3DFuture

@3DSavvy: Although I have a rather rudimentary understanding of the ipv6, which looks to be an alternate internet addressing system, I would like to share my thoughts about the broader relationship between the Internet of Things (Iot) and domain names.

An analogy that might be fitting is that of phone apps. When you use an app on your phone, you typically don't plug in a website address every time you use it. Rather, you access it through a standalone app. However, the *majority of app developers** have their own domain sites*, in order to promote and explain their app, as well as sell ancillary services. So while people don't plug in a domain name every single time they access an app, the commercial aspect of these *apps* has *increased demand for more* app-related* domains*. It is literally impossible to find any two-word domain which has "app" as its suffix, and virtually impossible to find any two-word domain with "app" as its prefix.

Similarly, I think that the IoT may use some kind of alternate addressing system to connect devices to the internet, namely in the form of apps. And certainly, some devices which are to be connected, like thermostats, lack the interface for textual browsing. However, companies that sell IoT-related devices/services will still need domain sites to promote, and notify consumers of, their businesses. Even if your smart-thermostat never requires the input of particular domain names, the *IoT* *device's* *point-of-purchase* will be *on the manufacturer's domain site*.

So, the IoT's use of an alternate internet address system may very well *augment* the use of, and* increase demand* for, *domain names*.

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## WiZE3D

I just sealed my domain name WiZE3D.com  :Wink:  My tip to you is to be creative. Think outside the box. It's not worth spending 1,000's on something you can get for less than $10.
-Mike

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## 3DFuture

Mike- Good luck on your new endeavor; I like the trap/dutch house soundtrack to your promo video. Keep us updated on the progress of your site, so people can learn the pros and cons of a brandable domain (WiZE3D.com) versus a keyword domain (3DPrintWebsite.com).

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## MysteryAlabaster

For whatever reason, this reminds me of the Saturday Night Live skit where there's the law firm that took too long to make their website, and they were stuck with the worst url ever...

I'm not going to put the url here, it's not exactly appropriate, but some of you should know to what I refer.
Don't look it up at work, or on any work accounts.

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## 3DFuture

That SNL sketch was prescient.

In related news, 3dp4e.com was purchased this week for $4,635. The site looks like it has some articles, and I think it's supposed to be a guide for schools looking to incorporate 3D printing into their curriculums. It seems that this sale bodes well for 3dprinteducation.com & h3dp.com.

Maggie, are you attached to this 3dp4e project? Are you looking to do affiliate marketing, hardware reselling, or some other service involving 3d print education?

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## smicha84

yeah.

I've bought like 60 different 3d printing related domains. I'm not sure if I'm interested in selling any of them yet, but if you have an idea you want to create a name for, I'm really good at that. I would help you for free if you want. I have more names than is necessary for any entrepreneur!

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## Maggie

> Maggie, are you attached to this 3dp4e project? Are you looking to do  affiliate marketing, hardware reselling, or some other service involving  3d print education?


Sorry, no I'm not attached to it. I might be interested in affiliate marketing at some point, but probably not now.



> I've bought like 60 different 3d printing related domains.


I can't believe how many people out there really stocked up on 3d printing domains.  I guess I'm not the only one that thinks 3D printing is the future  :Smile:

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## RobH2

Yea, I bought about 6 domains. I have an idea for one of them but will just sit on the others as they are generic and might be desirable to someone at some point. The good ones are going fast but there are still a lot available if you get creative.

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## WiZE3D

If your having trouble thinking of a creative domain name, try using this outline to boost creativity: 3D[specialty][state located].com - example: 3DshoesNY.com or 3DpartsMN.com. It would be best to find a domain with two words (3Dprinted.com) that's available, that you could own both the 2 word version and the 2 word state specific version (3DprintedCA.com). Hope that helps.
-Mike

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## RobH2

Yes, that's a good suggestion. I purchased '3dprintedusa.com' just last week. There are still good ones available.

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## squadus

I don't know if stockpiling URL's is the best investment... Personally I'm skeptical. Who knows if we'll even need URL's in the next 5-10 years. 

And will people opt to buy "3Dprinted" related URL's at higher prices or just come up with original names?

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## Geoff

> I don't know if stockpiling URL's is the best investment... Personally I'm skeptical. Who knows if we'll even need URL's in the next 5-10 years. 
> 
> And will people opt to buy "3Dprinted" related URL's at higher prices or just come up with original names?


I got tired of trying to find a '3d' titles domain, i havent done anything with it yet, but came up with www.prints2life.com .. obviously based around printing objects for people, but I need more and better machines I've decided.  Currently my machine is so busy I dont get time for my own stuff :/

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## RobH2

That's what makes it fun. No one knows. It's like playing the stock market or buying lottery tickets. I have no problem buying a few domain names. The thing you have to understand is not to pay more for them then you are willing to completely lose. I'm very comfortable with the small amount of money I've paid to own some domain names. I plan to use 2 of the 8 I have and if the others just wither and die, then it really doesn't matter. It's still just fun to speculate and play "what if" now and then. You never win anything if you don't play and I think buying a few domain names is infinitely more sound than buying a lottery ticket every week.

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## WiZE3D

> I don't know if stockpiling URL's is the best investment... Personally I'm skeptical. Who knows if we'll even need URL's in the next 5-10 years. 
> 
> And will people opt to buy "3Dprinted" related URL's at higher prices or just come up with original names?


Who knows if well need social media in the next 5-10 years? maybe in the future everyone knows that huge companies sell their data for tax incentives, and everyone boycotts the offenders, making .coms the new way to instant message because its the most secure. I'd rather have a dozen domain names that sound good than to be stuck with some stupid unmemorable one later on. but i guess the solution to that would be to make a new .whatevever, specifically for social media type shit. you can't play the what if game without getting a little far out right?

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## 3DFuture

Mike - You bring up an interesting point. In terms of the new domain extensions, I believe few will succeed in the long run. A big hurdle is that extensions that are too similar to each other, like .photo, .photos, .pictures, and .pics, make it impossible for people to remember a company's domain name. 
If someone advertises "Sarasota.pictures" through other media, a huge amount of people will just go to sarasota.pics, sarasota.photos, or even sarasotapictures.com.

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## 3dman

I think that a lot of specific "keyword" domains are falling out of popularity recently.  Take for instance, Thingiverse, Shapeways, Google, etc.  Branding a totally unrelated phrase can be just as good as having a specific keyword.  For example, Google.com does just fine, whereas Search.com isn't even a website.  It's not just about the domain name, and you don't need an expensive domain name to build a web presence.

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## Geoff

> Sorry, Geoff, editing out the spam


I'll by them all off you for $1.

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## MeoWorks

This is a place of discussion, not for active sales or ads, I will be issuing out warnings to all parties who spam domain sales here.

I've gone through and either deleted or modified certain posts in this thread to follow those rules. Please keep the discussion on point and free of sales. 

Thanks  :Smile:

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## reekmon

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to do this, but I own up3d.com and am interested in selling.  Pls reply and I can give you my contact info.




> I've been looking for a good domain name for a 3D printing business i am considering starting up.  i am looking for something generic like 3D printing.com, etc.  i know what such a domain would cost me an arm and a leg though.  
> 
> *2 Questions. * 
> 
>  - What do you think a domain like 3Dprinting.com or 3dprint.com is worth?
> 
>  - Would a branded domain like 3dgirlz.com be memorable enough you think, or should I go with something more generic.
> 
> The business we be dealing with schools bringing them educational 3D printing material.

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## reekmon

Where is the self promo section? I'm interested in selling up3d.com as soon as possible

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## Davo

http://3dprintboard.com/forumdisplay...Self-Promotion

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## lucastrick

old post ..
bu nice .
thanks,

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## jlmccuan

Look up the word promote.  As a student you surely realize that an offer of sale for financial gain fits that description perfectly.

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## 3dprintingdomainer

this message has been deleted.

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## Bobby Lin

Hi! In order to find a good domain name for your 3d printing business, you need to do two things:

1. Identify the nature of your business.
What is the area of expertise of your business? Is it 3d printing service for school? Jewelry? Kitchen utensils? etc.

2. Do some keyword research
3d Printing word may be popular but you can have other keywords used. Go to Keyword planner to gain some insights of the keywords (with low competition but has a high monthly searches) and used it as your domain.

*Bottom Line: Your domain name must reflect the nature of your business in one glance. It must be user-friendly, for your customers to easily remember. And most of all, the keyword you used will help you top the search engines for easy exposure in your business.

Good luck in starting up your business!*

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## Bobby Lin

My recommendation would be to combine 3d printing and choose a keyword that reflects about the school or education. Make sure that your domain name is relevant to the purpose of your website.

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