Hey guys, I have about a year left of college and I'm starting to work on my online portfolio. I was wondering if the domain name plays an influence in my getting a job or not?
The .com name I wanted was taken but a .net name was available. Does the .com or .net play a role at all?
I wanted to keep the domain as short as possible for easy remembrance.
What do you guys think?
Replies
What about thaiwat.com ?
I find it a little unusual to type but after the first time I'm going to remember it. I think it's fine. Anything like notesportfolio or notes3d would be fine, if you can get them.
.com is obviously preferable, but it doesn't matter, it's not like people judge you on it.
What is most important in an URL is being able to say it quickly and easily to other people, without them making errors.
For example, mine is ghostscape.com - it's two syllables, it's not that hard to spell (and I have a simple mnemonic I give them - like a landscape but with ghosts), and there aren't a lot of false positives around the name.
NotesUthaiwat.whatever is terrible, because it's a number of syllables and words jumbled together, I'm not sure what the U even means exactly, and it's going to be hard to say to folks - you've got three homophones (U/you, thai/tie [although this should be easy] and wat/what) for example.
NotesArt, artofnotes, Notes3d, etc, would be best, imho, because they're short, have no homophones, and the Notes makes a good mnemonic - Notes3d - Notes like in music, which will help make it sticky.
Your name itself would also work fine - artofthai or artofwat or artofthaiwat are all fine, as they make it more obvious that thaiwat is your name, so when you're giving it to someone in a crowded bar or something it's easier to remember.
The specifics of your URL don't really matter for written communication, but verbal communication is important, and I think that's what you want to tune for.
I would avoid free sites/hosting URLs like behance.net/blahblah/goesonforever/artlounge/sixthgradebandname0041/home.html (there's a school, ITT I think? that must have a portfolio class that tells people to use behance because I saw a bunch from the same school) but you're obviously doing that already.
e: fuck, going to your site, your full name is Note Uthaiwat. I thought Note was coming from your username. I would avoid using your full name if possible in your URL just because it's very long. Note is a great name if you can find something with it because it's a single syllable. Use Note or Notes, if you're giving it out at GDC or some other industry meetup it's going to be much easier for uncultured idiots like myself to remember how to spell
See if Note3D or Notes3D or similar is still available. Not too original (unlike my favorite URL: poopinyourmouth ) That's a pretty simple URL and easy to remember.
Ghostscape...much appreciated....i remember at gdc when the guy from naughty dog saying "use professional urls and not something like peeinmymouth.com"
Btw...should i have my website published for others to see and critique before i send it to potential employers or leave it unpublished untill i am ready to show it to everyone?
Avoid having "under construction" signs though. Nobody wants to click on a link and then see no content.
Be a little creative with your website. As long as it's short and memorable then it's fine. There was a massive thread a few month's back when i decided to get mine.
The recommended host from most people here is ~
http://holeinthewallhosting.com/
Never had any issues with is so.
As ZacD said; something easy to remember is the main thing.