Poll: What top-level domain (TLD) do you use for your professional website? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What top-level domain (TLD) do you use for your professional website?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | | | Does it still make a difference to have a website? | Nov 11, 2024 |
I don't have a website for my translation and interpreting business but I am more and more tempted to invest in a professional one. Does it really make a difference? It used to, sure, but is that still the case in late 2024?
| | | | | It's your business card | Nov 11, 2024 |
Tadeusz Rieckmann wrote:
I don't have a website for my translation and interpreting business but I am more and more tempted to invest in a professional one. Does it really make a difference? It used to, sure, but is that still the case in late 2024?
Initially, I got well over a hundred requests through my website but the last one came about fifteen years ago (from an agency, when I'd already stopped working with agencies), and I last updated it in 2011 (the provider changed the format and I couldn't get into it with the program I used). So, pretty useless... And yet...
I still keep paying for it because it's basically my business card. It still gives an idea of what I do and, even though it's missing ten years of work, it shows that I translate art books, that I didn't start translating the day before yesterday, and it gives me my e-mail address (simon@ turner.it). To some people, tadeusz @ rieckmann.hu might sound more professional than a generic gmail.com address. You could get the address without the site, but while you're at it, you might as well have a page or two.
I made my own site about 25 years ago and it's very basic and unprofessional, but that sort of reflects what I am (basic and unprofessional) so it's okay. Create the page to suit your style, or different styles possibly, to reflect the translation and heavy metal sides of your personality. I would suggest this, though: if you have it done professionally, make sure you can update it whenever you like, without paying anything or at least not too much. Last piece of advice: don't look at my website for ideas! Be original in the design and make sure it and the text reflects your personality, not some vague idea of what a professional translator's website should look like. Make it personal and different if you want to be remembered.
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 09:22
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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I got my first domained website in around 2001. I initially chose dot com instead of a country TLD because the process of registering a country TLD was onerous at the time, and registering a dot com or dot info was very straight-forward.
Another thing that affected my decision to go with dot com instead of a country TLD was that while the country TLD was a lot cheaper than a dot com, I could not get any overseas host to connect with the country TLD, and local web hosts were prohi... See more I got my first domained website in around 2001. I initially chose dot com instead of a country TLD because the process of registering a country TLD was onerous at the time, and registering a dot com or dot info was very straight-forward.
Another thing that affected my decision to go with dot com instead of a country TLD was that while the country TLD was a lot cheaper than a dot com, I could not get any overseas host to connect with the country TLD, and local web hosts were prohibitively expensive. I paid about $20 per year for hosting (it has increased to $25 in the past decade). Local hosting companies were charging $200-$300 for what was essentially the same service.
I wanted a domain name with my nickname in it, but the chosen domain name was owned by an Italian law firm at the time, so I settled for a domain name that contained my languages as keywords. This was a time when simple SEO would catapult you to #1 on a Google search. Two years later, through misfortune I lost access to my keyworded domain name and the originally preferred domain name became available, so I'm happy with how it all turned out.
I do have a country TLD domain that's just my full name (it has since become much easier to get a country TLD for my country, and one can now park a domain), but it simply redirects to my main web site and I don't actually use it on any of my marketing anyway. I don't use my domain name for e-mail -- I just have a generic Gmail address. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Richard Jenkins
Brazil
Local time: 05:22
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
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I use .com as standard.
When I lived in the UK I used .co.uk, but .com is international and known by everyone.
I think of my website as a business card in addition to professional websites like Proz and LinkedIn. It's another way of telling everyone you're committed and serious about what you do. This is me, hello!
https://www.addictivewriter.com/
| | | | Novian Cahyadi
Indonesia
Local time: 15:22
Member (2024)
English to Indonesian
Samuel Murray wrote:
I initially chose dot com instead of a country TLD because the process of registering a country TLD was onerous at the time, and registering a dot com or dot info was very straight-forward.
I initially wanted [dot]co[dot]id, but I also had to go through an onerous process to obtain it. So instead, I settled with [dot]com. In retrospect, this is probably a better choice for the reason Richard mentioned.
And in case anyone's wondering, no, I didn't get my website from ProZ premium membership. I DIY'ed almost the entire thing. It ain't much, but it's honest work. 
https://noviancahyadi.com
Tadeusz Rieckmann wrote:
Does it really make a difference? It used to, sure, but is that still the case in late 2024?
I'm a Linux user, so Microsoft might be thinking to banish me off LinkedIn. Henry could also ban me anytime for any reasons. By owning a website, at least I could keep my online presence when those happened.
[Edited at 2024-11-11 14:23 GMT]
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 08:22
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
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[Edited at 2024-11-11 21:16 GMT]
| | | | | mail address and site | Nov 11, 2024 |
Simon Turner wrote:
To some people, tadeusz @ rieckmann.hu might sound more professional than a generic gmail.com address.
Funny you mentioned the .hu email address, that is exactly the work address I used for many years, until the server got canned and now I have issues to get it up and running again through a different provider. I also used to have my own website which I designed myself but it didn't really add anything to my pool of clients. But thanks for the suggestions!
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