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The name on your website doesn't have to be your company's legal name
By the end you'll have settled on the business name for your website address, different from your legal name if needed, and you'll know what happens if you change it later.
By Yodai · Published September 6, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
You fill out the order form and get to the name field. And that's where you pause: do I put the one on the invoice, the one on the LLC paperwork, or the one people already know me by? They're not the same thing, and your website only needs one of them.
It's time to name the door people will walk through, and that door is your website address.
Your legal name and your business name aren't the same thing
Your legal name is the one registered with the IRS: it might be your first and last name if you're a sole proprietor, or carry an "LLC" if you've set up a company. That name exists to pay taxes and sign contracts. It doesn't exist for a customer to type into their phone.
Your business name is the one you say out loud when someone asks what you do, and the one on the sign over your door if you have a storefront. That's the one that goes in your website address, because it's the one people already recognize.
If the two match, there's no decision to make. If they don't, and in a lot of businesses they don't, you always go with the business name.
What name to pick when you have to come up with one
The easy case is when you already have a name and just need to confirm it. The tricky case is when you're starting the business right now and have to decide what to call yourself. There are two paths here, and they're not equally good for everyone.
- Names the trade: "North Side Physical Therapy," "Home Renovation Pros"
- Anyone who reads it understands the business without asking anything else
- It falls short if you ever start offering something different from what you do today
- Says who you are: "Elvira's House," "Walnut Workshop"
- Holds up even if you change or expand what you offer
- Needs a short tagline next to it the first time someone sees it, to explain what you do
Which one should you pick: If you offer one specific service and don't plan to branch out, a descriptive name saves you the explaining: "Home Renovation Pros" already says what people are calling you for. If your business is you, your taste, or your way of doing things, which is typical for hair salons, therapy practices, classes, or restaurants, a brand name holds up better over time because it doesn't depend on a single service.
How that name looks in your website address
The business name you choose is the one that goes into your website address. An address can't have spaces, and to keep anyone from mistyping it, skip special characters: "Elvira's House" becomes something like elvirashouse.com or elvira-house.com. The shorter and easier to type without mistakes, the better: it's what you'll read off over the phone and what someone will type from memory.
That's why, even if your legal name includes "Full Service Solutions" or a registration number, that's not what goes into the address. What goes in is the short name, the one that fits on a sign.
- You've settled on your business's name, different from the legal one if it needed to be
- You know whether a name that describes your trade or one that's its own brand suits you better
- You understand how that name becomes your website address
- Next lesson: the price you show before they ask
Yodai builds the site from what you tell it, with a store, bookings or quote requests depending on what you do. See what the website for your business looks like.
NextThe price you show before anyone has to ask