Name a Project
In the past few decades, the Internet has seen an immense boost in popular use all around the world. As the Internet has developed, it has become one of the primary platforms for project development. As such, the number of new and existing projects--both personal and commercial--has skyrocketed. Projects need to have names that distinguish them from other projects, but coming up with a unique and effective name can be difficult. Knowing how to name a project can be the difference between a project that catches someone's attention or doesn't.
Steps
- Pick a name that is short. Shorter names more often result in memorable and brandable names. Long and convoluted names are hard to remember and easily overlooked.
- Choose a name that is unique. Don't name your project after a pre-existing entity. If you're pulling names from Greek mythology, Christian references, or a family of animals, it has most likely been done before and it will be difficult to turn it into something fresh and original.
- One exception to this is if you're going to append an identifier to your name. For example, the name "Zeus" is too generic and overused on its own, but if you are developing a new instant messenger, the name "ZeusIM" could work well.
- Consider combining words or making up new words entirely. Projects like YouTube, Facebook, and Myspace prove that using generic words in new ways can result in a very recognizable brand.
- Make sure your name is easy to pronounce. The names "Zxthx" or "Sivbrev" might look interesting and unique, but if your project name can't be said easily and effortlessly in the middle of conversation, people won't talk about it very often.
- Decide if you want your project to carry a brand, e.g. Google, or if you want your project to describe its purpose, e.g. Lifehacker. Nobody knew what "google" meant when Google first started; they only got to where they are now through careful brand building. On the other hand, descriptive names can immediately let your audience know what your project is about without having to build a brand beforehand.
- Check your proposed name in a search engine. Running your proposed name as a search query can show you whether or not there are other projects with the same or similar names. If you receive a lot of search results with that name, that means you'll have more competition for that name.
- Check domain name availability. This step is especially important if you plan on having a web presence for your project. If you've decided on naming your project "Tomato Chat," you should look to see if tomatochat.com or tomatochat.net are available. If they aren't available, you may want to reconsider your name.
