✅ POLL: Do you buy the domain first or build the product first?
by•
Let’s settle this once and for all.
Do you spend 3 hours trying to find a clever .com before writing a single line of code? Or do you ship the MVP and slap on whatever domain wasn’t taken at the time?
Cast your vote and tell us why.
Bonus points if you’ve ever changed your product idea because the domain wasn’t available.
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Replies
Hahaha, right on target 😂
Yeah! I buy the .com domain first and only then start building the MVP. Lol.
It often happens that I come up with a cool name for a project, but the domain is taken by resellers and costs $50,000. And it's so frustrating. And then I spend hours searching for a replacement name for the project.
Recently, I got lucky. I came up with a name for my horror streaming platform and wanted to buy the domain, but it cost $27,000 from resellers. And just a few days ago, it became available, and I bought it for $20. The Scaryx streaming platform will be!
@ideaxton these reseller prices are wild. Launchlist.com $345K lol. I've gotten lucky at times like you and scored the domain later for the lower price, but for now, I'll stick with DreamerMade.com.
Product Hunt
@ideaxton That's wild that you got it for $20!!
@aaronoleary When I saw that the domain was available on the registrar's website, I didn't even think twice and bought it. I've never been so happy about buying a domain. Now the main thing is to finish the project 😂
Dereference
@ideaxton @aaronoleary yeah great deal!
@nicksuccesslaunch Personally, I would trust a brand with a .com domain more than one with a .tech, .biz, or .com.net domain. Of course, there are AI services for which a .ai or .io domain is appropriate.
I love the .com domain and try to use it for my projects. For many people, it is the standard. What do you think?
Dereference
@ideaxton @nicksuccesslaunch Great point! Do you think emerging extensions like .io or .ai are closing that trust gap, or will .com always hold a unique weight for branding?
@nicksuccesslaunch @adi_singh5 I think that many people have already developed trust in the .io and .ai domains. We are used to seeing many large services using them, so we trust them. Moreover, these domains are not cheap.
@ideaxton The one time I didn't buy it first, they wanted $10,000. I said, it was not worth it and bought similar with a dash in it. The STILL keep emailing me (annoying). I will occasionally reply, "is it $50? That is all it is worth to me." Hoping, that they will email me and eventually tell me is it $50. My hopes are not that high. It was just a side project for me to test AI with. One of my first vibe coded apps. Check-OneTwo.com
Dereference
@ideaxton That’s such a win! How did you track the domain until it dropped or was it pure luck or do you use a specific tool for monitoring?
@adi_singh5 It was more like luck. When I first came up with the name, it was a few months ago. As we already figured out, I rushed to buy the domain. But no way. The domain was expensive. And then I thought about other domain zones. However, I set myself a task - to earn money on one project and buy this domain. But no, I didn't have the money 😂 And I just stopped thinking about it. After some time, I decided to take up this project again. I remembered that the .com domain was taken, so I started looking for other options. I entered it into the search engine and, to my surprise, .com was available. So I bought it right away. Apparently, the resellers got tired of holding onto this domain and dropped it. And I picked it up 😂
DocsHound
Depending if you have the name of the product figured out. It's so much easier to secure a domain than building an MVP. U usually also need the domain for email / workspace / setting up any legal stuff, terms of service / support. Having a small landing page with newsletter should be the first step when building a product.
@k_piotr agree with you!
Product Hunt
@k_piotr Yeah this makes sense. The domain is a lot more than just the branding itself
@k_piotr agreed! especially the email part for early feedback is key. Otherwise people will wonder what you are doing. For prototyping / testing, you will also need a domain imo.
Dereference
@k_piotr Totally agree! Do you think starting with a simple landing page and email capture can also validate demand before committing to a full MVP build?
minimalist phone: creating folders
Building a product first because many projects are abandoned and unfinished :D I know myself. Would buy a domain for a product that will not exist. :D
@busmark_w_nika Would buy a domain for a product that will not exist. How painful it is to read and realize that there are 18 such domains in my life.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@ideaxton 💔 It is a huge loss. I am trying to reduce costs and if the domain purchase is not speculative (like selling in the future for more money), they I will not buy a domain :D
@busmark_w_nika Well, I just have this condition 😂 For some reason, I think my idea is brilliant and I need to buy a domain and grab nicknames on social media right away. And then it all bursts like a soap bubble — poof, gone. And I sit there, looking at the list of domains and thinking, what should I launch? 😂
@busmark_w_nika Took the words out of my mouth there Nika, I've done too many of those in the past, spent hours to get the name at the best price, but then in a few months, the project gets abandoned!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@novicto_herlistianto Yeah, I used to keep domains to projects that existed but didn't go anywhere, so I cancelled them too.
Uxia
Build the product first. That said, I know a couple of successful founders who bought a domain early just because they liked the name. Later on, they built a product and ended up using that domain.
let me drop the mic.
customers pay for the product not for the name (Unless you are Apple, but no, you are not, at least not today)
deliver the product harvest hard cash and buy any domain name you want.
idea = 1%
delivery = 99%
kiss kiss boom boom
@moldovan You may be right, but the name also plays an important role in the project.
People choose books by their covers.
In stores, people buy products with their eyes.
No matter how delicious a chocolate bar is, if it's called Sakharoladon, who will buy it?
And so on.
The name should be easy and memorable. So that you can type the website into the address bar of your browser from memory, rather than Googling it.
@ideaxton Before you post to anything to any store you need to show to friendly customers to test ❤️ they will even give you feedback about the brand. something you use as a lamp shade in your country could be a fruit bowl in an other culture. brands are changing so the products. better to have fundaments
@ideaxton @moldovan hmmm a fruit bowl lamp shade, or was that a lamp shade fruit bowl, lols. Either one, I agree with you Csaba, delivery is more important!
I always build the product first — for a few key reasons:
The product often evolves during development. Buying the domain too early locks you into a name that might no longer fit.
Sometimes the client changes their mind or pivots completely after payment or feedback — wasting the domain cost.
It's better to validate the core idea and get user feedback before committing to branding and domain.
Once the product works and shows potential, finding a domain becomes much easier (and more strategic).
MVP first. Domain later.
Genstore.ai
@youssef_kacem Totally agree with first point. Unless u clearly figure out the vision of the new product at start. Evolution always happens.
@mickeyqiu Exactly thanks for the reply !
Real Favicon Generator
Buy the domain, get that dopamine hit. Just don't spend too much time on it. Pro tip: do a quick USPTO search to make sure the name isn't trademarked.
Product Hunt
@ryan_dean See, I buy the domaine, get dopamine hit, forget about building, get a renewal notice a year later
@aaronoleary you figured out a subscription-based dopamine model lol
Dereference
@ryan_dean Love that tip! Do you think doing a trademark search upfront should be standard for every founder, or only when you're serious about scaling the brand?
@adi_singh5 I think it doesn't hurt to do a quick search on USPTO before buying a domain since it's free, but to do a comprehensive one with a trademark attorney when serious about scaling the brand. I've seen many first-time founders get attached to a name because the domain is available, just to realize it is already trademarked and unavailable in their industry.
We had a cheap work in progress domain while we had most of the product built and then continued the (protracted and frustrating) process of negotiating for the domain we wanted. We started with www.health-studio.ai versus the current www.healthstudio.com we acquired months later. We redirected the old site once we had the new domain
@hunter_barry yup, I think domain redirections solve a lot of worry later! Nice insight Hunter!
We usually have the concept of the product and build the initial prototype before we buy the domain of the website (less than $20). If the domain wasn't available, we play with the replacement names until we find one that is available. Untimately the product itself is more important than the domain name. :D
@sheauwoei Yes, I so agree Sheau, we can always play with replacement names, but product comes first!