Is Z tacky?

[netguy33]

Hey,

I am trying to come up with a domain name for a new website and ive found a half decent domain name but in the domain where an S should be it has a Z, for example: summarize.com.

I know your supposed to choose a domain that is spelt how it sounds and by using a Z instead of an S im really not following that domain "rule" so to speak.

I would appreciate you opinion on the matter as it may help me choose a domain.

 

[Khristopher]

Hey NetGuy,

Speaking from my own experiences, a "Z" instead of an "S" can cause confusion. One exception though is when you find a good brandable domain, something that when people visualize it - they see your name with a "Z." I've used "z" on some domains before like my current project www.DNFlipz.com. I would of course love to hear other's opinions on this subject, but my personal feelings towards it would be to avoid the "Z" unless it is a brandable or memorable name. Also, don't forget that there is a market for typo domains, and the "Z" on my keyboard is pretty close to the "S." I hope this help!

Cheers.

 

[Shasta]

Hey,

I am trying to come up with a domain name for a new website and ive found a half decent domain name but in the domain where an S should be it has a Z, for example: summarize.com.

I know your supposed to choose a domain that is spelt how it sounds and by using a Z instead of an S im really not following that domain "rule" so to speak.

I would appreciate you opinion on the matter as it may help me choose a domain.

If you did go with a Z, I'd market it in a way to accentuate the Z so that people remember it's a Z and not an s when they type your name (also it will show people that you do know how to spell summarise/summarize, but just wanted to be different.)

SummariZe.com - Z Best Values for your Money!

 

[netguy33]

If you did go with a Z, I'd market it in a way to accentuate the Z so that people remember it's a Z and not an s when they type your name (also it will show people that you do know how to spell summarise, but just wanted to be different.)

SummariZe.com - Z Best Values for your Money!

That is beyond cheesy, but a very good tip.

 

[NameSugar]

Bad example...

I am trying to come up with a domain name for a new website and ive found a half decent domain name but in the domain where an S should be it has a Z, for example: summarize.com.

I know what you're saying but this is a bad example.

Summarize is the more common spelling. Both are considered correct.

Results 1 - 10 of about 3,020,000 for summarise. (0.10 seconds)
Results 1 - 10 of about 20,500,000 for summarize [definition]. (0.11 seconds)

American vs. British Spellings

You're talking about wordz that should have "s" only and using "z" as a replacement. It is not the best practice. If you have to explain yourself, it's not a great domain.

That didn't stop me from grabbing wordsz.com though...

The above topic is one that domainers should be aware of. We Americans tend to think of ourselves only when regging and a lot of the world does things differently. For example, most Europeans and Asians wouldn't know what a "cell" phone is. To them it's a mobile...or so I've heard.

 

[Shasta]

....You're talking about wordz that should have "s" only and using "z" as a replacement. It is not the best practice. If you have to explain yourself, it's not a great domain.........We Americans tend to think of ourselves only when regging and a lot of the world does things differently. For example, most Europeans and Asians wouldn't know what a "cell" phone is. To them it's a mobile...or so I've heard.

I agree, further, if you feel uncomfortable with the Z and you think it isn't spelled right, many of your customer's will also feel the same.

Update: LOL - When you stated that summarize was spelled incorrectly, I agreed with you. Thus, I think that some of your customer's might be confused as well.

 

[AstoundingDesigns]

Z = horrible. No good. Sorry.

 

[netguy33]

Im from the UK, but i watch enough american TV shows to know what a cell is, but yes its called a mobile over here.

You also do see Z used where S could be in words in america however you would never see such a thing in the proper british version of the english language :D


Also another problem, is it just as bad to use K instead of C. I mean you have kanoodle, but if someone asked you to spell that you would probably use a C if you didnt know about the website.

 

[NameSugar]

You also do see Z used where S could be in words in america however you would never see such a thing in the proper british version of the english language :D

:hehe: You took my bait...

...often incorrectly regarded as an Americanism, despite being preferred by some authoritative British sources, including Fowler's Modern English Usage and the Oxford English Dictionary, which until recently did not list the -ise form of many individual words, even as an alternative. Indeed, the OED firmly deprecates this usage, stating, "[T]he suffix…, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr[eek] -ιζειν, L[atin] -izāre; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling in -iser should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic."[40] Noah Webster rejected -ise for the same reasons.

Americans, still waiting for the Brits to learn English...

I mean you have kanoodle, but if someone asked you to spell that you would probably use a C if you didnt know about the website.

I have no idea what a kanoodle is...

 

[netguy33]

:hehe: You took my bait...

...often incorrectly regarded as an Americanism, despite being preferred by some authoritative British sources, including Fowler's Modern English Usage and the Oxford English Dictionary, which until recently did not list the -ise form of many individual words, even as an alternative. Indeed, the OED firmly deprecates this usage, stating, "[T]he suffix…, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr[eek] -ιζειν, L[atin] -izāre; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling in -iser should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic."[40] Noah Webster rejected -ise for the same reasons.

Americans, still waiting for the Brits to learn English...

I have no idea what a kanoodle is...

Yes it seems i did, i appreciate you enlightening me on the whole S Z matter.

Kanoodle is just a web 2 type domain name, i was just relating to the C K problem which is related to the S Z problem.

 

[Jakey]

I definitely wouldn't register a name that a Z replaces an S. I try and be as professional as possible.

 

[NameSugar]

Yes it seems i did, i appreciate you enlightening me on the whole S Z matter.

A bit off topic perhaps but I couldn't resist.

I know there's plenty of true Americanisms that must drive our brothers across the pond nuts.
Here's a few of my pet peevs:

• It's regardless, not irregardless.
• I couldn't care less. If I could care less, I would care.
• For all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes.

Kanoodle is just a web 2 type domain name, i was just relating to the C K problem which is related to the S Z problem.

I didn't know about Kanoodle. Looks cool.

Ironically, the spellchecker on my mac suggested "canoodle" when I copied the text!
Darn American flavoured spell chequers...

 

[netguy33]

hahaha chequers! nice touch.

 

[HWW]

Being English born the "z" spelling even when correct irritates me so a z when it is not correct really rubs me up the wrong way. Just my personal gripe
I do think it looks tacky too but the issues pointed out to you about confusing people is more relevant from a business perspective. I'd hate to spend time developing and marketing carZ.com only to find all my business was going to carS.com in error. I personally would only consider a Z in place of an S if I were very desperate - but if you look at how many "z" domains have been regged LOTS of people obviously disagree with me lol

 

[VURG]

A lot of big brands use it. It has its place. Carz.com is cool! It would be a lot cheaper than Cars.com to aquire and very easy to brand.

 

[raredn.com]

I have zipn.com, zeio.com, zigh.com and rymez.com all of which I think very cool. I like 'z' a lot when 'z' makes sense or when 'z' add's cool factor

 

[Ronald Regging]

I own the domain Hoodiez.com. I actually have an awesome design done by Hive, I've just been putting off actually putting the site up and doing the rest of the stuff I need to do with it. Real life, you know how that goes.

But generally speaking, I think it offers a terrific brand for selling hoodies. Sure, it won't have natural type-in, and it could cause confusion a bit. But for my target audience, the whole z instead of an s deal isn't so hard to swallow. It might actually help to some extent. Obviously I can't afford to purchase a domain like Hoodies.com, so I went with the next best thing IMO. Plus I picked it up for next to nothing, so you can't beat that.

I think that in some cases it can work well, especially if you don't have a ton of money to start out with. You get something catchy and you work with what you have. If you start making tons of money then you buy out the proper spelling as fast as you possibly can so you can redirect that traffic to your main brand.

But yeah, you have to be able to clearly see the brand and then make others see it too. Thats my advice.

 

[netguy33]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I think Z is much less of a problem when its at the front as when pronounced it wont sound like an S.

Hoodiez is a great name, good luck with that.

 

[Ronald Regging]

Hoodiez is a great name, good luck with that.

Thank you, that is much appreciated. I just need to stop being lazy and get around to developing it.

 

[netguy33]

I think it would be possible to have it as a fully fledged hoody brand rather than just a domain name.

Maybe you should look into doing something a bit like www.spreadshirt.com and allow designers to provide your store for you, although i would specify designs had to be top quality (people could vote on them) that way you dont end up with alot of the crap stuff found on www.cafepress.com.

If you need help with the project i am a programmer, im sure we could work something out :D