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The Daily Insight

Can you have a hyphen in a domain name?

Author

Sarah Cherry

Updated on March 05, 2026

Hyphens are allowed in domain names themselves, as well as subdomains and subfolders. domain.domain-name.com/sub-folder-1/ is a perfectly valid URL. Underscores are not allowed in domain names, but are allowed in subfolders. You can often see URLs like that work just fine.

Accordingly, can you have a hyphen in a URL?

Using a Dash or an Underscore in Urls: What You Need to Know

No, it's not possible for you to do so. Using a hyphen in your URLs is recommended by Google, because it makes your website easy to read for humans. As an end result, this means that your site will place better on search engines.

One may also ask, is it bad to have numbers in your domain name? Your domain needs to be one word or one set of words. No hyphens and no numbers. It's hard to verbally communicate a domain name that has a space or a number. When someone hears one of these domains it's hard to know if a hyphen is required and if the numbers are written out as words or are numeric.

In this way, do hyphens affect keywords?

Yes, a hyphen can (and does in practice) result in different results. The reason is that Google is trying to identify the intent of your search, instead of simply returning a result of pages that matched the search term you entered.

What is the difference between a dash and a hyphen?

A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side.

Related Question Answers

Can I use a hyphen in an email address?

Email service provider (ESP) - based on RFC standards, email addresses can technically have hyphens and other special characters in the local part. Gmail and Yahoo! are two examples of popular providers that prevent users from including hyphens in their email addresses.

Does the hyphen thing work?

Many people have found that after saying the fifth "hyphen," their phone's iOs immediately "crashes" and either restarts their phone completely or closes their current screen and brings them back to their home one. So if you do, don't worry - your phone will be exactly as it was before you said "hyphen" five times.

What is a URL mean?

Uniform Resource Locator

Can you use dashes in filenames?

Key Point: Use all-lowercase, and separate words with hyphens. Make file and directory names lowercase. In general, separate words with hyphens, not underscores.

What does a hyphen look like?

Alternatively known as a dash, subtract, negative, or minus sign, the hyphen ( - ) is a punctuation mark on the underscore key next to the "0" key on US keyboards. Pictured is an example of the hyphen and underscore key on top of the keyboard. Keyboard help and support.

Is the address of your site?

A website address, also known as a URL (uniform resource locator), is an Internet or intranet name that points to to a location where a file, directory or website page is hosted.

What do I do if my domain name is taken?

What to Do If the Domain Name You Want Is Taken
  1. Use . net, .
  2. Change the Name Slightly. A domain name is reported as not available only if the exact name is already taken.
  3. Buy the Name. Domain names are bought, sold and auctioned like any other property.
  4. Assert Your Rights If You Already Own the Trademark.

Are hyphens in URLs bad?

They're the standard way of separating words in a URL. That's why Google states that people should avoid using underscores or spaces in their URLs. Instead, they recommend hyphens. That's because long URLs confuse Google and other search engines.

Do .com domains rank higher?

In other words, .com domains do not rank higher in search due to their TLD. However, they might indirectly rank higher due to Google's preference for aged brands. An aged brand is a website or company with a long track record of quality content, frequent updates, and technical uptime.

What does the hyphen do?

The hyphen - is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. Non-hyphenated is an example of a hyphenated word.

Is a domain number?

The domain of a function is the set of all possible inputs for the function. For example, the domain of f(x)=x² is all real numbers, and the domain of g(x)=1/x is all real numbers except for x=0. We can also define special functions whose domains are more limited.

How many letters should a domain name be?

Aim for 6-14 characters – and remember the shorter, the better. Most likely the shorter domain names are taken a LONG time ago and sold for thousands of dollars. If you can't find something short, make it brandable.

How important is a good domain name?

A strong domain name:

Adds professional credibility to your business and separates you from the millions of get-rich-quick-scheme websites out there. Provides visibility for your brand. Much like a storefront window, a good domain will create awareness and attract customers.

Is underscore allowed in domain name?

Underscore characters are not permitted in domain names in accordance with RFC 1035, which only allows letters, digits and hyphens. As such, you cannot register a domain name with an underscore character.

How are domain names similar to phone numbers?

First off, just like a phone number has an area code that tells you about location, a domain name's TLD – that part after the dot – does the same. Just like it makes it easy when you provide people with a local phone number, having a “local” TLD can work the same way.

What is a domain and range?

Because the domain refers to the set of possible input values, the domain of a graph consists of all the input values shown on the x-axis. The range is the set of possible output values, which are shown on the y-axis.

What controller comes first when there is a new domain?

A primary DC is the first-line domain controller that handles user-authentication requests. Only one primary DC can be designated. According to security and reliability best practices, the server housing the primary DC should be solely dedicated to domain services.

Where do I buy a domain name?

Anyone can buy a domain name. To do so, you visit a domain name registrar, such as A2, GoDaddy, or Namecheap, key in the domain you want to buy, and pay a fee. You can't buy just any domain, of course—only one that isn't already registered by another person or business and that bears a valid domain suffix.