Fasthosts' "SME Domain Choices Study" found that the average UK business spent between six to 12 hours on choosing a domain name. More than 60 percent of business owners didn't seek a second opinion, 52 percent didn't consider options outside of .co.uk and only 10 percent of businesses considered the long term effect of the Web address wording on their business image.

Considering the little amount of time many businesses spent on selecting their domain names, Fasthosts says it's not a surprise that one of four businesses wanted improvements in either their domain name wording or URL suffix and 33 percent believed that their sales revenue would improve as a direct result of a change in Web address. Fasthosts says that businesses should spend at least a few days thinking about their domain name wording and weighing the pros and cons of the various suffixes available to them.

"Businesses should consider all available options before purchasing their primary domain name," says Mark Jeffries, chief technology officer at Fasthosts. "It's often the case today that the best available domains belong to less obvious suffixes and it is always advisable to seek external opinion on what a domain could suggest about your business. Every UK business must recognize the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image, and business owners shouldn't delay making necessary changes."

Last month, Fasthosts encountered an error in an update to its mail server, permanently deleting some of its customers' emails.