# A custom domain using Azure DNS

## An ugly domain

The default assigned website domain (<https://msa-tai.azurewebsites.net/>) when created using Azure is really ugly. It basically screams "I MADE THIS ON AZURE IN 5 MINUTES" and doesn't give any context beyond that. There's no personality, no class.

So to I feel that I should "**address"** the first point of contact, the **url address**. This means I need to come up with a url that conveys more meaning since this is a big part of developing the brand. A simple url is desireable and invaluable (also expensive like facebook's domain is probably worth thousands).

## The importance of good branding

To emphasise this point of having a good consistent branding, if we simply look up the keywords 'msa sydney' whilst filtering for Australian search results, we can see that the Microsoft Student Accelerator is nowhere to be found.

![Search results from googling 'msa sydney'](https://681604449-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-M7jTbah9cZ_Vj6Y5Rjj%2F-MBga7eFRLh5hta6ZKJ4%2F-MBggcTr_4IvXYEYRqK8%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=a4adc31c-d30f-4d0f-8f3c-0c58d792e3aa)

Although this can be attributed to 'msa' just being a fairly common and generic acronym, SEO can help bring whatever you want to the front page. So I think if there was a push towards doing so, the results that come up can be changed. If we look at the results for 'microsoft student accelerator' even, some of the first thing that pops up is the YouTube and Facebook, however the next two aren't relevant at all. So there's definitely an opportunity to bring my website up to any of those front page positions with the appropriate strategy in place.

![Search results for 'microsoft student accelerator'](https://681604449-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-M7jTbah9cZ_Vj6Y5Rjj%2F-MBga7eFRLh5hta6ZKJ4%2F-MBghYwggErXfBc4GkEm%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=33e95832-53f7-4995-a9e8-10bc3a4415a4)

## NZ MSA Website

So I found the new domain for the New Zealand MSA program. Looks like they've officially rebranded to be NZMSA since the MSA program has expanded to Australia. Their url is alright, but again it shows **netlify.app** which is not only hard to remember, but also quite unappealing (no disrespect tho).

{% embed url="<https://nzmsa.netlify.app/XPChallenge>" %}

So I think going along that theme would be good. Having a website that's more *localised* for Australian students perhaps would be ideal. I was originally thinking <https://www.msa.com.au/>, but that's already taken of course...

## Domain Name Ideas

I want something that has potential to expand if possible and still conveys the name of the program: Microsoft Student Accelerator. So it needs those words in effect, and potentially limited to Australia.

| Idea                                              | Available? | Verdict                                      |
| ------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| [https://aka.ms/msa](http://aka.ms/msa)           | No         | Directs to Microsoft's Service Agreement     |
| <https://msaccelerator.com>                       | No         | Redirects to Microsoft's venture fund        |
| **<https://microsoft-accelerator.com/>**          | **Yes**    | **It's alright.. not a huge fan of hyphens** |
| **<https://sydmsa.com/>**                         | **Yes**    | **Might be too restricted (to Sydney)**      |
| <https://microsoftau.com>                         | No         | Directs to Microsoft's website               |
| [https://msaprogram.com](https://msaprogram.com/) | No         | Directs to a rental service                  |
