If you are the kind of developer who ships side projects regularly -- and I know you are, because you are reading a domain discovery tool's blog -- then you have probably accumulated a pile of domains. Some are attached to projects you are proud of. Some are attached to projects that never quite launched. And some are just names you bought because they were cool and you figured you would think of something later.

I have been there. Here is the system I have landed on after years of domain hoarding.

The 30-Day Rule

When I get a project idea, I do not buy the domain immediately. I write the name down and give myself 30 days. If I am still excited about the project (and ideally have some code written) after 30 days, I buy the domain. This single rule has saved me hundreds of dollars a year in impulse domain purchases.

The exception: if the domain is genuinely remarkable (short, dictionary word, perfect .com), buy it immediately. Remarkable domains get scooped. But "cleverprefixSuffix.io" will still be available in a month.

Tiered Domain Investment

Not all side projects deserve the same domain investment. I use three tiers:

Tier 1 - Experiments: Use a subdomain of a domain you already own, or grab a cheap .xyz for $1. The project might die in a week. Do not spend $50 on a .io for something that might never see a second commit.

Tier 2 - Serious side projects: Worth a proper domain. Spend $10-30 on a .com, .dev, or .co. These are projects you are going to promote, get users for, and maintain for at least a few months.

Tier 3 - Potential businesses: If a side project starts getting traction, then invest in the .com (even if it costs more), defensive registrations, and matching social handles. But wait until you have evidence of traction -- do not preemptively buy five TLDs for a project with zero users.

The Renewal Audit

Every January, I go through my domain list and ask one question for each: "If this domain expired today, would I buy it again at full price?" If the answer is no, I let it go. This is harder than it sounds because of the sunk cost fallacy ("but I already paid for it for three years!"), but it is the only way to keep your renewal bills from spiraling.

Set a calendar reminder. I use the first weekend of January. It takes about 30 minutes and usually saves me $100-200 for the year.

Consolidate Your Registrar

I used to have domains scattered across GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains (RIP), Porkbun, and Cloudflare. Managing renewals across five different dashboards is a nightmare. I have since consolidated everything to two registrars: Cloudflare for domains where I am using their DNS and CDN anyway, and Porkbun for everything else (their pricing is consistently honest -- no bait-and-switch on renewals).

The "Portfolio Domain" Approach

One strategy I have started using: register one solid umbrella domain and use subdomains for related projects. Instead of buying projectone.dev, projecttwo.dev, and projectthree.dev, I bought a single domain and use project1.mydomain.dev, project2.mydomain.dev, etc. The subdomains are free and DNS is instant.

This does not work if the projects are unrelated or if you want them to feel independent, but for a portfolio of experiments under your personal brand, it is the most cost-effective approach.

Quick Decision Framework

When I find a domain I like, I run through this checklist in under 60 seconds:

If I get 4 out of 5, I buy it. Less than that, I save it in a note and revisit later. The Quick Scan tool can help generate and score candidates if you are still in the brainstorming phase.