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If you are putting together an MVP in the form of say a ppt presentation hosted at slidshare and then embedding it on a basic webpage, would you use a disposable domain, by disposable i mean still a purchased domain (not a freebie) or would you use a domain that you intend to be the actual startup domain used for the long term.?

Partly my reason for asking is that we all understand the reason for building a minimum viable product, and since an initial hypotheses might turn into something quite different im thinking about how a domain might become/sound less relevant as you work through the customer discovery step of customer development.

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Does it really matter? Can't you just get another domain later? – TimJ♦ Dec 28 '11 at 15:19
Im taking into consideration the possible time spent on choosing the domain intended to be used. – user14718 Dec 28 '11 at 15:37

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Personally I like the idea of having a "real" domain with a landing page as early as possible. The landing page can be simple and should perhaps include a link to signup to be notified when the beta becomes available. This helps you gather a list of potential customers, which is a good thing.

As for exposing to the world a PPT presentation or even a working, and possible buggy and incomplete, alpha stage prototype I would not want to do so. Put such items behind a password protected link so that your partners can get at it but search engines like Google will not.

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On the domain, but protected. – MikeNereson Dec 28 '11 at 15:15
I dont actually want to hide the MVP though, especially if its just in the form of a slideshare presentation. – user14718 Dec 28 '11 at 15:40
I agree with Jonny. Set up a landing page, password protect it, show it to a handful of friends/family (they will likely see a small think you will want to change) and then if you want to open it up, do so. However, I would also not open up an alpha stage prototype. At a minimum set the no follow because when you come out with something you want more people to see; you won't want Google presenting both in a search. – Kelly Cooper Dec 28 '11 at 17:05

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