>Would VARCHAR(256) be better? Or, what size VARCHAR()?
>
>>Don't know if this will help, but I wouldn't recommend using VARCHAR(MAX) unless there's a chance the string length will exceed 8,000 bytes
>>
>>Also, while it might not be relevant for your situation, you can't using a VARCHAR(MAX) column as part of an index key.
>>
>>varchar(max) can introduce (small) performance overhead. I'd only recommend if it there's a compelling need to do so.

My two cents (and opinions will vary on this)....take a look at your existing data, maybe see what the maximum existing length is, and then maybe bump depending on the odds that it will get bigger.