Do You Own Your Own Domain Name?

Registering for a domain name is an easy procedure: Pick your name, and register for it at a domain registrar. You then pay for everything and begin the adventure of building a website. Perhaps registration is too easy; because many businesses have their websites registered incorrectly, and may not realize it until years later.

Website registration problems for businesses primarily stem from outsourcing issues. Most companies are too busy to learn the ins and outs of building a website from scratch, but they understand the necessity of having an internet presence. It makes sense to hire a web designer, to crank out a website. Your business gets a new website and can stay focused on the day-to-day operations, your sales will increase from being more connected, and the web designer profits as well, everybody wins!

But if the website production is rushed, and shortcuts are taken in communication, then even something as simple as domain registration can be botched. We see this registration mistake happen when a web designer is the one responsible for registering, and they register the domain under their name, not the name of your business. The motive for doing this is usually to speed up the project. If the designer is filling out the registration form, then it will be quicker to fill in their own information instead of trying to get you on the horn; and as we all know, when a project has a deadline, phone tag can be a pretty annoying game.

This registration issue will not surface the day of your website's launch. When your website is completed, you will be too enamored with drop down menus and rotating graphics to even begin to think about who administers your domain. You are happy with your new website, so you pay the designer and they are out of your life. But eventually, your website will need to be tweaked, or maybe it will need a complete overhaul, and there is always the ticking time bomb of your website's registration needing to be renewed.

If your website is registered in the original web designer's name, then you will need to track this person down to make any significant changes. This can be a time consuming task, as well as an awkward conversation to have, especially if you have found a different company to make the needed changes. Worst case scenario, the original web designer has gone out of business, and contacting these jokers will be next to impossible.

Communication is the key when you are working with a web designer. Let them know upfront that you want your website registered in your name, or in the name of your business. When in doubt, ask the designer to send you the registration information, and ask them to point out to you where it shows that you are the administrative contact. Be sure your email address is the one the hosting service has listed as the primary contact. Remember, just because your business name is on the top of the webpage, does not necessarily mean that you control the domain.

Your website is vitally important to your business; it has been referred to as the new front door of your company. Do not go with some fly-by-night web designer to handle such a visible responsibility. If you are unsure if your site is registered correctly, then call Computerware at (703) 821-8200, we will be happy to check for you so you can be sure you have full control over your domain.