by Marita Hines, Artspell Web Solutions

Do you have access and control of your domain name? (May 20, 2011)

One of the most often overlooked company assets is the “domain name”. The domain name represents your website presence, the location you type in the browser—www.your-domain-name.com. Its value seems unimportant compared to greater expenses such as hosting and site maintenance.

Don't Learn the Hard Way

It’s surprisingly easy for companies to overlook such a small—but important—detail. The initial purchase of hosting services or a do-it-yourself website frequently includes an automatic purchase of the domain name. This automatic purchase requires no extra step for the consumer and is given little thought. Yet, by giving little thought to this single detail, your company could allow the control and transfer of your domain name to be in the hands of strangers. Imagine coasting along with your website, building traffic and sales as the years pass. Your hosting company remains ever so responsive to your needs and inquiries. Then disaster strikes. That service provider sells their business to a less-than- responsive company or some disaster strikes them and they are not staffed to take care of the increase in service tickets. Your website goes down for days; your emails and phone calls to the hosting company are ignored. Out of sheer frustration, you decide to transfer your website to a better provider. This is when you find out that the non-responsive hosting company is the registrant and administrator on YOUR account! A web-savvy friend looks up the “who-is” information for your domain and tells you that the hosting provider uses a third-party domain registrar. So, you contact the registrar directly. “We’re sorry, we can’t help you!” is their only response to your unfortunate dilemma. “The website is not registered in your company name.” They suggest that you contact the company from whom you purchased this service. So, you send another email to that hosting company to get access to your account, and you know where this story is going...

What You Need to Know

The loss of the domain name can represent a loss in countless years of promotional and marketing efforts, online sales, and reputation. If you are unaware of the details of your domain name, check one of the many who-is lookups online. Your company should be the registrant and administrator and the email address should be active and belong to you or someone trusted. The technical contact is fairly unimportant and has no special rights. Gain access to your domain account and ensure that the “transfer” function is locked.

Be Smart and in Control of Your Domain Name

Treat this small—but important—asset with the importance that it deserves. Keep the login and password to your account in a safe place. Be smart and in control of your domain name.