There is nothing that defines your web presence and online brand more than your domain name. You NEED to own it.
The Good
When you own your own domain name, you can leave anytime. You can go to a new designer, a new company. You can use another email system.
You can login to your domain registrar account and in a matter of minutes do whatever you need to do with it.
More than anything… you will own your name, your brand, the center of your online presence.
If you “bought” your domain name through your web design company and you don’t know how to access or transfer it without asking their customer support, you don’t own your domain. You are merely renting.
At the first chance possible, you should transfer your domain to an account outside of the site itself so that you can own it.
The Bad & The Ugly
I have had way too many new clients tell me horror stories about trying to get a domain name back because they originally bought it through their last web designer.
Sometimes it is just poor communication skills, occasionally the designer is no longer in business, sometimes it is just lack of motivation because the web designer or company has to put forth effort to LOSE a client.
Once in a while, it is even downright malicious, unprofessional behavior when someone decides they will hold a domain name hostage. No matter the reason, this is wrong.
But you can avoid all of these things if you just purchase your domain name outside of the place you hire to design and build your website.
Where to buy domain names
We recommend a few companies that we have good experiences with:
Share your domain name Experiences:
Have any good domain registrars to recommend? Bad ones to avoid? Web company horror stories? Please share by leaving a comment…
What should we look for in a company that sells domains? What makes one better than the other?
There are a few things you might look for…
1) price. Some charge as much as $35/year, others $9
2) Do they offer full DNS control? Ability to setup “A Records”, “MX Records”, etc.
3) Some will offer email addresses, so compare that. Do you get 1, more? Do you get any storage space? Do you get IMAP access or just POP, or possibly neither? IMAP is ideal, POP is okay. But if they have neither and you need to log into a webmail client, it means you cannot check the email from your computer.
4) Reputation and support. This one is tricky but do a few google searches. Usually if someone has complained about a company it is out there somewhere. Ask friends if they have good recommendations.
A couple that I mention all the time…
NameCheap… Probably the best mix of price, service and features. They will cost around $10 and provide all the DNS tools you need.
GoDaddy… Usually the most obvious and the cheapest. They will get on the phone with you to help with domain settings. But they are really terrible for anything more than domains. DO NOT get a hosting account with them – really hard to work with. But if you are just doing domain names? Totally fine. They offer some cheap email solutions too.
Dotster… a little pricy but awesome support. They have talked me through stuff all the time. So if you are new to this and want a little hand holding it is worth the extra few dollars.
……..When you need to choose a domain name for your there are some important rules that if followed will ensure that you get the right domain name. Choosing the right domain name is very important because this is your website and business brand.
I’d like to suggest Namecheap as a great domain registar.
I would just like to add that this is not the case with all web designers. I run my own boutique agency (www.ulkawebdesign.co.uk) and we register domains on behalf of our clients for free when the have their website designed by us. It is always registered in the clients name and if at any point they wish to leave they are completely free to take their domain name with them…after all if they didn’t want a website then we wouldn’t have registered the domain in the first instance!
Hey Ryan,
What you are describing is fine. You put it in their name and if they can have access to it and walk away at any point that’s all you want. You’re basically reselling the domain. The problem is designers who buy the domain for the client, don’t set it up so clients have access, then hold it hostage when clients want to leave. You can even give them the benefit of the doubt and say maybe they were just slow in getting to it, not purposely holding it hostage. But neither is right. Everyone should truly own their domain and have full access to manage it and leave at any time.