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

Posted In: Branding Tips.

Tags: Web Presence

There are a lot of ways to get online quickly and inexpensively these days. But you are doing yourself and your business a disservice if you do not own a custom domain name. Does your blog or website address look like any of these? myname.wordpress.com mycompany.blogspot.com johnsmith.squarespace.com For $10/year you can own a custom domain name. nyname.com mycompany.com Doesn't that sound better? Plus you can get email at that domain name now. Using an email like info@mydomain.com sounds so much more professional than myname@yahoo.com or mycoolnickname@aol.com. Don't laugh. I still see people using AOL email addresses. Whether it is your personal blog or your company, spend $10 on a domain name and increase your brand recognition and the impression people will have when they visit your site or send you an email. Some places to buy a domain name: NameCheap.com Dotster.com eNom.com Register.com

Posted In: Branding Tips.

Tags: domain names, Web Presence