So, you’ve decided to start your own website?
Great!
You’ve been online to register your domain name, or you have used a local web development company to handle it all for you, but will you actually end up owning (with full control over what happens with) ‘your’ domain?
Unfortunately, and quite worryingly, the answer to this simple question is quite often no.
The internet is littered with stories of companies who have fallen into that trap. Less reputable domain sellers have been known to transfer legal ownership of domains registered on behalf of their clients into their own name, maintaining registrar access for themselves and blocking their clients from control over its use.
This can lead to situations where a company can unknowingly continue using domain names they never actually had any legal ownership of, or control over. In many cases, this causes no issues. The registrant will simply continue to bill you your £X annual fee for use of the domain and the use of your domain goes unchallenged. In some cases however, lacking the necessary domain registrar access will result in companies being held to ransom by the actual owner of the domain further down the line and/or being charged hefty ‘release’ fees to continue with its use.
Domain name registration can be a minefield, but there are a number of simple steps you can take to protect yourself, and your business from encountering issues:
Make sure you use the details of your company when registering for your new domain
You will be asked to provide details of an email account you will always have access to. This is crucial in allowing you to control the setup of your domain name in the future.
If you are using a local web developer to do this for you, make sure they use your details and transfer the domain to an account that is exclusively for your use
Once this is done, change your password.
Make sure your payment details remain up-to-date
You will be required to pay an annual fee to maintain ownership of your domain. Failure to renew your registration will result in your domain being placed back onto the open market where it can easily be snapped up by someone else.
Reasserting your control over your domain is possible, however the process can be complex. If your relationship with the owner of the domain is amicable, it may be possible to simply transfer the ownership rights across after reaching mutual consent. This will usually cost a ‘registrant transfer fee’ of around £10 and will require the domain to be ‘unlocked’ for a short period before the transfer can take place.
If your relationship with the owner of your domain becomes damaged however, this process becomes very tricky - and in worst case scenario may result in having to change your website’s domain altogether.
Imagine how damaging this could be to a company who has worked so hard to establish a reputation built upon that web identity which has to be forfeited.
There are a number of free online sources for further information regarding domain registration, such as whois.is and icann.org - but the best way to protect yourself, and your business, is to come to us.
At Measured Brilliance, we fully protect you and your business from day one, transferring all ownership over to you once your project is complete.