IMPORTANCE OF DOMAIN OWNERSHIP
When planning a new website, many business owners focus on website design, content and features but overlook an important question: Who should buy and control the domain name and web hosting account? This decision can affect your control over the website, especially if you later change your web designer, developer or hosting company.
SHOULD I BUY & OWN DOMAIN MYSELF?
Yes, you must buy your domain name yourself to ensure it is registered in your name or in the organization’s formal identity.
One must understand, domain name is a valuable digital asset. It represents the respective business or organization’s identity. For example, if your website is mybusiness.com, you should ideally be the registered owner and have access to the domain registrar account.
A web designer can certainly help you choose a domain name, check its availability and guide you through the registration process. But, the domain registrar account must be created using your email address and contact details.
If a web designer buys the domain on your behalf but registers it under their own account, you may face difficulties later if you decide to work with another designer, or if you wish to change the registrar. Most importantly, you are denied of ownership of your domain, which you rightfully entitled to.
So, the best practice is – buy the domain yourself and provide your web designer with the technical access they need to make the website go live.
WHO SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO MY DOMAIN & HOSTING?
The business owner must always have primary access and control over both the domain registrar and web hosting accounts. It is true that the web designer or developer would need access to Domain DNS settings, Web hosting control panel, FTP or file manager, Database, WordPress administrator area, if designed in WordPress. However, this does not mean that the website owner should permanently lose control of the accounts.
Ideally, the domain and hosting accounts should be registered using your email address. You can then provide your web designer with separate login credentials or temporary access where possible. This arrangement makes it easier to change your website designer, web developer or hosting provider without losing control of your domain.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MY DOMAIN REGISTRAR SHUTS DOWN?
Yes, this is something that may haunt every website owner. But, don’t worry – a domain registrar shutting down does not normally mean that you automatically lose your domain name.
Domain registrations are generally managed through domain registry systems, while registrars act as authorised companies that provide registration and account management services. If a registrar ceases operations or loses its accreditation, arrangements are generally made for domain registrations to be transferred to another registrar.
However, it is important to keep your registrant email address and contact information updated. Otherwise, it would become difficult for you to reclaim the domain. You should also ensure that you know where your domain is registered and can access the registrar account.
HOW TO CHANGE WEBSITE HOSTING COMPANY?
Moving a website to another hosting company is known as a website migration or hosting migration. A professional web developer should also ensure that the website is tested on the new server before the DNS changes are completed.
The website files, database, emails and other necessary data are copied from the old hosting server to the new host’s server. Once the new hosting account is ready, the domain’s DNS settings or nameservers are updated to point visitors to the new destination.
Importantly, changing your web hosting company does not mean changing your domain name. It is just like porting your mobile number from one service provider to another, whereby visitors would find you at the same website address.
OUR ADVICE
In today’s digital world, domain name and hosting account are important business assets. Thus, a web designer can manage the technical work, but you must retain ownership and primary control over these digital tools.
The safest arrangement is – the business management owns the domain, the client controls the hosting account, and the web designer receives the access necessary to build and maintain the website. This gives you the freedom to change designers, developers or hosting companies without unnecessarily risking control over your online presence.