In all my years designing websites for CPA’s one of the most infuriating problems I have is when a new client comes to me with an existing website ready to take the next step and we find out that he doesn’t even own the domain name he’s been using for years!

Don’t be taken in by this scam. Many web hosts will offer to reserve the domain name for you, then turn around and reserve the domain in their own name in an account that you can’t access. And don’t think that dealing with a large company is any protection! My biggest competitor does this, and they actually charge people a $50 fee when they leave if they want to take the domain name with them!

When allowing a host to purchase your domain name ask them some screening questions:

• Will the domain be registered in my name?
• Will I be listed as the “Administrative Contact”?
• Will the domain be reserved in a retail account in my name with a control panel that I can access?
• Can I lock you out of that control panel if I choose to?
• Can I continue to manage my domain through this control panel even if I decide to stop hosting through you?

If the answer to ANY of these questions is “No” politely inform the representative you are speaking with that you will reserve the domain yourself.

It is easy to register your own domain and it will guarantee that you can keep control of your address even when you change website providers. Registering a URL is easy and usually very cheap (less than $15 a year).

My company provides a service that meets all these criteria and caters specifically to accountants and CPAs. When I do a client registration I set them up with a retail account in their name on this service. They can lock me out simply by changing their password and if they ever leave our hosting service they will be able to continue to manage their domain themselves. They not only own their domain, they actually have administrative control over it.

Your domain name is your real estate on the web. Make sure you actually own it and not your web host!

TIP

When you change your Email address always make sure you log into your domain name registrars site first and make sure they have the new email. It may save you a HUGE headache when the time comes to renew.