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Why YOU Must Have Control Over Your Website Domain

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Perhaps you're one of those folks who didn't give it a thought when you hired your first web developer. After all, there are so many unfamiliar things to consider, actually making sure the domain is registered to you may not have seemed that important at the time.
Perhaps you paid a web developer for the domain, and "assumed" he or she would do the right thing and register it to you. Perhaps you didn't want to be bothered with it and even asked the web developer to "handle" it for you.
Whatever the cause, if you did not have your domain registered to you, you may have made a serious mistake. But, it may not be too late to recover ownership. Read on to better understand the importance of owning your domain.

Many website development companies automatically register their clients domains in some other name than the client’s, so as to maintain control of the business. Their business model is built around that strategy. That's a nice way of saying they hold your website hostage for the ransom of future business.
It is not only an unfair business practice, it borders on being a criminal act.

Many things can change after the launch of your website to make this a serious matter. What if the web developer goes out of business? What if he or she (tragically) meets with an untimely demise? What if you decide you no longer want to do business with them?
In either case, you're stuck with a serious problem.


If you find you do not own and control your website domain, here are some possible steps to consider...
  1. Contact the person who registered it and ask to have it transferred to you. This will involve setting up an account (if you do not have one) with a website registrar like GoDaddy, and initiating a transfer request. Keep in mind the owner does not have to agree. They are not legally obligated to give up or sell the domain to you.
  2. Determine what you feel is a fair price for the domain, and offer to buy it from the owner. Although you may have been the one (in your opinion) to build its value, they may have been the one who kept it renewed, and may be due a reimbursement at the very least. Consider the worst case scenario, that the owner is alive and unwilling to sell it cheap (or at all), and the possible impact on your business traffic if you had to start over.
  3. If you’re unable to obtain ownership, you have two basic options… work with the person who owns it indefinitely, or choose another domain and start over.

If possible, it is always a good idea to get a trademark for the main term(s) in your domain. For example; if the name of your company or brand is is "Brand A" and the domain is BrandA.com and you can obtain the trademark (from the United States Paten and Trademark Office) of "Brand A" for your particular use, by all means do so. This is an inexpensive way to (at least) have some leverage against anyone who might attempt to use your (former) domain in a way that would be unfavorable to your brand.


I hope this article has helped you understand the importance of this matter, and helped you to understand why you must always maintain control of your website domain.


To your success,
Jonny Tyson


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