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The person or entity that owns your domain name also has the power to take down your website! But this is also the one contact where it’s a good idea to have your web hosting company listed.Ĭorrecting domain name ownership can become very time consuming and sometimes impossible without legal action. If you have a system administrator or some kind of IT person on staff, it could be him or her.
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Many DIY website vendors automatically take ownership of your domain name as a part of the setup process without alerting you! TIP: Be sure to check with your DIY website vendor about their domain name ownership policies, usually found in their Terms Of Use page, if you opt for a do-it-yourself website plan.
#I master of my domain plus#
Beware of “do-it-yourself” website plus hosting vendors who ask you to provide OR register your domain name as a part of their step-by-step setup.
#I master of my domain password#
(Sometimes, even if your domain name is in your name, you cannot access it because you do not have the username and password to your web vendors account.) Use a reputable domain name registrar, and keep your username and password in a safe place. Make sure you register your domain name using your name and contact information, in your own separate account – not a vendors’ bulk account.What matters is that you, the small business owner, are listed as the domain owner and main contact person, AND that you are able to login and manage your account. It doesn’t matter if you register a domain name yourself, or if your web host, web developer, or someone else does it for you. Best practices for registering and protecting your domain name If your contact details are correct, great! Now make sure you have your username and password and are able to login and manage it. If contact details are not immediately available, look for and follow the link shown on your WHOIS results page to your specific registrar of record. You can check and verify your domain name contact details using one of these tools to make sure they are correct. Below are four of the most popular WHOIS database lookup websites. Several tools are available online to audit your domain name information.
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The WHOIS database is a searchable list of every single domain currently registered in the world. In many cases it happens to great start-up businesses who chose a do-it-yourself (DIY) website wizard, and took great pains to design “forever ago” as their free, starter site – just to get them going.įor a new website, sometimes a DIY vendor, webmaster, or other unknown person/friend/colleague owns and has complete control over a client’s domain name assets, unbeknownst to them, so we start by working together on correcting domain name contact records. This frustrating scenario usually occurs when businesses are excitedly preparing to upgrade, refresh, or move their website. Someone else owns and controls your domain name. Suddenly you realize you’re unable to move forward with your awesome new website plans.
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