Accounting website design is a really fun career, but all too repeatedly I bump into a maddening and utterly avoidable problem that every site administrator must be aware of. Even if you have had the domain for years you might not, in reality, own it. This adds days or even weeks and sometimes expense to the site change, and even leaves a few site owners forced to choose between acquiring a new web address or being stuck with an over-the-hill and/or overpriced site.

This scam is easy to avoid. When you get a website from most established website hosts they'll almost always offer to get a domain name for you. For the most part they're honestly trying to help, but they rarely put the domain in your name. More often than not they put it in a wholesale account in their own name that you can't access. And don't think that dealing with a established company is any protection! One of my biggest competitors does this, and they get downright mean about it if you try to leave them. They actually charge a $50 "domain fee" if you decide to take the domain to a new hosting service.

If You Already Have a Domain

If you aren't positive about whether you own your own domain name or not find out right now! Unless the registrant uses a privacy service when they get a domain their possession data is all on public record. You can find it all online, including the owner's name, address and phone number. Do a search for the key phrase "whois lookup" to find a site that will let you access these records. Once you find one just enter the domain name you're looking up. This may tell you the domain owner, or "registrant", but even if it doesn't it will at least give you the name of your domain "registrar". Don't be surprised if you've never heard of your registrar, this is just another indication that you got your domain through a reseller. The reseller's identity will also be shown on the whois record. All registrars have their own whois databases. If you don't find domain ownership information in your first lookup, go to the registrar's company page and do a whois loookup there.

If you discover that you don't own your own domain the odds are you got your domain through a "reseller". Contact your reseller immediately about putting the domain in a retail account in your name. Don't just have them change the whois information. Have them move it into a retail account in your name.

If You're Getting a Domain for the First Time

When allowing a host to purchase your domain name ask them some simple 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?

All these questions should be answered with a "yes". If the rep says "no" at any point politely tell them that you'll get it 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. purchasing a domain is also usually very cheap (less than $15 a year).

CPA Site Solutions, my company, does things a little differently. Unfortunately we only really cater to CPA and accounting firms. The trick is to put client domains into a retail account in the clients name. We make a little less money, and it's a little more work but we feel it's a lot more honest. 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!

TIPS

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. There will be a terrible paper chase waiting for you when it comes time to renew if you no longer have access to the Email address your registrar has on file.