Your domain name is the single most important online marketing tool that your business, church or organization owns. A domain name is your online brand to customers, clients, visitors, and or congregants. Without a domain, you have no professional presence online. Proper ownership and maintenance of your domain name are crucial to avoid site ending problems in the future. Below are three tips to help with domain name ownership and maintenance.

Domain Tip 1. Make sure you are the owner.

First, always ensure you are the owner by purchasing your domain with your own account from a professional domain registrar. Second, have a company like Eclipse or another professional web host or developer purchase your domain with a guarantee of ownership.

Here at Eclipse, we have assisted clients who had a cousins “tech guy” purchase a domain for them. Having a friend or relative purchase your domain is not a professional decision. We have helped too many clients who lost their domain and site because they had no paperwork to prove ownership. On many occasions, the person that purchased the domain simply forgets the account and has moved on. Always do yourself a favor, take the time to find a professional domain registrar or web developer and purchase your domain with a guarantee of ownership.

Domain Tip 2. Know your account login!

Knowing the domain registrar you bought your domain from should be a simple thing to keep track of. Second, knowing the USERNAME and PASSWORD for the account at the registrar should be simple as well. However, at Eclipse a note we often use in our project reports for new clients moving their website to us is our ever popular ‘Client finding domain and login info”. Allways possess the registrar, account username, and password in a secure document on paper or digitally.

Domain Tip 3. Keep your domain account info current!

This tip connects directly with tip two. Always keep your domain account information current. The most important item in your account is your email address. Your email address is where all domain info and updates will be sent. We recently helped a client who owned three domains with each domain from a different registrar. The client then used separate email addresses at each registrar. To make matters worse two of the domain accounts used unreachable email addresses as the main contact! Always make sure your account uses a current email and purchase multiple domains at one registrar.

Thankfully maintenance of your domain name account is simple. Here are four simple steps to help keep your domain name secure.

1. Set up a calendar to-do alert every six months to check your login information.
2. Every three to six months check that the email on the account is current.
3. Set the renewal for your domain to once a year. The examples above are by customers who purchased a multi-year domain name.
4. Store your account information in a secure place and update the information as needed.

Are in need of help with a domain issue? Chat with us online or send us a message.

Do you have any domain horror stories or advice? Share your stories below so others can avoid the pitfalls.