Do You Actually Own Your Domain Name? Check This Tonight

Here's a story I've heard more than once. A business owner has a website built by a freelancer. Years go by, the relationship goes sour or the freelancer moves on, and the owner tries to switch providers. That's when they learn the domain was registered under the freelancer's account, with the freelancer's email on it.

Now getting the domain back means chasing someone who doesn't answer, or paying a ransom to get your own business name released. It happens a lot more than it should.

Domain, hosting and website are three different things

People blur these together, which is how problems start.

• Domain. Your address, like yourbusiness.ca. You rent it, usually per year.
• Hosting. The computers that store your site and deliver it to visitors.
• Website. The pages, photos and text themselves.

You can swap hosting or rebuild the site completely and keep the same domain. But if you lose the domain, you lose the address everyone knows you by. Your email, your Google listing, your business cards, your van. All of it points at that domain.

Two names you should know

When you register a domain there are two parties involved.

• The registrant. The legal owner. This should be you or your business.
• The registrar. The company that sells and manages the registration, like GoDaddy, Namecheap or Cloudflare.

The registrar can be anyone. The registrant needs to be you. That's the whole thing.

How to check in a couple of minutes

1. Go to a domain lookup tool. For most domains, a WHOIS search works. For .ca domains, CIRA has its own lookup.
2. Search your domain name.
3. Look at the registrant details. Is it your name or your company?
4. Check the expiry date. Is it coming up soon?

Be aware that many registrars hide personal details with a privacy service, so you may see a generic proxy name instead of a person. In that case, the real test is simpler. Can you log in to the registrar account that holds the domain? If yes, you're in good shape. If you don't know what account it's under, that's your answer, and it's time to find out.

Red flags

• You've never seen a renewal email for your domain.
• Your designer or agency says "we handle all of that" but you can't see the account.
• The contact email on the domain belongs to someone who no longer works with you.
• The domain is bundled into a monthly plan and you're told it can't be moved.

If it isn't in your name

Ask the person who set it up to transfer it to an account you control, or to change the registrant to your business. Most reasonable providers will do it without a fuss. You'll need the domain's transfer authorization code and unlocked status, and the new registrar walks you through the rest.

Do this calmly and early, while the relationship is still good. It's much harder to sort out when everyone is annoyed.

A few habits that protect you

• Register the domain with a business email address that more than one person can access.
• Turn on auto renew, and keep a valid payment card on file.
• Enable the domain lock so it can't be transferred without your say so.
• Use two factor login on the registrar account.
• Keep the login details somewhere safe, not just in one person's head.

How we handle it

When we manage a domain for a client, it belongs to that client's business, and we'll hand over what you need to move it whenever you ask. We think that's the only fair way to do it. If you're unsure about your current setup, send us your domain and we'll point you in the right direction.