Please note this is Linked From our Main Article – 7 Things Clients Should Know When Building A Website
6 of 7 – For Account Managers, Owners, Marketing Managers and Clients – Should I Own and Manage my own Domain Names ? YES!
Domain names are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. The number one rule is – buy your own domain names, don’t let any agency do it for you – it will save you a variety of headaches in years to come.
We recommend namecheap.com for .com and international addresses and cheapdomains.com.au for .com.au addresses. They are well priced but most importantly their control panels are easy for technical people to navigate and control the DNS (Domain Name System) settings. DNS is how we ‘control’, for lack of a better word, how your domain works.
With Google apps, exchange servers, sub domains, split email and website hosting it is all becoming commonplace – make sure you follow my advice above regarding IT providers and agency management of this asset well, but never give up ownership.
In short for your domain, a trusted and knowledgeable IT company should manage either everything or at least your email settings. A digital agency should be managing your web records and possibly email as long as you are not looking to sycnronisation to multiple devices.
A final note on domains and hosting; your usernames and passwords for both your Website Hosting’s Control Panel and Domain Name Administration should be provided to your digital agency and IT company well in advance of any launch or migration. Launching a new site or migrating a service may take days to weeks depending on the complexity, so discuss the process well in advance and allow for this time in your planning.