Your domain – the name and home of your website – is one of the most important pieces of your online presence. It’s your digital “address,” and points to the website that’s your primary online base. Losing it can mean losing access to your website’s name and all of its contents. If you have emails tied to your domain (such as [email protected]), you’ll lose all those past, present and future contacts as well. In a worst-case scenario, you may have to select a new domain name – in which case you’ll lose all your incoming links, every reference to your website, and the identity your customers know.
As you likely realize, this can have an enormous negative impact on your business. If your domain access is hacked, illicit users can completely change your site, generate negative information about you or your business, steal customers’ personal information, or simply shut it down. If you’re locked out of your site, it can be very difficult to inform your customers, and retrieving your domain access can be difficult to impossible. Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that you understand and control your domain.
Don’t Get Lost In Acronym City!
As you’ve probably noticed, the tech world is awash in acronyms and abbreviations. If websites and domain ownership aren’t familiar territory for you, it can be easy to get confused when you begin exploring, so here’s a quick overview of the process.
First, domain names are registered through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. Each domain name is assigned an IP address – the long code that computers use to identify a specific site. Domain names and their IP addresses are stored in the giant Domain Name System (DNS) database, which is what internet browsers access to locate your site online.
When you investigate or create a domain name, you’ll likely also encounter the terms “registrar,” “registrant,” and possibly “registry.” The registrar is the company that’s providing you with the domain name – GoDaddy and Namecheap, for example, are registrar, or domain hosting, companies. Be sure that you know where your domain is registered!
The registrant is the person who “owns” the domain name. Ideally, that’s you. The registrant’s email address is the one that will receive all official emails, such as password resets or transfer requests. Always keep track of that email address, because losing access to it will mean that you can’t receive important information about your domain.
Registries are companies that manage Top-Level Domains, or TLDs, such as .com or .net. They’re overseen by ICANN, and they are the bodies that allocate domain names. As they work through hosting registrars, though, you’re most likely to be dealing with those businesses.
Own Your Domain!
If you’re not certain whether you own your domain, you should confirm that you do, or find out who does. You can do this pretty easily by performing a WHOIS lookup, which you can access by clicking here. A WHOIS search will identify the legal owner, or registrant, of the domain. If you do not own your domain and cannot reach the owner, contact the hosting registrar, who will be identified in the WHOIS lookup. If you choose to work with an agency (like us!) you’ll be listed as the owner, and the agency will be listed by WHOIS as “admin” or “delegate.”
Once you’ve established the ownership of your domain, make sure you retain it!
Keep track of the date when your domain’s registration must be updated. Try to pick an easy date for this, such as the day you close your books, or your birthday. You might also consider renewing for several years at a time. This can be an excellent option, as some SEO experts believe Google favors sites with multiple-year renewals.
Limit Domain Access!
Be very cautious about who has access to your domain and its related information. Limit it to people you fully trust, select a good password, and change it every few months. If you have trouble remembering passwords, consider a password manager (for example, Dashlane or LastPass), that can be used to store all your passwords safely. You can further safeguard your domain name by ensuring that it can’t be transferred without your permission. Do this by “locking” it – domain locking is a free option available through most hosting registrars. (Check “Settings” in your hosting account.)
With a little bit of effort and preparation, you can keep your domain protected. It’s well worth doing, because the loss of domain control can be devastating for your business and your online presence. If you’re worried about domain ownership and want help checking on it, get in touch with us! We’re happy to help.
