Master of your domain?

How well do you know the person or company that registered your domain? Did they register your domain with your best interests in mind? Are you the master of your domain? Probably not.

Let me tell you a story. A friend I know owns a business. They hired a web developer to setup a site including registering the domain name and hosting the site. The site was launched but a few months later the owner wasn't satisfied with the design and wanted to have someone else take over creative direction of the site. The designer told the owner he wasn't going to give admin access to anyone else. The owner said he was taking the site to a new hosting company but the desginer wouldn't hand over the site files until they paid more money. The owner had already paid the design fee but now the designer wanted more money and was going to take the site offline until the owner paid. The owner decided to transfer the domain name and start over with a new design and hosting company but then he discovered his domain name had been registered to the desginer that was hijacking his web site. The owner either had to register a new domain name or pay the designer his additional money.

Does this sound familiar? This site will help you learn more about avoiding web hosting and domain registration pitfalls.