Do you own your website? (Part 1 - domain name ownership)

This is part 1 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn what a domain name is, how to find out who owns it, and why domain name ownership is important.

What is a domain name?

We all love to name our websites. So what is a domain name?

A domain name starts with www. and ends with an extension such as .com, .org, .net etc. I choose www.web-design-by-robin.com for my business website. Extension .com stands for commercial and is the most commonly used and therefore easily remembered.

Another common term is URL. The URL for my website is http://www.web-design-by-robin.com. The HTTP in front of a domain name actually tells the web browser to go find and fetch the website. That's right, somewhere out in the world wide web (www) is a record that knows exactly where your website lives. When you type an URL in a web browser you are actually giving it a command to do two things: find the website and fetch its contents to display on your screen.

(See part two of this series "Do you own your website?" to learn how to pick and purchase a domain name if you don't have one already).

How do I check my domain name ownership?

When you buy a domain name you are registering it in your name - or at least I hope you are.  If you did not perform the actual purchase than you should probably check to make sure your domain name is registered in your name.

There are a million places online to do this.  I prefer Godaddy’s Whois Database Search:
http://who.godaddy.com

Why does your domain name need to be registered in your name?

While the Whois database search returns a lot of information the most important is the Registrant. You want to be listed as this person. You may hire someone to design, code, update and maintain your website but there is one task that you need to do yourself, OWN YOUR WEBSITE. Obvious right?

What do you need to own? You need to own your domain name. While technically speaking you are only leasing a domain name, it still needs to be in your name.  This brings up a good point.  Domain names are temporary items.  They are bought, sold, expired and bought by someone else.  They are relatively cheap if you buy one that is open and free for purchase, around $10 a year.  If a domain name is registered, therefore already owned, the only way you can get it is if the owner is willing to sell it to you.  Do you have that kind of time and money? 

I can’t recall the number of times I have had potential clients approach me and ask me to take over their website without having the slightest idea about domain name registration. As you have learned its not that hard for me to look it up - piece of cake! But the minute I see its not registered in their name I start to choke on that once delicious piece of cake. What started as an easy everyday task turned into a nightmare! If your name is listed you can do whatever you like with your website.  If it is not you have two options - recover it or start from scratch with a new domain name.  Its like deciding what you want to eat for dessert between broccoli or spinach - YUCK!

When I am working with my clients starting a website design from scratch - the first step I have them do is buy the domain name so that it is registered in their name...  Make sure you do the same if you do nothing else!

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