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Master your domain
If you don't pay attention, you could experience some unpleasant domain-name problems for your Web site.
Read more about registering a domain name.
by Marty Kramer Someone you met a year ago has decided to sell her house. She fishes your business card from her desk drawer and types in your Web site address. What appears on her monitor shocks her. She quickly closes the browser, and you never hear from this person who once thought she would list her home with you.
What happened? A pornographic Web site popped up on her screen.
That can’t happen, can it? It can, and this worst-case scenario is but one example of the kinds of problems you might encounter if you don’t wisely manage your Web site domain names.
You lapse, you lose
Your domain name is simply
the name for your Web site.
For example, the domain name
for the Texas Association of REALTORS® member Web site is
www.TexasRealtors.com. (Note:
Web names are not case sensitive.)
So how is the hypothetical scenario described above possible? Say you decided to rename your Web site sometime during the past year. When you secured the new domain name, you let the registration lapse for your previous one. That Web name is now up for grabs. And guess who snapped it up?
Don’t dismiss that scenario as far-fetched. The editors of Texas REALTOR® magazine recently ran into a similar problem when trying to pull up a TAR member’s Web site, which led to the idea for this article.
Even if a site with offensive content doesn’t take your previous place on the Web, you won’t be much better off if a landscaping service or travel agency assumes your prior domain name. Perhaps worse, a competitor may snatch your no-longer-used name, especially if it relates to real estate.
Hang onto your Web names
So what can you do? Hang onto your old Web address for at least a few years after you set up a new one. It won’t cost much and you can arrange it so the old address automatically forwards to the new site. A better option may be to set up a page stating that your Web address has changed and provide a link to the new address. This gives people time to learn your new address and lose the business cards with the old one.
Another bad outcome awaits if you have no intention of changing your Web address but fail to renew it in time. Most domain registrars notify you when your address is up for renewal, but if you miss that notice, someone else may grab your spot on the Internet. Don’t think that will happen? There are services that notify people when a particular domain name becomes available; other services will automatically register a name the minute someone else lets it expire. To be safe, put your renewal dates (minus a few weeks) on your calendar and don’t procrastinate when you see the reminders.
Does someone else own your Web site name?
Just because it’s your Web site doesn’t necessarily mean you own the domain name. If you contract with a company or consultant to manage or host your Web site, make sure you—not the contractor—are listed as the owner of your Web site’s domain name. Should the company go out of business, you will not encounter problems come renewal time.
Stock up
Once available only from one source, domain names are now sold by a slew of companies. Rates vary, but a recent search turned up some registrars charging less than $10 for a one-year registration. With such reasonable rates, you may want to purchase some additional domain names, such as your company name or, for agents, your full name if it’s still available. For example, if your company is Fred Flintstone Realty, you should register www.FredFlinstoneRealty.com. Why? Because some people who know your company name will try that address, even if your main Web site name is www.StoneageProperties.com. While you’re at it, you might want to register names that are similar but just slightly different from your true name. Not only will you get visitors who type in www.FredFlinstoneRealestate.com and www.StoneageRealty.com, but you also prevent others from taking those names and confusing visitors.
Photo © StockByte.
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