Why do many web developers seem to be control freaks and want control over your domain?
Would you give them the keys and alarm codes to your business? Then why are you handing over your main branding tool to them? Not to mention control over your email settings.
Look! I am not saying web developers are not trustworthy people, most of them are! They work hard for you to deliver your internet presence.
But I do recommend that you always retain control over your domain, or at least have someone you implicitly trust manage your domains for you.
Hope for the best but always prepare for the worst. Mitigate the risk of having email no longer working for you. Mitigate the risk that someone will replace your site with something else. Something you may not appreciate.
In my travels in the IT world over the years I have seen occasional instances of the following;
- web developers disappearing and services becoming inaccessible because the domain name registration didn’t get renewed or their hosting account was terminated for non-payment of services.
- web developers forgetting to renew domains.
- clients having some sort of falling out with their web developer and then having their domain held for ransom and other unpleasant situations.
- domains with the web developer as the registrant causing issue getting the domain up and running again.
Most Internet Service Providers and Web Hosting companies allow you to have an account with them for no cost over and above your annual domain name registration charge. A little time getting to know how to configure and update DNS settings can give you peace of mind.
