| If you have a web site, chances are you hired | | | | there is one absolutely critical piece of information |
| someone to help you get it launched. If you did, you | | | | you should take from this article. You MUST have |
| have three primary components under the umbrella | | | | administrative control over all three components of |
| of "a web site." There is your domain name, also | | | | your web presence: domain, hosting and content. You |
| known as a "URL" or your web address. There is | | | | don't have to DO anything with it - except print out |
| your web hosting - the space you rent on a server | | | | the access information and stash it away. You can |
| out there somewhere, to put your web site on. And | | | | rely on someone to manage it all for you, like I do |
| then there is your web site itself, which is a | | | | for most of my clients. But if you don't have this |
| combination of HTML files and images which are | | | | information, you don't really own your web site! |
| uploaded to that web hosting you rent. | | | | Even if you have a wonderful relationship with your |
| The most cautious rule of thumb is that you should | | | | service provider, stop and ask yourself the following: |
| have three separate providers - a domain name | | | | - Do you know the name of the domain registration |
| registrar, a web hosting company, and a web site | | | | company? |
| designer. The reason many web experts believe this | | | | - Do you have the username and password to |
| is that if you have a problem with one, you still have | | | | access your domain account? |
| control over the other two. For example, if your web | | | | - Are you certain that YOU are listed as the legal |
| hosting company causes you problems, you have | | | | owner of the domain? |
| your web content, and you have access to your | | | | - Do you know where your web site is hosted? |
| domain, and you can easily shut off one hosting | | | | - Do you have the "FTP" (this stands for file transfer |
| account, find another, and move your site. If your | | | | protocol) username and password to get to your |
| web designer goes bad, you can at least change | | | | web site on the host server? |
| access to your site, move it or provide the | | | | A frightening number of new clients come to me |
| information to a new designer. Conversely, if you | | | | without this information, and very often, they've |
| have all three components in one place, you run the | | | | already run into trouble and need help. In some |
| risk of finding yourself without a web site, perhaps | | | | cases, they have had to start all over with a new |
| temporarily, or worst case, having to start from | | | | web site. In one situation, a client almost lost her |
| scratch. | | | | domain name because the "all in one" company she |
| Although I'm personally a believer in keeping it all | | | | had paid for a web site had made themselves the |
| separate, the majority of business people don't think | | | | legal owners of the domain! |
| like that and a great many folks have gone for an "all | | | | Don't wait until you have a problem - make sure YOU |
| in one" situation where the hosting, domain and web | | | | own your web site, right now. |
| site are with one provider. Whatever your scenario is, | | | | |