Here's a question most business owners have never thought to ask: if you fell out with whoever built your website tomorrow, could you take it with you?
For a lot of people, the honest answer is "I don't know", and sometimes it's "no". Let's fix that, because it matters more than it sounds.
1. Your domain name. That's your web address, yourbusiness.com.au. This one's crucial. Your domain should be registered in your name, with your details, on an account you can log into. If your web person registered it under their own account, they technically hold your address hostage. Change your mind about working with them, and things can get ugly.
2. Your website itself, the design, the content, the files. Ideally you can take these and move them elsewhere if you ever need to.
Most of the time it never comes up. But when it does, it really does:
If you own your domain and your site, moving is a mild hassle. If you don't, you can be forced to start from scratch, new address and all, losing whatever Google ranking and recognition you'd built. I've seen it happen, and it's a rotten position to be in.
Two quick things:
If you're about to get a new site built, ask up front:
Anyone decent will answer these happily. Anyone who dodges them is exactly who you want to avoid.
Simple: it's yours. Your domain goes in your name. You own your site. I'll never hold your address to ransom, if you leave, you take everything with you. The monthly plan does run on a 12-month minimum term (it's what lets me build it properly for a low monthly price instead of a big bill up front), and after that it's month-to-month. I'd rather keep your business by doing good work than by trapping you.
Not sure who owns your current site or domain? Drop me a line and I'll help you figure it out, no obligation.
12 Bar Digital, Largs North, Adelaide, South Australia. (08) 7077 0985. hello@12bardigital.com.au