http://www.tropicalwebworks.org/2009/08/07/domain-valuable-business-asset/ Warm breezes, sunshine, and random thoughts Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:49:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://www.tropicalwebworks.org/2009/08/07/domain-valuable-business-asset/comment-page-1/#comment-81232 bj_private Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:49:58 +0000 http://www.tropicalwebworks.org/?p=286#comment-81232 This is so true, the problem however happens always because the clients do not want to know or to deal with anything about websites. They think to themselves that they hired a professional webmaster to handle these issues and they do not want anything to do with that. They only discover this problem after they have a problem with the webmaster/developer. At that time, they'll discover that they should've invested a little bit of time reading a post like this one. Anyway, thanks Sonja Ray for the great post. http://www.tropicalwebworks.org/2009/08/07/domain-valuable-business-asset/comment-page-1/#comment-81230 wmys Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:58:26 +0000 http://www.tropicalwebworks.org/?p=286#comment-81230 This happens all the time. I have had several clients whose previous web developer has title to their domain name. In most cases the developer was not locatable and the domain name therefore irretrievable. In one case in particular, the previous developer held the domain name hostage when the client didn't want to deal with her anymore. The client had invested several thousand dollars in advertising and printing costs on that domain, and it had been online for a year already so it was receiving some organic traffic. Not only that but the disgruntled web developer took down the client's site altogether and replaced it with a "Notice of Non-Payment by..." and named the client by name! In the end, the client elected to choose a different domain name and let the whole thing go. It was a lesson learned the hard way. NEVER let someone else hold your domain name. It is one of your most valuable business assets and should be closely guarded. If you buy a website that comes with a domain name, open a GoDaddy account (they're free) and INSIST that the current owner of the domain name transfer it to your account.