This is either shady and unethical, or ignorant and backwards.. Or both!
Lots of businesses get burnt by bad web developers. Some are due to maligned expectations or poor communication between the tech-savvy nerds and the “how do I back up my phone contacts?” crowd.
In other cases unethical (or inept) web designers burnt the clients badly, leaving bad tastes. But most businesses cannot live without a functioning website, so this question is asked all the time:
“How do I choose a good web designer? What do I look for in a website provider?”
I can NOT help you choose the right one – there are too many variables on each and every job (I’d have to run a full time consultancy for reviewing website proposal after proposal).
I CAN, however, give you a list of universal red flags that should be an immediate NO, like tossing out bread with black mold.
If Your Web Designer Wants to Buy & Own Your Domain For You, Run For The Hills!
Domains are one of the most precious intellectual properties. It should be protected better than your credit/debit card PIN, seriously.
I’ve seen some web designers use the domain ownership for negotiation advantage, or even hold it hostage to extort money from their helpless clients.
There could be other complications by giving away domain ownership:
- What if the freelancer forgets to update his payment info after a credit card expires?
- What if the web designer misses the domain renewal while on vacation?
- Can you operate without a website for days/weeks?
- What if he/she becomes severely ill, or passes away suddenly? Getting the domain transferred to you from a deceased person will be a cumbersome process with no guarantee of success due to legal ramifications.
Domain DNS Access Should Be Delegated Instead
Every reputable and modern domain registrar has safe and secure delegation functions to let the domain owners grant access to web developers for website launch and tech support.
Even if some are just stuck with old habits with no malicious intent, do you want to trust a web designer who isn’t aware of such functionality? This is not an industry where you want to hire somebody who is behind the times (remember my Red Flag #1 earlier re: Photoshop).
So definitely run for the hills if a web designer wants to hold and own your domain. Stay safe, digitally.
Buy and own your own domain – you just have to make sure your credit card is up to date on Namecheap or Godaddy, as I covered on my domain and email management best practices post in 2017.
Now, ready for my 3rd and final red flag when choosing a web developer?
