We’ve been asked a number of times to help people who are experiencing bad service from their current hosting providers.
And a trend we’ve encountered is that a lot of providers will register the client’s domain in their own name.
This means that when you want to move your domain to another host, they could hold your domain for ransom, because legally it belongs to them.
Well, not quite. Your company name belongs to you, and if your domain name matches then you can lay claim to it, with some effort on your, and potentially your lawyer’s, part.
But I’ve seen quite a number of times that people had domains registered that don’t quite match their company names, and in these cases, you don’t have a case.
You either need to prove that you originally requested the domain registration, and even this may not help. Or, you use a new domain name, which may have other stationery cost implications, and potential search engine issues.
So, make sure that when you choose your provider, they do actually register your domain in your name, with them only listed as technical and/or admin contact on the registration.