Domain name renewals

A client would be really upset if their domain name expired. But how would this client feel if their brother was their web designer?

Yes – my own brother experienced the pain and hassle of allowing his own domain name to expire!

He was embarrassed – but so was I. How had I let him get into this situation?

Intellectual property

I take the view that domain names are the intellectual property of the client. I prefer my clients to take control of their own domain names and to deal directly with a domain name registrar and pay the renewal fees when they become due.

I know lots of other web designers register names on behalf of clients. Some are even still registering names for clients but putting their own name as the "registrant". I've helped a few clients recover control of their domains in these situations and never like the feeling that the previous web designer was trying to "lock in" the client by registering their domain names.

So, rightly or wrongly, I've always preferred my clients to register, control and renew their own domain names. Their domain names are part of their property – if they want to sell their business, they should be able to transfer the domain names as well without referring to me. And if they feel I'm not giving them good service, they shouldn't feel that I've got them over a barrel because I control their domain names. I think that clients controlling their own domain names is clearer and keeps me focused on giving them good service.

Paying by credit or debit card

But it is then very important for the clients to ensure that they do renew their names when they become due and pay the relevant fees.

My brother had followed this approach and paid for his domain using a credit or debit card. Some time later, that card expired and was replaced by a new card with a new number and new expiry date. When the next renewal fell due, the registrar tried to collect the payment automatically, but only had the details for the older, expired credit/debit card. They tried emailing to warn of the situation, but my brother was too cautious and felt it was either a mistake or a scam and he ignored the email. The next thing he knew was when his web site went down!

Fortunately, the situation was eventually sorted out – but it took some time and, during that time, his web site was down.

Pay by Direct Debit

I now usually recommend that my clients set up Direct Debit payments for their domain name renewals to avoid the problem with credit/debit cards expiring.

My brother's problem was not really my fault – he had been happy to take control of his domain and had ignored some useful warnings from the registrar. But I certainly hope none of my other clients has to go through this!