Cautions of Partners on the Web

We got a call today from a women who owns a business out in North Carolina. She got our name from one of our clients and she was in desperate need of some help: Her website had been hijacked by her web design company. See, this women didn’t know that her business’s domain and hosting could remain in her name and just followed their suggestion to keep it hosted “in house.” Which basically means she has no ownership of her own business’s domain or hosting.

Modern-Day Mechanics

Think of it this way – how many times have you taken your car into the mechanic’s and they come back and say, “You need this, that and this” and not know if that’s the truth? What can we do? Well if you’re anything like me you can go through a whole scenario in your head where you ask him to run through everything that needs done and why….just to realize at the end of the conversation you won’t know a thing he has said. The result is me just saying, “Yeah, okay, let’s do it, don’t really have any other choice.” So why go through the humiliation? Just tell him to do it…

This is what I think of when people tell me horror stories about their past/current web design company. The design companies know that most people are not as educated about the world wide web and they take advantage of that by adding on extra costs, blind-siding businesses with large invoices and holding hostage companies’ domains & hosting.

Now let me say that not all web design companies are that way but my ultimate goal is to empower business owners. So here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind when working with a web design company.

  • Keep ownership of all domains and hosting in your name
  • Add them as an authorized user. Don’t give them full access.
  • Ask, “What happens to my accounts if something happens to you/business?”
  • Are their services versatile or are they doing a Agency Lock-In?

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