Who Manages Your Domain?
Tip #1 For Newbies Managing a Pharmaceutical or Biotech Website Redesign
TL:DR: Who has the GoDaddy login?
The situation: Your pharmaceutical or biotechnology company is small but growing. It got funding, is about to announce results, launch a product or go public. It’s time for the next level of website.
So, you hire a company like Workbox. One of our first questions will be: “Who manages your domain?”
You would be shocked at how often folks don’t know the answer to this question.
First, a little background. Your company’s domain is something like “groovypharmabiotech.com.” Technically, this is a domain name. We ask who owns it to understand who we might be working with if we need to change the web host.
To make it confusing, the acronym “DNS” is used interchangeably with your domain name, the domain name service provider and the various settings associated with a specific domain (like www and email).
That means we might instead ask: “Who manages your DNS?”
Either way, it’s a nuisance, but EXTREMELY important because your DNS is used to manage your website, your company’s email and, possibly, lots of other services you aren’t aware of.
Why small companies lose track of domain ownership: In smaller pharma and biotech companies, the domain name is often purchased by a founder or an assistant. Or, it could have been purchased by the web developer or agency that launched your company’s first website. Or it could have been bought by an IT contractor.
NOTE: Bad things can happen if your company loses control of the domain. If your domain registration expires, someone else (like a competitor) can buy it. And a disgruntled employee can cause real trouble: https://aftermath.site/thats-no-moon-lawsuit-domain-allegedly-hijacked/
No matter what, be sure to find whoever manages your domain registration ASAP!
If you’re having trouble digging up ownership information, you can drop your domain name into a Whois service like:
https://www.godaddy.com/whois
That will show who owns it, when it was purchased, when it will renew and other stuff. If you see the words “Domain by Proxy,” that means the owner is hiding their identity, so … let’s hope you find who manages it.
The domain name is typically managed through a domain service provider like GoDaddy, CloudFlare or CSC. Ultimately, you’re looking for whoever has a login to that service.
PRO TIP: Be sure ownership of the domain is under an account owned by the company, not an individual employee or contractor.
That’s it for tip #1. Questions, comments? Let me know!
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