My Free Domain Name Cost Me 99

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span                            another host. Since they own the
class="cap">Interne     domain name, you may have to buy
t hosting service providers     it from them to move your site.
ery often offer one or more free      You have only "borrowed" it for
domain names to make their            the duration of your hosting
hosting packages more attractive.     contract. Thus any time and money
Since domain names are important      you have spent to make that
to any web site, they become          domain name valuable may have
valuable property. This is            been enhancing its value for your
especially true when associated       internet hosting service
with a site with page rank and        provider.

high traffic. It takes time and

If relations with the host of
effort to make your domain name       your web site go sour, they may
valuable.                             choose not to release the domain,
Are you aware that you may have       or they can charge whatever they
expended all that time and energy     like to transfer it to your name.
on behalf of your internet            They may also use it as leverage
hosting service provider? If you      to keep you tied to their
have accepted a "free" domain         hosting. In my own experience,
name from your web host, they may     when I tried to switch from an
have registered it in their name      $80/month hosting package to a
and not yours. This is especially     cheaper one, the response
true if the host has advertised       was,"You can't." I did not own my
"free domain for life" as they        domain name, and I had prepared
are responsible for renewing the      my web site with their
registration. This is not a           proprietary web building program.
problem as long as you continue       After paying their $99 price to
hosting your web site with that       transfer the registration of my
host, but things can get sticky       "free" domain name to me and
if you try to move your site to       building a new web site, I was

able to change to a cheaper hosting service provider insist
internet hosting service on the profits? One could come up
provider.

with a number of situations where

If you have accepted a free        the host's ownership of your
domain name with your hosting         domain name could be very
account you should check the          risky.

Whois register to find out who

The folly of this situation is
the registered owner and              not widely known among the
administrator are. If they are        publishers of web sites. Your web
not both in your name, you should     hosting company may be honest and
request that they both be             release the domain name to you
transferred to you. Even if you       when confronted, but don't count
are the registered owner, all         on it. When you pick an internet
communications for transfers must     hosting service provider for your
originate with the administrator.     web site, be sure that any free
Thus the administrator still has      domain name is registered in your
control over the domain name and      name with you as administrator,
that could cause problems.

and not in the name of the

Also there is the question of host.

what happens to a domain name

The safest way to avoid
that is registered in the name of     problems is to register your
the internet hosting service          domain name with a registrar
provider if that company should       (under your name of course) and
go bankrupt? If a domain name         host your web site with a
registered to them is valuable,       different internet hosting
would the creditors take over         service
that value? If you sell your          provider.

business can you sell "your" nd>About the
valuable domain name with the Authorbusiness or would the internet id="authorbio"

class="membersnoticewhite">Dr.        ared.com"
Vernon Sandel is Emeritus             title="http://www.hostingplanscom
Professor, Michigan Technological     pared.com" target="_blank">Univ. and owner of Sunshine           color="#001000"
Services, an affiliate marketing      size="-2">http://www.hostingplans
company. Web site:

href="http://www.hostingplanscomp eldset>