No matter how good your website designer is, you should host your website to have full control over it. Unfortunately, most businesses leave their web designers to do all the work, including choosing the host and maintaining the site. What could go wrong with the web developer hosting your website or arranging the same without your input?
Let us explore both situations and see which is better for you.
Why Should You Host Your Website?
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QUTOE We all agree that matters to do with the website should always be left to the professionals.
They understand the technical aspects of the website, can handle issues as soon as possible, and offer you the convenience of concentrating on your business while they handle the website.
However, it does not mean that you leave everything to them. You should be in control of what happens to your website and make independent decisions after getting advice from professionals. Here are the issues you encounter when you let the designer host and run the account.
1. You are at their Mercy
If the designer does the domain registration, develops your site, and manages it, they practically own the site. Therefore, they can charge as much as they want to do simple things on the site. Unfortunately, it may be hard to seek cheaper services out there because the new service provider will not have access to the account.
If there was no agreement about how long they would manage the account, you may be stuck with them until you register own domain and create another site. Many companies tend to stay rather than create another site, losing lots of cash on the way.
2. You cannot Get a Third-Party Opinion
It is important that you get a third-party opinion on various aspects of your business, including the website. In most cases, the third party will look at the site and recommend what needs to be done. However, if the person who is to do the work is your web developer, they may choose not to do website enhancements as per the recommendations and give reasons for that.
The rigidity in getting opinions from other quarters may cause you to lose valuable business, be overtaken by the competition or fail to take advantage of emerging opportunities.
3. Ending Contracts Is a Problem
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You may end a contract with your web designer for many reasons. They might not be working properly, your relationship might have soured, you might want to change the style, look, and functionality of the website, or they might be charging fees you can't afford. Unfortunately, when your accounts are held by them, termination may not be as easy as closing the contract.
They may still have access to some of your data, disable some features, or even sabotage some of your work.
You might need them later to handle one or two issues that only they can tell.
4. There May be Delays
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Some changes on the website need to be implemented with speed. This could be wrong descriptions and pricing for the eCommerce site; bugs in any page or process; sale events; new arrivals, or important security updates. While many designers will handle such requirements with speed, you may have to wait if they are busy. They may take on other clients’ jobs over yours because they have you locked up on their service. This is the main reason that causes the quality of work to go down.
Own Your Domain and Accounts
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Here are a few steps to take to own your domain and accounts to escape the problems listed above.
Register Own Domain
Your domain is the equivalent of your offline store. It provides direction to your website and brand. You should have full control of it.
Register your own domain at one of the leading registrars in the market. Even if you lose control of your site but have a domain, you can always point a new site to your domain and retain your customers.
Host Your Website
Hosting is the service of storing your website data so that it can be accessible online. Go for a host company that will provide you with at least 99.9% uptime, quality customer service, the ability to upgrade your server, and an affordable renewal price.
Check other technical features such as DMS management, file management and on-click installer with the help of the web developer.
Make Website Maintenance Contract-based
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Source: Spring, Giphy
Hire a web design business on a renewable contract. This means that you are free to move over to the next service provider at the expiry of the contract. Many of the designers are likely to work best when they know that the renewal of their contract is based on your satisfaction. The web designer that created your site does not necessarily have to be the one that maintains it beyond the agreed grace period.
Conduct Regular Reviews
Keep updated about your site's performance. There are various tools that your website manager can use to determine the reach, SEO, visitor numbers, bugs, and any other issues that may have affected the website. Regular reviews also help you evaluate if the suite is helping you meet your business goals.
Depending on the recommendations from your review, you may make changes to your website or even change the managers. Do the same with other accounts such as the social media accounts so that you know the direction that the company is heading in relation to the online presence.
To Wrap Up
Consider registering your own domain and hosting your website. The web design business can design the site and maintain it without taking full control. It gives you the freedom to manage your website as you desire and implement changes, change hosting company, or change the website manager without seeking approval from the web designer that hosts your website. Want a custom quote for your project? Connect with our expert here for a free consultation.
