domain names management

I keep having domain names issues to sort out on behalf of our clients every now and again - and it is always the same issue: they have asked a third part to register the domain name on their behalf, and cannot get it back.

So, what's the difference between web design companies, web hosting companies and registrars?

- A domain name Registrar is a company accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to sell Internet domain names. Registrars compete with each other to provide the best support and services at the lowest price.(definition taken from wikipedia)

- A hosting company is a company providing web space and bandwidth.

- A web design company will manage your site for you, and probably manage the relationship with your hosting company & registrar company as well.

My piece of advice is to ALWAYS register your domain names first, with a proper registrar (123-reg.co.uk is the one we use for instance) and then go shopping for some web space/bandwidth, or ask a third part to do this for you. It is really important to keep 100% control of your domain names - if anything happens with the hosting company, or the web design company, you then don't depend on them to be able to redirect the domain name to an other server.