Do you get panicky emails telling you your domain name is about to expire? Does it in turn put you into a panic where you feel compelled to reach out to anyone who might know the answer, starting with your web agency? Here are two reasons why you can confidently chillax...

If you're like me (or a more normal version of me), you probably maintain some semblance of semi up-to-date records for all your accounts, including usernames and passwords. Since owning a website is an important aspect of running a business, you no doubt have something, somewhere. But what if your admin is out to lunch or taking a much needed vacation from your office? 

Check out domains.google.com which will tell you not only where your domain is parked, but also when you opened the account, as well as when it will truly expire. Don't fall for last minute "urgent" emails from scammers who have nothing better to do with their time than waste yours. 

Check out the visualization below explaining how you can go about all of this. Hope you enjoy! 

Lack of confidence about domain names, DNS records, is very common. Don't allow yourself to feel stupid about this stuff...I'm still learning and honestly the concept can be quite confusing. That's why I feel compelled to explain more here about domain names. Not all scenarios are the same. I just helped a prospective client today who has 6 domains that she purchased and are "parked" or reserved and active on Network Solutions. You may have heard of these guys, or you may have your own website parked on popular platforms like GoDaddy, eNom, or Hostgator. One domain is her main one; the other 5 are all "pointing" towards the one that visitors see when they go to her website. 

Website hosting can be elsewhere. A website can be hosted on GoDaddy, the same place as the domain. Alternatively, say you are someone who needs custom work done on your website and don't want to do it yourself. Perhaps you have specific business needs and want to focus on your business but at the same time need someone to manage your site and constantly look at ways to improve user experience as well as analyze data to help with your marketing efforts. Here's the point...a website doesn't have to be hosted where your domain is. Your domain can point to another agency's servers. 

That's why we at Alt Media Studios (www.amst.com) can host websites and not domains. One of the last things we do during a website redesign or build is ask the client where their domain is located (or we find out ourselves) and then "point" the domain to our servers. 

If you need assistance hosting and managing your website, please let me know. We are a Cleveland-based custom web designer and development agency. We also are a certified Google Partner and continually work to promote our clients' online presence on search, both organically and through ads. 

Have a great Wednesday, and I hope you found this article somewhat helpful.