I really can’t stress this enough, but I feel the need to say this: nobody should control your domain name except you.

I’ve spent the past two days attempting to track down and restore the ownership of a domain for a client whose online store has been offline for the past 4 days. All because the people who developed their site registered the domain, never transferred it to the client, and let it lapse.

Yes, the client should have known better, but in all fairness, they were taken for a ride by scammers (that’s another post for another day).

Consider this your warning.

There is ZERO reason why any entity other than you should control the domain name for you or your business.

If someone is building a website for you, register the domain yourself. It’s not complicated, especially not in 2026.

If someone registered the domain for you, create your own account with a domain host (it’s free), and get them to transfer it to you. Once you create your account, it’s as simple as them sending you an email.

Also, ensure that you have full administrative access to that account until it is transferred, and verify that the domain ownership details match yours, not theirs. This is important in case you have to dispute ownership later.

Similarly, you can apply this advice to anything that may be handled by a third party or agency, such as your social media or advertising account. I don’t think I need to stress why.

PSA over.