Website downtime = lost revenue for your business
A website domain is a valuable business asset. Still, many business owners can be careless about domain ownership and management. This can result in costly website downtime, domain hacking, and even permanent loss of the domain.
Let's explore why domain management and security are so important and how they significantly impact your business.
Understand Domain Protection and Management
1. Establish the Foundation of Your Digital Identity
Your domain name is more than just a web address; it's the foundation of your online identity. It's how customers find you, recognize you, and share your business with others. Effective domain management ensures that your domain name accurately reflects your brand and is easy for customers to remember and type.
2. Build Consistency Across Platforms
Consistency in your domain name across various online platforms enhances brand recognition. It should align with your business name and be used in your email addresses, social media profiles, and marketing materials. This consistency builds trust and professionalism in the eyes of your customers.
3. Avoid Downtime
Regular domain management ensures your domain registration is up-to-date. Letting a domain expire can lead to website downtime, which can be disastrous. Even a short period of inaccessibility can lead to lost sales, impact SEO and damage to your brand's reputation. A dead website can make a business appear poorly managed or even out of business.
4. Domain Authority for SEO
A well-managed domain that’s active for a long time can improve your website's search engine rankings. Search engines view older domains as more trustworthy when they provide valuable content. This trust can lead to higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs), driving more organic traffic to your website.
The Critical Role of Security
1. Protect Your Business and Customers
Website security is not just about data protection; it’s also a safeguard for your customers' information. Cyber threats such as hacking and phishing can compromise sensitive data like customer details and financial information. Effective security measures are essential to protect against these threats and maintain customer trust.
2. Enhance Credibility
A secure website, indicated by HTTPS in your domain, reassures visitors that their data is safe. This level of security is often required for online transactions and is a sign of a legitimate and trustworthy business. In today’s digital age, customers are more likely to engage with websites that prioritize security. Websites provided by FLAIR Communication always include the highest level of security.
3. Comply with Regulations
Various regulations, like the GDPR in Europe and ICANN ownership verification, mandate strict data protection, privacy standards and ownership verification. Ensuring your website complies with these regulations not only avoids potential legal issues but also demonstrates your commitment to data privacy and security.
4. Experience SEO Benefits
Search engines prioritize secure websites. A site with robust security measures, especially those with SSL certificates (resulting in HTTPS domains), often ranks higher in search results. This increased visibility can lead to more traffic and, ultimately, more business.
5. Beware of Domain Poachers
Some unscrupulous companies try to hijack domains from other registrars by sending fraudulent emails claiming your domain is about to expire and demanding payment. Usually, these fees are much higher than what you pay your current registrar. The email source may not be a domain registrar at all. Stay informed about where you manage your domain. Maintain your contact email and payment details. These basic steps can help you avoid becoming a victim of these scams.
6. Avoid Phishing Scams
In addition to domain hackers, there are also spammers who send emails that are designed to look like they’ve come from a legitimate domain company. Sometimes, the return email looks identical but there may be minor discrepancies such as an added hyphen or period in the email address. These are especially insidious as they look real and are hard to verify. The best advice is to look carefully before you click on an email. Study the return address - if the suffix of the email doesn’t exactly match the website URL of the company you know, call the company and ask if there is any action needed on your account. This can protect your domain and prevent you from accidentally downloading malicious software to your computer.
Best Practices for Domain Management and Security
1. Choose the Right Domain Registrar
Select a reputable domain registrar that offers good customer support, reasonable pricing, and additional services like domain privacy protection. This privacy protection helps shield your personal information from public view, reduces spam and protects against potential domain-related scams.
2. Implement Strong Website Security Measures
FLAIR Communication uses SSL certificates to encrypt data transmitted to and from your website. Your website software and applications are updated regularly to protect against vulnerabilities. Make sure you respond to your domain registrar’s request for ownership verification (an ICANN regulation) to avoid domain suspension or cancellation.
3. Regular Domain Account Monitoring and Updates
Regularly monitor your domain registration details and renew your domain in a timely manner. Keep your contact information and email address up to date with your domain registrar to avoid missing important notifications. It’s a good idea to have backup email addresses and contacts so you don’t miss important notifications about your domain account.
4. Educate Your Team
Educate your team about the importance of domain management and security. Ensure that they understand best practices and are aware of the latest security threats and how to counteract them. We recommend the primary domain contact be the business owner or another permanent member of the organization. We’ve seen businesses locked out of their domain accounts because the primary contact/owner was delegated to someone no longer affiliated with the business. This situation can make it difficult if not impossible to regain access to this valuable business asset.
Need Help?
Effective website domain management and security are not just technical necessities; they are critical components of your business strategy. The FLAIR Communication team is always available to advise you about security measures to protect your domain, your website and your business.