17 Dec Six Tips Businesses Should Use to Protect Website Domains

Last blog, we shared our insight on what it means to truly own a website. As we approach the New Year, you should resolve to do better for yourself, your website, and your business by taking all the necessary steps to protect your digital property. Social Spice Media outlines 6 ways you can do this:

1. Register your business’s name

When you register your website’s name, register it under a business name rather than a person’s name. If there is turnover in your company, you won’t want the hassle of re-registering or switching over your website domain name to another person.

2. Purchase your domain name

Yes, it costs money to secure your website name but the extra bucks are worth it to keep competing businesses from taking your name. You should also register domain names that are similar to your website’s name. You don’t want competitors’ websites to share a nearly identical website name with the only difference being the .org or .net in their website’s name.

3. Keep your password private

This is common sense but you’d be surprised by how often people use weak passwords for their most important intellectual property. Make sure you create a strong password that no one will guess (that means not using birthdays, names, or special dates in your password). You can also use online generators to create random passwords that will be difficult for hackers to figure out. Change your password every so often for extra protection. Pro tip: Use two-step authentication for an added layer of protection when you need access to the back end of your website. It’s another step but you’ll be grateful for the extra security in the long run!

4. Create separate login credentials

When it comes to your domain registrar and web host provider, it’s in your best interest to create different login credentials for each. If a computer hacker figures out the credentials to one of these, it won’t be hard for them to access the other if you have the same login information for both.

5. Keep contact information out of sight

Don’t provide your personal cell phone or email address as contact information for your business. Computer hackers will be able to use your contact information to steal your identity and possibly gain access into your website domain. On a related note, be wary about the emails you receive. Hackers might send you emails that appear to be from your website domain registrar, provide a link to a website that looks identical to yours, and steal your credentials once you enter this information. Don’t let this happen to you!

6. Be aware of renewal deadlines

If you snooze, you lose. Mark your calendar indicating when your domain registration is set to expire. If you’re not on top of it, you could easily lose your website domain by failing to make your payment on time. In fact, consider renewing your domain registration for a few years into the future instead of just once a year.

Get in touch with Social Spice Media to learn more about developing an affordable, functional website for your business and how you can effectively spend your marketing dollars. Our team pays attention to your goals and creates a custom strategy that delivers results. Do you know someone who could benefit from our services? Refer them to us today! Our team is eager to connect with businesses in any industry. We serve the local needs of Ventura County and Santa Barbara as well as anywhere in the United States.