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Case Study: The Lost Domain Name

Here follows a true story, illustrating why knowing your domain name, where it is registered and who has access to it is so important.

I was recently approached by a business who had become totally disillusioned with their website – both the way it functioned and its general look and feel. We had a dynamic discussion during which they shared their vision and values of the business with us and related how their business had developed over the years.

At The Capture Factory, we begin with a general discussion about what a website needs to achieve:

  • Lead generation?
  • Referral/warm lead/informational site?
  • Any e-commerce requirements?
  • Calendar/bookings?
Once we understand what functions are required, we can then dive into its design, i.e. the look, feel and alignment with company colours, fonts, logos, diagrams etc. We provide our client with graphic representations of how the site will look when finished. On this particular occasion, everything ticked along nicely with each person understanding their individual role regarding the writing of copy (text) and pulling together the relevant images for each page on the website.

As a result, our client had to try to track down the previous owner - who had emigrated and was difficult to get hold of. Several weeks passed, and it was looking more and more like our client would have to pick a new domain name, which would have meant mean losing the valuable asset of goodwill that had been developed during 10+ years in business. However, choosing a new domain name is not the ideal solution because:

  • The domain name would still be visible in searches, even though the company no longer used it
  • Loss of existing/future clients who can no longer find the company and wrongly assume it has closed
  • A significant reduction in traffic to its busy site
  • Loss of email addresses
  • Losing any other service that used their domain name
  • Reduction in the value of goodwill that the business had built over many years

At the beginning, our client informed us that everything was controlled by their hosting company, to whom they simply paid a one-off fee. As things were moving along at a good pace, the decision was made to take down the existing site and put a holding page in place until the new site was ready. This is a popular option when clients update, change or renew a website with which they are unhappy.

...losing the valuable asset of goodwill

As we continued with more client discussions, we discovered that the company had been purchased three or four years earlier. It turned out that the previous owner of the company was still paying the domain registration. We knew this because we had discovered from the Nominet Whois look-up that this particular domain had been renewed only a few months before.

.....track down the previous owner - who had emigrated

As we continued with more client discussions, we discovered that the company had been purchased three or four years earlier. It turned out that the previous owner of the company was still paying the domain registration. We knew this because we had discovered from the Nominet Whois look-up that this particular domain had been renewed only a few months before.

As a result, our client had to try to track down the previous owner - who had emigrated and was difficult to get hold of. Several weeks passed, and it was looking more and more like our client would have to pick a new domain name, which would have meant mean losing the valuable asset of goodwill that had been developed during 10+ years in business. However, choosing a new domain name is not the ideal solution because:

  • The domain name would still be visible in searches, even though the company no longer used it
  • Loss of existing/future clients who can no longer find the company and wrongly assume it has closed
  • A significant reduction in traffic to its busy site
  • Loss of email addresses
  • Losing any other service that used their domain name
  • Reduction in the value of goodwill that the business had built over many years
Why does your domain name matter?

Thankfully, in this particular case, the person with control over the domain name and access to the domain registrar was eventually tracked down, and we managed to help our client regain access. Even so, the cost to their business was considerable because of the time spent searching old paperwork, trying to establish contact and chasing down leads.

The impact of losing a domain name, especially for a well-established business, can be huge. Don’t let this happen to you! Make sure you know:

  • Your domain name
  • Where it is registered
  • Who has access
  • That you don’t let your registration lapse!
Connect With Us

If you are still unsure where your domain name is registered or need our help to develop your website for a better online presence, call The Capture Factory on 01538 787559 or contact us today..

Our team is ready to answer any questions you may have and begin your online journey.

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