You Probably Don’t Even Know You Are Being Held Hostage
Lawyers rescue people all of the time. They rescue people from situations where they too trusting and not asking the right questions.
Today, I am going to rescue you.
If you worked with a web design company and didn’t ask the right questions, you are probably being held hostage and don’t even know it.
A lot of website development companies are soup-to-nuts. That means that they help you from the planning of your website all of the way to execution. Most lawyers need this level of support because website building is not something they teach in law school. But, if you don’t ask the right questions, your website development company could be in complete control over your website and even your domain name.
You might be wondering why this is a problem. It is a problem because you are at the mercy of the website development company for each and every change you’d like to make. Not only will changes cost you money, but you are now working on their schedule. What if you are unhappy with their services? The chances are that you cannot take your website or domain with you because the website development company is holding the keys – especially if they set up hosting services and the domain name was purchased under their name.
If you are ready to take back control of your website, here are a few things you should know.
Your Domain Name
You can register your own domain name with registrars such as GoDaddy for about $10 to $15 per year. They even run specials where you can sometimes register them and pay 99 cents for the first year! If you are working with a website development company to create a website, make sure that they know that you want to create your own account so that you control your domain name. If your developer already owns your website, ask them to transfer ownership to you.
Your Hosting Company
Every website needs to “live” somewhere. Web hosting companies like HostGator offer technologies and services that are needed to get your website on the Internet. This is also very inexpensive – typically about $10 per month. Some website development companies “require” that you host your website on their systems. Steer clear of them. Be sure to work with a company that allows you to create and maintain the web host account for your law firm.
Your Content
Some website development companies offer to write the copy that is on your website. Others ask you to write the copy, but they then are in control of putting that content on the website. That may sound ok in the beginning, but what you will find is that you may be nickel-and-dimed because you’ll need to pay them every time you want to add content or make a change. I highly recommend that your website be set up in a way that allows YOU or your team to update and maintain control of your content.
We’ve seen it all over the years, trust me. You do not want to get into a tug-of-war with a website company over your website. Do your homework and make sure you ask the right questions. That way you can rest easy knowing your website is really, truly yours.
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.