If you let your web design company buy your domain name of your behalf make sure they won't charge you to release it to another hosting company later on.

If you think this will happen, go to any domain registration company that allows you to manage your domain e.g http://www.123-reg.co.uk (this is not a referral but a recommendation).

You can then point the domain at the web designer’s servers and when you want to change there will be no charge.

We have had two clients in a week who have had to lose their domain names as the designer / hosting company wanted over £100 to transfer the domain.  It only costs £8 to buy for two years in the first place!

SO Web Designs do not charge for this service and we don't anyone should.  It's not far off blackmail, pay up or you lose your domain name which affects all the promotion you have relating to it!

We hope other design and hosting companies who read this will change their mind.  Clients do change designers for many reasons:

1. A family member of friend offers a website for free

2. They need to reduce costs

3. They just want a change

Don't be bitter, accept it and stop giving this industry a bad name.  Transfer the domain name, let the client go and concentrate on winning new clients, not upsetting ones that just want to go quietly.

And if the two designers that we have been in contact with this week are reading this, do you think you were really being reasonable?

So for all those who have let the designer buy the domain name for them, get it in writing (even email is allowed in court) that you own the domain name and that there is no charge for moving it to another IPSTAG, it takes two mouse clicks so if they do want to charge, divide that by two to find out how much they value a mouse click at!