Three times this week, I’ve encountered the same problem: web developers taking control of a customer’s domain and DNS, then leaving the customer without the support they need.
It’s frustrating to encounter as an IT technician. For the business owner trying to keep things running, it can be far worse.
A business puts its trust in someone to handle the technical side. The provider takes over the accounts, makes the changes and becomes the person everyone depends on. If that provider then becomes unavailable or stops helping, the customer can be left struggling to regain control of essential business services.
In my opinion, anyone taking on that level of control needs to take the responsibility seriously.
Your domain affects more than your website
Your domain is part of your business identity. It appears in your email addresses, on your invoices and across your advertising.
DNS contains the records that help connect that domain to services such as your website and email. Changes to those records can affect whether those services work. Microsoft specifically warns that incorrect DNS records can cause email and service outages.
That makes domain and DNS management a serious responsibility.
When access and documentation are missing, another IT technician may have to spend time identifying providers, tracing accounts and chasing permissions before they can address the original problem.
The customer ends up paying for the confusion through extra support costs, delays and disruption.
Taking control comes with responsibility
A capable web developer can manage domains, hosting and related services well. The arrangement needs clear boundaries and accountability.
If you manage these services for a customer, they should understand what you manage, what they are paying for, how to obtain support and what happens if the relationship ends.
A one-off website build and an ongoing support agreement have different scopes. Those differences should be explained upfront. A customer should never have to discover the limits of an arrangement during an outage.
If you are moving on, closing the business or no longer providing a service, organise a proper handover. Make sure the customer has the information and access needed to appoint someone else.
Leaving a customer dependent on accounts only you can access, while becoming unavailable to help, is unacceptable in my view.
The business needs to retain control
Business owners should have a secure, documented way to access or recover control of their essential services.
For Australian .au domains, check who is recorded as the registrant—the domain licence holder. auDA’s rules require an agent registering a domain on someone else’s behalf to record that person as the registrant. Having a developer arrange the registration should still leave the correct customer recorded as the licence holder.
Access also needs to be checked service by service. Domain registration, DNS hosting, website hosting and Microsoft 365 administration can involve different accounts and permissions. Access to the domain account does not automatically provide administrator access to Microsoft 365. Microsoft’s setup process treats those as separate requirements.
“The web people handle it” leaves too much unanswered.
The business needs to know who handles each service and how it can authorise another technician to help when necessary.
Five questions every business owner should ask
You should be able to get clear answers to these:
- Where is our domain registered, and who is the registered licence holder?
- Who manages our DNS, website hosting and email services?
- How does our business securely access or recover the relevant accounts, including authentication and recovery methods?
- Who is responsible for renewals, and what support does our agreement include?
- What is the handover process if we change providers or our current provider becomes unavailable?
Keep those answers somewhere your business can access. Ask for them while everything is working.
You can leave the technical work to qualified people while still retaining control and understanding the arrangement.
Customers deserve clarity and a workable exit
My view is that a good provider should make a customer’s business easier to manage. That includes keeping records, explaining responsibilities and cooperating with other technicians when the customer needs help.
Customers should feel confident that they can get support, recover access and change providers without their business being left in limbo.
That is the standard I believe our industry should work towards.
If you are unsure who controls your domain, DNS or business email, BOSS IT Solutions can help you review the setup, identify gaps in access and documentation, and work out what needs to happen next.
Your business should retain control of the services it depends on.
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