Have you found yourself asking one or more of the following:
- Who controls my domain name?
- What's the difference between my registrar and my hosting provider?
- What the hell is FTP access?
- Who set up our Facebook page, does anyone know?
- Who's email was used to set up our Twitter account? Do they still work for us?
- I see we have a Google+ Place page, how do I update our Hours of Operation?
In small business there's usually one constant and that is YOU, the business owner. When you engage with a digital service provider OWNERSHIP of all digital assets (aside from proprietary software) should be registered in YOUR name.
Quick things you need to know:
Your Domain Registrar is often not the same company as your Hosting provider.
When you registered your domain name, there are typically two contacts that must be provided: (Administrative and Technical). Your digital service provider will typically add his/her name and email address as the Technical contact, YOU should always be the Administrative contact listed with your Registrant. Get in touch with us if you've lost control.
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.
If it's time to address an old or under performing website and you are not sure if your webmaster is alive or dead, it would be very advantageous to have FTP access. All the content that exists on your current website lives in file directories on the servers that host your website. That information belongs to you, and you should have access should you ever need to move the website, copy it or change it.
Facebook company pages should be aligned with a personal Facebook profile. Someone in your organization needs to be responsible for your corporate profile. That person should be a valued member of your team-- and YOU should be an Administrator even if you have no plans of logging in.
If your company is tweeting, it's best you know who in your organization is 'taking it to the streets.' If it's your daughter's ex boyfriend, whom she begged you to hire last summer, then 'Houston, we have a problem'.
Google My Business is a FREE suite of products ideal for small businesses.
If you've got Google My Business products working for you now simply make sure you have ACCESS.
If you are unsure about these Google products, we are happy to help set them up or help you regain control.
In the last 11 years we've worked with many small businesses helping them regain control of their digital assets. If you are not sure who's in control it's very likely we can help.
Always a pleasure,
Jen:)
