phidgt.com

Once again I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to explain the importance of domain names. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record even to myself, but here it goes.

A domain name is as important as the title to your house or car. It is akin to being the title of your business on the Internet. Even if your web site is simply a personal blog, that domain name is still your brand, your name, a way for people to find you on the web. So, it is imperative that you take 100% responsibility of it.

Regardless of which of the hundreds of registrars you choose to purchase your domain name from you will be required to create an account. The information you provide while setting up this account must be accurate and kept up to date. This is where most people screw things up. Registrars will send you renewal information to the e-mail address which you provided in the contact information. The registrars generally do not send information via any other means of communication. Therefore, if you change your e-mail address and do not update this information with your domain name registrar you will not receive renewal information and your domain name could expire without you even realizing it. YOU MUST KEEP YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION UP TO DATE.

Once your domain name has expired it will be become available for anyone to purchase – and it will most likely be purchased by what is known as a Cybersquatter. These folks purchase up expired domains in the hopes of conning you into paying whatever exorbitant fees they want. It is not unusual for them to demand thousands of dollars for you to reclaim your domain name. While this is illegal in most countries it is not illegal in all of them. Attempting any sort of legal battle is going to be a waste of time and money as the law is fairly unenforceable. Your best option is to wait. The person who purchased your domain name may give up after awhile and not renew it. The tricky part is that if you show any interest that you want to buy back your domain name they will likely hang onto it in hopes that you become desperate enough to pay them.

Right now – ask yourself these questions:

Who owns my domain name?
Where is it registered?
Do you know the log-in and password for your account?
What contact information is associated with you account?
When does your domain name expire?

If you are unable to answer even one of these questions you may potentially have a serious problem on your hands. My advice is to get answers to all of these questions – right now.

Today we have updated all of our client sites to WordPress version 3.0.1. Please check your sites to make sure that there are no compatibility issues.

The WordPress community is constantly updating and upgrading their software. At phidgt.com we automatically update your site whenever one of these updates happen.

As we update your site you will receive an e-mail with the following subject heading: Your WordPress installation has been updated.

There are occasions when the update may have compatibility issues with aspects of your site. This may include your theme, plug-ins or any customized features that you may have installed.

When you receive one of these e-mails, please go to your site and make sure that everything is working properly. Send us an e-mail if you notice any problems.