Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices

Domain over your Domain

by Richelle Thompson on May 25, 2011

A domain name is pretty much like a tattoo. Once you get one, you better plan on keeping it for life.

Otherwise, prepare yourself for some pain.

I speak from experience. Several years ago, I received an email asking why the diocesan youth website was promoting adult-oriented, online dating.

I didn’t know until then that the youth minister had decided to launch a new site with a new url. He decided not to renew the old address and planned to promote the new one in all of the materials.

On the same day that the old youth site expired, a “dating company” glommed onto the newly available address. We had to purchase the url back – at more money than we would have paid to simply renew it. And we spent a good amount of time praying that few people visited the site before we noticed the problem.

Like many congregations, your church has been online for 5-6 years, maybe more. You’re probably on at least the second iteration of a website. You keep adding features like blogs and social media add-ons. And you may think it’s time for a complete overhaul, including changing that crazy url that your predecessor mysteriously chose.

My advice: never let go of your existing url. If you’re dead-set on launching a website with a new address, then re-direct the existing one to the new domain.

Domain names are relatively inexpensive, and you can get discounts for long-term renewals.

Believe me: It’s worth the cost so that another, perhaps less noble company doesn’t start plying its wares on your beloved StSwithams.org.

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