Lesson 5: How do I have someone manage my site safely?

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We know you’re probably crazy busy hustling to manage your awesome business. So, you might decide to outsource some of the work of managing your website.

If so, you’ll want to know how to protect yourself and your customers. In this lesson, we’ll uncover the best practices for keeping your website and data secure. Here are the top Do’s and Don’ts for keeping your account secure:

Do NOT share your account passwords or PINs with anyone

Ever. Just don’t do it. If someone has access to your account, they can control ownership of your website. Think of it as handing over the title to your car or a document with your social security number on it. You would only share that information with a select few people, if anyone. The same goes for your website logins.

DO invite others to access your account as a delegate, instead

This means that a person can access your account through their own login, and you can decide what they can or cannot do in your account. For example, you could allow a delegate to update the blog on your site but restrict their access to customer information. (Note: “Delegate” is the term we use at GoDaddy. Different companies may have different names for this type of role.)


PRO-TIP

You don’t have to figure this out alone. We’re here for you. You can always call GoDaddy to talk to one of our Guides if you need help keeping your website secure. Guides are available 24/7 at 480-463-8390.


Do NOT let someone else register your business domain name under their name

If someone helped you buy a domain, make sure your domain name was registered in your name and that of your business–not the other person’s.

Do register your own domain name and list yourself or your business as the Registrant or Owner

This will prevent someone else from trying to take over your domain. It’s important not to mess around with this, because it could really hurt your business in the long run.

Do NOT let someone else own your hosting account

It sounds easy when a developer offers to host your site for you, but what if they’re on vacation? Or stop returning your calls? You need 24/7 access to and control of your website. Insist that the developer host your site in a 3rd party account that you control and give them access to, not the other way around.

Do place your domain and hosting in accounts that you own

Do this even if someone else built your site or updates it for you. This will place you in control and give you peace of mind.


It can be a little scary to think about the things that could go wrong if someone else is managing your website. But, don’t let this dissuade you from asking for help with managing your website.

Now that you’ve learned these best practices, you know exactly what to do to keep yourself in control of your website. If you have further questions about keeping your website secure, we’ve linked some practical resources below.

Account management help

Account management help
Learn about account management from the GoDaddy Help Center.

WHOIS domain lookup
Use the WHOIS database for information on domain registration and availability.

Articles on how to keep your account secure
A collection of articles on account security.