This might not have even occurred to many people, as the convenience and simplicity of having all your domains, web host and everything else in one place is attractive. However let me try and dissuade you from that point of view with a few not so unusual scenarios that will get you thinking.

First of all, web hosting companies make it very enticing to purchase your domain from them. In fact, it’s a major part of their business. Often you are offered one of more “free” domains as part of your hosting deal with them. This is not as simple as it appears.

It may not actually be free. The cost is factored into your entire package, and the question lingers, do you really own the domain name, or is it a property that is yours to use as long as you use their hosting? Some web hosting companies are very fickle on this point.

Some even go so far as to make it very hard to leave them by refusing to give you root access to your domain, refusing to change nameservers, or otherwise delaying your departure. This, as you might guess, can wreak havoc on your web site, and subsequently any business you are trying to run from it.

People have had problems like this, and it is a nightmare. You are at their mercy, waiting for them to release your domain name so you can set up your hosting somewhere else. Let’s look at a common sense approach to help you avoid this fiasco.

First, you’ve heard the expression “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket”? Well, this applies here as well. Purchase your domains from the most reputable domain sellers you can find. Two of the best are GoDaddy and NameCheap, but do your own research, as there are several others as well.

Once you have purchased your domain from them, change the DNS (domain name server) information on your domain to point to your new host’s nameservers. (They will give you these numbers, and there are usually two, in the form of a web address.) Then you’re done! Don’t opt for any other services with the domain company except the domain registration itself. Don’t buy services or extras for your domain, as you won’t be hosting it with them, and you wouldn’t be able to apply it at your new web host.

They will tell you that it takes at least several hours for your domain to show up at the new host, but it usually is far less than that, sometimes only a few minutes.

If you opt to do your business this way, you can avoid problems with web hosting companies trying to hang on to your hosting, which for them is a nice little passive monthly toll. If you’re only a domain customer, they don’t have that power over you. Moreover, if you ever wanted to leave your latest web host, it’s simply a matter of going back to your domain account, and changing the nameservers again to the new host.

It also simplifies matters greatly to partition your web business this way, especially when you are dealing with several web hosting companies. And who needs more confusion, right?