Domains sit outside the hosting account and are the most common cause of a client being offline while everything you control is working.
WHERE THE DOMAIN LIVES
Registered through you, registered by the client elsewhere, or registered by a previous developer who is no longer contactable. Establish which at onboarding, and record it.
The third case causes real trouble. If a client cannot access their own domain registration, deal with it while the domain is still working, not after it expires.
EXPIRY IS NOT YOUR SYSTEM
A client domain expiring takes their site and email offline even though your hosting is untouched. Clients hold you responsible regardless of whose job it was.
Record every client's domain expiry date and check the list quarterly. A reminder email a month before expiry is a small courtesy that prevents a large problem.
REGISTERING DOMAINS FOR CLIENTS
If you register on their behalf, decide who is the registrant. Registering in your own name creates a dispute when the relationship ends. Register in the client's name with yourself as technical contact.
NEVER WITHHOLD A DOMAIN
Holding a client's domain to resolve a billing dispute destroys your reputation permanently. Pursue the debt separately.
