Internet hosting service providers often provide a free domain name as an incentive to sign up for a hosting account. What they don't tell you is that the domain name may be registered in the web hosting company's name in stead of your own. While there is no problem as long as you host your web site with them, things become a bit sticky if for some reason you have to move your web site to another host.

When I first put up a web site I used a internet hosting service provider that charged $80 per month. In addition to providing a free domain name, they promised to provide search engine optimization, drive traffic to my web site, etc. I found that all the extra services were provided on a "do it yourself" basis, they gave instructions and I carried them out. After several month of paying for hosting at that rate I decided that I was not getting good value for my money. I asked about transferring my web site to another host, and was told that I could not since I used their proprietary web building software to build my site, and they owned my domain name. I was charged $99 to transfer the domain name to me, which is about a five minute process for them.

If you are using a domain name registered in the internet hosting service provider's name, any effort you expend and any cost incurred to drive traffic to your site is really adding value to the hosting company, not you. Domain names of successful businesses often worth thousands of dollars. While some web hosting companies may give up a valuable domain name for a nominal fee, you shouldn't count on it. The host owns the domain name and they can charge whatever they choose to transfer it into your name, nor are they even obligated to do so. Also, what happens to your domain name if the web hosting company should go out of business? The folly of this situation is not widely known.

If the domain name of your web site came free with a hosting package, please check the Whois data base to find out. This can be checked at http://whois.domaintools.com/. You should immediately request that the domain name be transferred to you if it is in the internet hosting service provider's name. If you are considering a hosting plan, the site http://www.hostingplanscompared.com lists complete information on fourteen hosting plans of ten top rated internet hosting service providers, including whose name the free domain names are registered.