Guidance on Chapter Domains

ASG policy and documents in the Leadership Area explain domain registration and offer guidance. If you do not have access please contact your chapter president. She can grant access or provide the files to you. While ASG documents suggest that you should include your full chapter name as part of your domain name, this may not be ideal for all chapters. 

 

My chapter's domain name uses our initials and not our full name. For example rather than using sarasotagulfcoast-asg.org, our chapter uses its initials, sgcasg.org.  That allows us to have the domain email address of info@sgcasg.org instead of info@sarasotagulfcoast-asg.org .

The same principle applies to ASG which uses  info@asg.org instead of info@americansewingguild.org. When you are deciding on a domain name, in addition to your chapter being in the domain name, you want it to end in .org and you want it to contain "asg".

Sometimes a chapter wants to change their domain name. This is common if they have a .com domain and want to use a .org domain. It good practice to renew the .com domain for another year while you are transitioning your visitors. That will give them time to learn the new URL and bookmark it. It might not always be cost effective so that decision is left up to each chapter. Chapters can purchase more than one domain and "point" it to the same site. 

Our chapter has done that. We started out 20 years ago with a .com domain. We purchased a .org domain in 2014 and let the .com domain expire the following year. During that time, members were asked to bookmark the new URL. When we moved to domain email in late 2015, we purchased the shorter domain so that it would easily fit in the columns of our newsletter. Both of our domain names (sgcasg.org and sarasotagulfcoast-asg.org) will "land" at the exact same website. 

ASG directs that domain control be managed by each chapter. Each chapter will need to determine the best way to handle those duties. Domain purchase and renewal is a serious responsibility. It should be entrusted to a member who will keep the interests of the chapter in the forefront at all times. 


Domain Registration and Renewal Payments

The website builder will generate an invoice in the name of the account holder. The invoice will cover a set period of time and cover everything in your package. Usually the renewal cycle is every 1 to 3 years. It is not unusual to see a modest cost increase to renew, however at least one website builder (Jimdo) renews at the initial package price. 


A domain registrar, will generate an invoice in the name of the account holder or the domain owner and will submit it to the billing agent on record. The invoice for a website template or hosting fee may renew on an entirely different schedule. It is not uncommon to receive three different invoices at different times when using a registrar for your domain. In addition to your domain invoice, you might also receive one from your hosting site and another from the person or company who manages your website's content. 


ASG policy provides the title of Web Manager for the person maintaining the chapter's website. Some chapters request their Web Managers to pay the invoice and then submit for reimbursement when the Web Manager is the account holder. Other chapters may authorize a chapter credit card to be kept on file in the account. 


Chapter Records

Your chapter president and secretary should retain a copy of your domain records. These include the name and contact information of:

 

1. The domain owner/registrar (should be your chapter name)

 

2.  The domain administer (should be the account holder)

 

3. The website content manager

 

4. The person whose credit card is used to pay the invoice

 

5. The website host or website builder (technical adminstrator)

 

6. Account log in information for the accounts that manage your website and domain registration

Domain Administrators and Managers

I have created a separate page to explain the role of a Domain Adminstrator and an ASG Website Manager.