I can’t say it enough:

OWN YOUR DOMAIN
OWN YOUR WEBSITE

Why have someone else register your domain and have them own it? What happens if you want to take over the control? Is it easy to do? You better make sure it is.

Why pay a company thousands of dollars to design a website for you only to find out down the road that the content is not yours? The US Copyright office has determined that web designers are considered ‘authors’ and even if you collaborate with your designer on content that it is the designer’s property! So if you want to switch providers down the road, you might lose your site. They can and will sue you for your content.

Make sure you get it in writing that after payment, ownership if your website is to be transferred to you. Do not sign a contract stating anything else. You paid the money; you keep the website. It’s your company brand.