Own the school name online: domain basics without IT drama

A school that takes tuition should not live at a random builder subdomain or a volunteer’s personal Gmail. Parents type your name, check Maps, and look for a URL that looks like a school.

You do not need an IT department to own the name. You need a domain plan, a working Register site, and a clear story about what you keep if you leave.

What “owning the name” means in practice

- A domain that matches the school (or the closest honest version still available) - That domain pointed at your public working site - Email that uses the same name if you want it (office@yourschool…) - A Maps website field that matches - Yard signs, flyers, and church bulletins that print one URL

You can still use Facebook and Instagram. Those are not the name you own.

Domain under a CCCM working-site rental

When you rent a done-for-you school site from CCCM, we handle the public site. Talk to us at checkout or at hello@getcccm.com about how your domain will attach.

Typical honest split:

- You (or we, as agreed) register or already own the domain - The working site lives on that name while you rent - We build and run the pages - Families pay **you** — we never hold tuition - If you cancel after the three-month minimum, you export **text, photos, and the contact list** - **The site design stays with CCCM** — we do not hand over a custom theme for you to self-host

That last line is not a trick. It is the rental. You are not buying a pile of templates. You are renting a working public door.

What we will not pretend

We will not promise that a specific .com is available. We will not invent a live client URL as proof. We will not tell you that canceling gives you a turnkey copy of the design.

Invented sample (not a client): “Oak Hollow Grammar (invented) already owned oakhollowgrammar.com and pointed it at their rented Register site. On cancel they would keep the domain and an export of copy and contacts — not the layout.” Sample look only.

Email without drama

If the office still sends from a personal account, start with one school address for admissions and one for billing. You do not need twelve mailboxes on day one.

Domain email can be set up with common hosts. If you want help scoped, ask. The working-site rental itself is the public Register site, not a full IT contract.

What to print this week

Pick one URL. Print it. Put it on Maps. Put it in the Facebook bio. Stop listing three different links that go three different places.

Pricing for the site rental

- $149 first month, then $99/month, three-month minimum - Live in about one business day after paid checkout and complete details - One monthly tweak round - Checkout: https://www.getcccm.com/checkout - Clubs: https://www.getcccm.com/sports

Academy OS is not a domain product. Staff-desk ops: https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os — conversation first, no public OS price.

When a volunteer already “has the domain”

Ask who is the registrant. If it is a parent who may leave the board, transfer it to the school’s legal entity. A domain in a personal account is a quiet risk.

Plain next step

If a working public Register site is what you need, start at https://www.getcccm.com/checkout or email hello@getcccm.com with your school or club name, city, and what you run. Mention whether you already own a domain. If you need staff-desk ops instead, use https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os and expect a conversation — not a self-serve price button.