What happens if my domain expires?

If your domain expires, your Website and Emails will cease to function.

Meaning no one will be able to see your website, order your products or services online, and you won’t be able to send or receive emails from your domain.

It’s not a good thing, but it is that simple!

If you want it to expire then no worries, just be aware this is the general process, which differs slightly for different kinds of domains:

1. If not renewed before the Expiry Date, you will usually get 1 month (while it is down) to still renew it and save it!
2. After that 1st month, some Expire completely straight away whereas other types like the .au domains give you a further 30 day redemption period to claim your domain before it is released and anyone or any automated computer system can register it again.
3. Don’t let it get to the redemption stage because it is costly and there are no guarantees you will successfully retrieve it.

How could my domain have expired – it shouldn’t have?

You probably registered your domain when you were starting your business and have missed or ignored domain renewal emails sent from your domain registration host.

Also, it is very common for people to entrust someone else to register the domain for them – such as a Web Designer or a friend. The problem with this is that they probably used an email address to register the domain (Registrant Email Address) that they no longer use, or that is not yours or not accessible by you. Or even if it was yours, perhaps it was an old one that you no longer use.

Therefore when those all important domain renewal reminders are emailed, you are oblivious to the renewal date fast approaching and do not ensure the correct steps are taken to renew your domain.

What are the correct steps you need to take?

1. Ensure you always have control of your domain
2. Ensure your email address listed as the Registrant or Contact address on your domain is always your current address
3. Ensure you have the Domain Password (also known as an EPP Code, Auth Key or Transfer Key)

These 3 things are basic things to ensure you are always the rightful owner with complete control always.

Further to these, to make things easier and a lot smoother each year…

1. Ensure your domain is set to Auto-Renew in your hosting account – login and check to be sure
2. If you pay for your services by credit card, ensure the card details are current in your hosting account in order for the renewal invoice to be paid automatically on the renewal/due date
3.  If you pay by other means, ensure you pay the renewal invoice several working days/weeks before the renewal date. Or even a few months to allow for any unforeseen banking delays

Additionally…

If you are not listed as the Registrant of the domain but should be, then change it now. Contact your domain host on how to do this.

If it is a .au domain, your ABN could be outdated or if you have bought a business it could be under the wrong one. This effectively means you DO NOT own your domain. To fix this, the process is called a Registrant Name Change (RNC), it’s simple and hassle free with a small administration charge the Australian Registry charge that is passed on to you.

We highly recommend you do this as it is your domain – no one else should own it!

How long will it take to renew?

Once the renewal invoice is paid then your domain should renew instantly, but it can take a few hours or longer to renew with the Registrar. Nothing will happen to your website or email during a timely renewal.

However if your domain has already expired, your website and emails will remain out of action until it renews and until the cache clears.

A delay you and your business could do without!

How do I check the renewal date of my domains?

• The best way is to login to your domain host account – click on your domain or perhaps ‘Manage Domain’ and you should see the expiry/renewal date
• Your domain host should be sending you reminders several weeks out from the renewal date – check those emails for the renewal date!
• However, sometimes it can be difficult to login if someone else originally set this up for you and you’re not sure who it is with or you don’t have login details. For .au domains you can check the information here, and for .com domains you can find the info here by entering in your domain name and then clicking the “whois” link just below.

If your domain is registered through NewSprout and you are not too sure…please contact us. If it’s registered elsewhere and you’re unsure how to gather the information, we are specialists at this, so give us a call and we’ll help you.