You’re probably wondering, “Why the heck should I pay attention to this?”
You’re right! You don’t have to. But if you want your website to stay up and running, it’s worth knowing the basics of domain expiration and renewal.
This guide will take you through everything you need to know about expirations and renewals so that you can keep your site up-to-date without breaking a sweat or losing sleep.
- What is Domain Name?
- What is a Domain Expiration?
- Why do Domains Expire?
- What Happens When Your Domain Expires?
- How to Prevent Domain Expiration?
- What is the Grace Period for a Domain?
- Can a Domain be Renewed After it Expired?
- What Happens if I Renew My Expired Domain During the Redemption Period?
- How Much Does a Domain Renewal Cost?
- Auto-Renewal: Good or Bad?
- Ready to Build the Best Website for Your Domain? Let’s Get It!
The Internet is a weird place.
It’s a place where you can find anything and anyone. It’s a place where you can read about your favorite celebrity’s latest feud with their ex-husband and then jump to the latest news on space exploration in one click. It’s also a place where you can have an ad for a tuxedo rental pop up as soon as you load up your favorite website.
And it’s all thanks to domains!
What are domains? Well, they’re kind of like addresses for websites. You might have heard of them before; they’re usually called URLs (uniform resource locators). But what do they mean exactly? And why do we need them anyway?
Well, let’s take a look at that questions one by one, and more!
Let’s get started….
What is Domain Name?
A domain name is the address for your website, so it’s kind of like a street address for your house. You can choose whatever you want for your domain name, but it has to be unique. So if you want to be really clever, you could think of something that no one else has thought of before!
Domain is the part of a URL that comes after the domain name. It’s also known as the subdomain or subfolder. The domain is what makes your website yours—it’s where your brand lives and thrives!
If you’ve ever purchased a domain name, you are probably familiar with how to set up a domain with your hosting provider. To get started, you need to choose a domain registrar—a company that sells domains—and then register your desired domain name with them. Some domain registrars offer free services, but others charge for their services depending on how long you want to keep your domain and what type of service package you select.
Once you’ve registered your desired business name and paid for it, it’s time to set up your website!
What is a Domain Expiration?
Domain name expiration is a process in which the registration of a domain name expires and the owner loses their rights to use that domain. The length of time for which a domain may be registered varies, but usually ranges from one to ten years. Many registrars also offer ‘auto-renew’ services for domains, whereby they will automatically charge the credit card associated with your account and renew your domain when it expires.
Why do Domains Expire?
When you buy a domain name from a provider, you are buying a lease on that domain. The provider holds onto the domain for you. The lease can be for one year, two years, or even longer. When the lease expires, it’s up to you to renew it with another payment or let it lapse into someone else’s hands.
If your domain has expired and hasn’t been renewed, there are several reasons why this might have happened:
You didn’t pay for your domain name in time.
Your credit card expired or was declined
You used a payment method that doesn’t allow automatic renewal (such as PayPal)
Your account expired or was terminated by your domain provider.
What Happens When Your Domain Expires?
As mentioned above, domain names have a predetermined lifetime. When a domain name expires, it becomes available for registration by anyone. If you want to keep your domain name active, you can renew it before its expiration date. You can also transfer ownership of a domain name to another registrar or sell it on the secondary market.
If you do not renew your domain name before it expires, the registry will put it up for auction on the Aftermarket.
In other words, if the domain name reaches its expiration date, it’s like having a birthday party where no one comes.
That’s right—you get nothing.
Nada.
Zero.
Zilch.
Nothing happens to your domain name when it expires—it just stops working.
You can’t use it anymore, and no one else can either!
How to Prevent Domain Expiration?
You spend hours and hours working on your website, and then one day you notice that your domain name has expired. Your website disappears from the internet, and you have no way of getting it back until you pay some premium to get it renewed.
It’s a nightmare scenario, but there are ways to prevent domain name expiration altogether!
Here are three tips for preventing domain name expiration:
Sign up for automatic renewal. Simply check your domain registrar’s settings every once in a while. If they’re set to auto-renew, then they’ll just keep renewing the domain without any intervention from you—which means the expiration date will never come up.
If you don’t want to rely on auto-renewal for whatever reason (maybe because you don’t want to pay for something every year), then make sure that you manually renew your domain before its expiration date comes up by checking with your registrar at least once every six months or so. You can also set reminders in Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook if that helps!
Finally, you want to renew early. If possible, try renewing at least 30 days before the expiration date—this gives you plenty of time to transfer over any content from one site to another if needed.
What is the Grace Period for a Domain?
The grace period for a domain name is the amount of time an expired domain can be renewed. Usually, the grace period is 30 days from the date of expiration. You can find out how long your grace period is by looking at your domain registration details on your registrar’s website.
If you don’t renew your domain before it expires, your domain will go into “redemption” status and may be available to register by anyone else. Redeemed domains are often sold at auction, so if you want to get back control of your expired domain, you should act quickly.
Additionally, the grace period allows you time to renew your domain name before it is deleted. The length of time varies by registrar but is typically between five and 60 days after expiration, depending on where you registered your domain name. After that, it’s up to the registrar as to whether or not it will allow you to renew during its deletion period — not all registrars honor redemption requests beyond their expiration dates.
Can a Domain be Renewed After it Expired?
The answer is yes, but it’s not that simple.
You can renew a domain name after it has expired, but you will have to do it through the registrar. You can’t do it directly with the registry like you would normally. The reason for this, as mentioned, is that when a domain expires, the registry will automatically register the owner’s name with their registrar to see if they want to renew or sell their domain. At this point in time, you are no longer the owner of your expired domain unless you contact your registrar and request that they cancel their registration and then allow you to register again via an RRP transfer.
When a domain is renewed after expiration, it does not go back into the pool of available domains for anyone else to purchase (except for ICANN premium domains). However, this does not mean that someone else cannot register your domain if they find out about its availability before you do!
What Happens if I Renew My Expired Domain During the Redemption Period?
If your domain expires, it enters the redemption period. This is a time when you can still pay to renew your domain and keep it.
If you are able to renew your expired domain during the redemption period, then nothing will happen. Your existing WHOIS information will remain unchanged, and you will keep full control over the domain.
And again, if you don’t renew your domain and let it go into general availability, you may lose all rights to it.
When this happens, the registrar must first check with the registry to see if anyone has a claim on the domain name. If no one does, then it will be renewed and you’ll be notified by email.
If someone does have a claim on your domain name, then the registrar will notify you that they’re unable to renew your domain name (for example, because someone else owns it).
How Much Does a Domain Renewal Cost?
Domains can be renewed for anywhere between $10 and $30 per year. The exact amount depends on several factors, including:
The type of domain (standard or premium)
The length of time remaining before expiration
Whether you renew early or wait until close to the end date
In addition, domain renewal may also cost depending on the domain name and its extensions.
For example, a simple .com domain name may cost as little as $10 per year. But a more complicated one — say, with multiple extensions — could run in more than of $200 per year.
The cost also varies based on whether you’re renewing your domain through a domain registrar or an authorized reseller.
Auto-Renewal: Good or Bad?
Domain name auto-renewal is a feature that allows you to automatically renew your domain names when they expire. It’s a convenient feature for those who don’t want to worry about forgetting about their domains — and in some cases, it can actually save money.
Domain name auto-renewal is a controversial topic. Some people think it’s a bad idea, while others think it’s an essential part of the domain registration process.
The truth is that there are PROS and CONS to auto-renewing your domains, so let’s take a look at what each side has to say.
It saves time and hassle. If you don’t want to worry about forgetting about your domains, then this is a great option. You’ll never have to worry about missing an expiration date again!
If you’re using multiple registrars with different billing cycles, it can be difficult to keep track of which ones need renewing next — especially if you’ve got several years of data stored in your account. This can lead to missed payments and other problems that can cost you money or result in domain loss.
Auto-renewal also helps keep costs down for registrars and resellers, who might otherwise need to contact customers regularly when their domains are about to expire (especially if they’re out of the office on vacation or business trips).
Auto-renewals can fail. Some registrars will try to bill you for an auto-renewal even if they don’t have what they need from your credit card issuer (for example, if your card has expired). If they do manage to take the payment from your account and then realize their mistake, they may put additional charges on hold until the situation is resolved — which means double billing.
It can save money in some cases. Some registrars offer discounts on renewal fees if you sign up for auto-renewal. This means that if you want to renew early without losing any savings, then you’ll need to make sure that the discount still applies when your current registration expires. Otherwise, it may be better not to use this feature at all so that you can take advantage of any special offers when it comes time for renewal.
You might pay more. While some registrars offer discounts on renewal fees, others charge full price for auto-renewals. If you’re not careful, this could end up costing you more than just renewing manually each year.
The Bottom line? Well, do you think domain name auto-renewal is good or bad? It’s a question worth asking, especially when so many other Internet users feel ripped off by it. However, that doesn’t mean that all website owners are doing something wrong. Some domain name registrars are actually very helpful and honest in their renewals.
Domain name auto-renewal can actually be beneficial, as long as you are aware of the fact that it’s not a tool meant to be used in perpetuity. Think of it as something to use only when you know what’s coming, and you need a bit more time to establish yourself in your industry– like the start-up period of a new business.
Ready to Build the Best Website for Your Domain? Let’s Get It!
We know what you’re thinking: “I don’t have time for this!
We hear you, and we feel you.
You’ve got a lot on your plate, and we get that.
But guess what? We’re here to help!
When you work with us, you’ll get a website that’s just as unique as your domain. Because we believe in building websites for people—not just code—we’ll work closely with you to create the perfect site to showcase what makes your brand special.
And when it’s done, we’ll make sure it looks great on all devices so everyone who visits can see your content, wherever they are.
We’ll also be there every step of the way to make sure that your site is easy to update and manage, so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself or paying someone else to do it for you.
Contact us!
Strive Enterprise Official Website
We are the Best Web developers & Online Marketers in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Check out our Portfolio
We Also Offer Digital Marketing For Small & Big Businesses, SEO, E-Commerce, WordPress, PPC Campaign Development & Management for Google, Bing & Yahoo!, Facebook Ads, and more!
We wish you happy selling!
See you soon!