Help - I’ve lost my domain
No matter how often we warn against it, we keep seeing clients lose their domain names due to completely preventable reasons…
Things like…
- Changing email address but not telling us (so therefore not getting reminders)
- Ignoring email reminders until just after the due date
- Leaving it until after that holiday (and after the renewal date)
The expiry date on Domain names should always be considered too late… ensure your domain is renewed in advance of that date, and make sure that you mark it clearly in your diary, and don’t rely on others to ensure it gets done.
Remember that .com domains (and other “global” domains such as .net and .org etc) WILL go offline the day after the renewal date if the registry hasn’t been paid. And as a general rule of thumb, we (like every other company and registrar) won’t pay the registry until you pay us! Leave it much longer than a day, and you risk going into “Redemption” - which starts geting costly. Ignore it beyond that, and the chances are you WILL lose your domain to someone else - most likely a cybersquatter.
If your name is at all vital to your business, then SECURE IT, either via our own domain protection service, or simply by registering it for longer than 1 or 2 years at a time (.com can be registered for 10 years). Don’t be one of the many who phone us with “help me - I’ve lost my domain”.
