Why you should renew your domain name?

Buying a domain name is a task in itself. First, you need to check if there is a domain name of your choice and then if it suits your budget and other criteria, etc. In fact, buying a domain of your choice and a domain name can be an expensive affair too. There are so many who have purchased expensive domains like voice.com (USD 30 million), beer.com (USD 5 million), and so on because these domains give their businesses a good brand name and image that they want to stand for. No doubt, domain names give businesses a different vibe and feel no matter what their price is. But most importantly they act as an address to your business website which people remember for a long.

Now when such an entity runs the risk of being taken away, it could be a huge loss to the brand, its business, and its relationship with its customers. In case you are new to domains, you may not have realized that domains expire because they are NOT a one-time buy that you can sit on. When you start with a domain registration process, in effect, you are leasing it for anywhere between 1 to 10 years of time.

With this article, we seek to educate you and tell you the importance of domain renewal in time and ensure that you keep this practice as the renewal date approaches.

Importance of domain name

We have seen innumerable amounts of time that customers point fingers at a brand in case they lose their domain or if they are trying to renew it but still end up losing it and getting errors in their panel. This is either because customers assume that domains don’t need to be renewed or it is the job of the provider to ensure domain renewal. Many customers also understand this and share their issues with the provider but unfortunately, it is too late

Understand this- domain names are important because they are a huge part of your online business. They have a lifecycle and being aware of its renewal is your job as its end-user as much as it is of the provider to notify you with the same.

A good domain name gives your website an SEO boost and serves as a central point to grow and expand your business digitally.

Perils of losing a domain name- a must to understand

Here are some of the dangers of losing your own preferred domain name:

1. You end up losing an integral part of your business and your brand

2. It is available to anyone and everyone once you lose it and your competitor or anyone else can buy it.

3. Expired domain names are a top commodity in the domaining market because they serve as a source of established traffic, backlinks, etc., and can be of great value to its new buyer. This will end up affecting your SEO in the long run.

4. You end up losing all the effort that you have taken till now on your digital brand once you lose the name and address of your brand in the digital hemisphere.

This makes it imperative for us to understand when does a domain name actually enters the expiry period and what does its lifecycle looks like?

Understanding the lifecycle of a domain name 

A domain lifecycle has 4 stages- Active, Expired, Redemption grace period, and Pending deletion.

1. Active- Once your domain is active, you can change its setting and modify contact information. When your domain name is active, your website and email are essentially active. Once you activate your domain name, it stays on a period of lease with the user for about 1-10 years as discussed above.
2. Expired- The domain officially expires one day after the expiration date. Your website and any email addresses associated with your domain name will not work. However, your website shows a “parked” page.

Note: Some may list the domain name and purchase it after it expires. However, if you renew your domain within 30 days of expiration, purchasing your domain will take precedence over third-party offers.

1. Redemption grace period- You will enter the application period approximately 45 days after your domain name expires. Some TLDs may go into payment status the day after they expire.

Note: If your domain has been claimed, you can still claim it. Most registrars charge a refund fee for changing a domain in addition to the standard fee. You can contact us if your domain is registered with Domain.com and you need to request it.

1. Pending delete- Once the domain is in the deletion phase, it will not be uploaded. It retains this status for about 5 days and is then returned to the public for re-registration. If this happens, you can try to buy back the domain name if others don’t, and you won’t have to pay a redemption fee, which is the normal registration fee.

This is the journey of a domain and is hence called domain lifecycle. So, if a domain name has a life cycle, is there a way that we can ensure that we are aware of renewal dates so that we don’t end up losing it? Sure there is.

 Here are a few tips for domain renewal- 

1. Ensure you turn on your reminder renewal dates. Disabling it and setting up automatic updates can be disastrous. Your provider will email you 30 days before the expiration date and again remind you within 5 days from the expiration date.
2. Configure your domain to change automatically. You don’t have to worry about missing email reminders in a potentially full inbox.
3. Update expired payment information. If your credit or debit card is lost or it’s expired, you don’t want to be restricted. Rather than risk losing your domain name, review your fee schedule and update your service with your new card information.

Conclusion 

If done in time, you can still have your favorite domain name with you. But understand that there are no free lunches and definitely no free domains. So hoping that you have enjoyed reading this article. If you are going to buy a domain any time soon, please read this article on mistakes to avoid while registering a domain name. Here is hoping you have enjoyed reading this one. In case you have any doubts or queries, please share them in the feedback section below.