Renewing your website’s lease on the Internet for another year.
Your domain is your castle. It’s the name of your website, and it may be responsible for most of your sales. Domain renewal should be one of the most important tasks on your to-do list, and letting it lapse can cause so much damage.
Knowing what a domain is and what it means to your business is the basis of brand awareness. Lose your current domain name, and you may have to start many strategies from square one.
Key Takeaways
● If your domain registration expires, it could be bought by a third party.
● Your domain acts as a gateway to your business.
● If a competitor buys your expired domain, they could use it to redirect traffic to their site.
● Changing your domain name could damage your SEO tactics and site.
Domain Name Renewal
What Happens If I Don‘t Renew My Domain Name?
Simply: if your domain expires, you will end up losing one of the main signs of your brand. One of the first things any business does is secure a domain name. It established an online presence for your organisation, a place for people to find you. And losing that means your website will no longer be online.
More practically, the first thing that happens is that once you pass your domain’s expiration date, access to your domain is suspended. Your website will disappear from the web and no-one will be able to access it. This isn’t the end though. Typically domain registrars will have a redemption grace period as part of the whole process. This is usually around 30-days leeway for you to get in contact, pay the renewal fee and get back online. Alternatively, if you are deliberately letting your domain expire, after the grace period, it will be set for deletion, and released back for the general public to buy.
You should set a reminder to renew your domain name just before its expiry date every year, as your website going down will obviously have a massive effect on your ongoing work. Don’t worry, though, your domain registrar will send you plenty of reminders and notifications about the domain renewal process (at least two, as per ICANN rules). They don’t want you to leave them. But it might be best to check that your contact information is up to date, so you don’t meet it.
Some registrars and resellers (like Onlydomains) even have automatic domain renewal processes to keep you safe. All they require is an up-to-date set of payment information. The other way you could approach it is by registering your domain for longer than the standard renewal of one year. Different domains have different options, but they can go all the way up to 10 years. Of course, if it’s that long between payments,, you absolutely need to a reminder around the renewal date.
If your domain name expires, anyone can buy it, including your competitors, and then use it to redirect your customers to their site. Yikes. Business domain names are an important part of your brand as they represent the identity of your business. But as well as that, if they expire, they are gold to other organisations as your domain name will come with established traffic and backlinks. Yes, all the work you put into your online presence can be used by someone else.
You also need to really think about brand awareness. Customers can get to know your domain name and may even have it as a favourite. If you don’t renew your domain name, it can almost be like starting from scratch again, as you need to build awareness of your new domain. Just the idea of it…
Then there’s your SEO. Let’s say you forgot to renew a domain name. If you have to change domain name without warning and preparation, your site ranking could really go downhill. So, we think the only reason you’d want to let your domain expire is if you’re done with it entirely.
FAQs About Domain Renewal
How Much Does It Cost to Renew a Domain Name?
A domain renewal price can range from as little as $10 to more than $50. The thing to think about, though, is how much it will cost you if you lose your original domain name.
Are There Any Charges Involved With Domain Renewal?
Other than the domain renewal cost, there are no extra charges to pay when you renew domain names.
How to Renew a Domain Name in 6 Easy Steps
- Go to your domain’s dashboard, which connects you with your provider.
- If you have more than one domain, choose the one that’s about to expire.
- Choose the “renew domain” option.
- Choose the renewal period if it gives you the option.
- Choose your payment option.
- Renew.
How Long Can You Renew a Domain Name For?
Again, that depends on your domain provider. Options for renewing domain names can range from one year to ten years.
How Often Do I Have to Renew My Domain Name?
This depends on the options offered by your provider. It can be handy to set a reminder for a few weeks before your domain registration is due to expire.
