Does A Domain Name Registration Expire And What Happens If It Does Before I Renew It
When you register a domain name, youll see the registration date as well as the expiration date. Every domain name expires at some point, whether thats in a year, a couple of years, or a decade. You can save time by buying a domain with a longer expiration date. In any case, youll need to manually renew your domain when that expiration date is approaching.
The good news is that you can renew your domain name registration before it expires, which allows you to keep your domain name. This is especially important if you have a very simple domain name thats highly sought after. Typically, youll receive your first reminder to renew your domain about a month before it expires. If you still dont renew your domain name after receiving this message, youll get another reminder about a week before your domain expires.
So, what happens if you forget to renew your domain name before it expires? As long as the domain name hasnt been registered by somebody else, you can reactivate your domain name after the expiration date. Keep in mind that some domains are in much higher demand than others, and there are even some bots out there that automatically register high-profile domains when they become available.
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How Long Do You Own Your Domain Name
Most domain contracts are annual, which means you own your domain for one year from the date of purchase. No matter your registration period, your domain registrar will email you when your domain name is close to expiring, so you have the option to renew and keep ownership of your domain.
To get a website domain, follow these four steps:
How Long Does My Domain Name Registration Last How Do I Renew My Domain
How long your domain registration lasts can vary depending on the domain you purchase. Many domain name registrars will allow customers to register domains for 10 years at a time, but typically customers will register domains for one to three years.
If you want to extend your registration, its easy to renew your domain with GoDaddy. You can choose to manually renew or set up auto-renewal, so you ensure it stays registered to you.
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Godaddy: Domains And Hosting Higher Prices
GoDaddy is a great option if you want web hosting along with your domain, or want it all to be managed under the same umbrella. Generally, its ideal to keep your domain separate from your hosting provider in case youd like to switch to a different provider at some point. But GoDaddy is a domain registrar first and a web hosting company second, so you can always transfer the domain to a different registrar or change the DNS to point to a new host.
GoDaddy offers great hosting services, a custom website builder, and managed WordPress hosting, along with many templates to help you get started. Theyre a little pricey, and their web host can be a bit clunky for anything complex, but if youre building a simple website itll do the job.
GoDaddys prices seem low at first, but they go up after the first year. At full price, their .com domains are $15 per year, but its the price you pay for being on the largest domain registrar.
Make It Easy To Type & Remember
Even if a website ranks well in searches, its still important to have a web address that clients can relay via word of mouth. That can mean limiting creativity a bit, as its very difficult to visualize and remember domains with odd spellings of words, multiple hyphens or other characters, numbers and so forth.
People should know how to type it as soon as they hear it or after a very brief explanation. In the domain industry this is commonly referred to as the radio test. If your client is running an ad or talking about their business over the air, how do they say the domain? Something like katz4life.com presents far more of a problem than, say, catsrock.com for a web address.
Also try to avoid words that have more than one common spelling, such as ambience . If you must use one of these, try to register an additional domain with that alternate spelling. Its very easy to forward the variant to a primary domain, letting people find the website without confusion.
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Hover: Great Search Tools And Suggestions
Hover is a simple registrar, offering average prices and good service. Where Hover shines are their suggestions, showing similar domains with different styles and synonyms to help you narrow down the domain you want. Their search page has a useful sidebar with different categories and filters for different extensions.
Here, we searched for the domain cookiesbygrandma.com, which was taken. Hover automatically suggested a list of domains similar enough to our search term that we might be alright with those instead. If youre not sure exactly what domain you want, you should try searching around on Hover.
Their .com domains start at $12.99 per year, and they offer email forwarding at $5 per year, plus free WhoIs privacy on top of it.
Free Domain Name Registration
Here are a couple of ways to get a domain name for free:
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Register a free subdomain. A subdomain is a prefix on a domain name that connects independently functioning sites. Certain hosting platforms and site builders offer users a fully-functioning website for free with a customized subdomain. For example, when you create a Wix website you can publish it for free under the following URL structure: username.wixsite.com/siteaddress.
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Take advantage of free web hosting. Several hosting sites offer free customized domain registration with purchase, giving you a professional online presence without the cost.
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Find Out Who Owns The Domain Name
The next step is to find the domains owner. Not only should you know who owns the domain, but also how many domains they own. This will impact the price you pay for the name.
Start by searching for your domain name on the Whois website. Youll see the domain profile, where youll be able to find the domain registrant.
Youll also see the number of domain names associated with the registrants email. The amount of domain names owned by a registrant is very important to know in the domain buying process:
- If the total number of names registered against an email is very high , it means that the registrant is a professional domain trader, developer or large business. This makes it harder to get a good bargain.
- If the total number of registered names is low , it may indicate an amateur owner who may not be aware of market domain prices. In this case, you may be able to get a good deal.
In many cases, youll find that the registrant has millions of emails associated with its name. This usually happens when the domain owner has opted for Whois privacy. This hides the owners contact details.
Common Whois privacy services are Domains By Proxy, WhoisGuard, etc. If the owner has opted for Whois privacy, it might be difficult to get in touch with them via email. Keep this in mind when you proceed to the next step.
How Long Should A Domain Name Be
A domain name is recommended to be 17 characters long and to only include three terms. For instance, lets say I ran a donut shop. The domain I would try to pick would be RobsDonutShop.
It contains 13 characters and three terms, which include Robs, Donut, Shop. Its easy to remember and catchy if I do say so myself. The longer the domain name, the harder it is to remember and the harder it is to manually type in for visitors.
It also becomes problematic for advertising. Imagine trying to advertise TheBestDonutsInTheWholeWorld.com on Twitter, where character counts matter. Just imagine looking on a business card and seeing a ridiculously long URL.
It just doesnt work.
The golden rule of domain names is short, easy to remember, and catchy.
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How To Choose A Domain Name Registrar
The first step toward buying a domain name for your new venture is selecting a domain name registrar.
There are several factors youll want to consider when selecting your domain registrar, but before going into those details, lets break things down a bit and explain a few different terms that you might come across as youre searching for the right domain name registrar.
Registrar refers to a company, such as GoDaddy, that manages the domain name registration process. Different domain extensions are managed by their respective registries, but those registries dont sell domains directly to users . Thats where the registrar comes into play.
Like a middle man, the registrar works with the registries in order to deliver domains to end-users.
So, now that youre a bit more familiar with how the registry/registrar relationship works, lets take a look at what to consider when selecting your domain registrar.
Have An Authoritative Email Address
Buying a domain isn’t just about websitesyou can also use them for email addresses. This means, instead of an address that ends with gmail.com or outlook.com, email addresses can end with a domain owned by your company.
You can read about , but it boils down to a few key points.
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Branding. Emails look like they’re coming from your company, not from a free email service. This looks more professional.
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Control. You can give employees an address ending with @companyname.com, which you can take control of should they leave the company.
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Flexibility. You can point your domain to any email service, meaning you can switch email providers without having to inform all of your customers about a new email address.
Need an email host? Check out our list of .
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How Do Domain Names Work
When you enter a domain name in the browser, it will send a request to a domain name system ) server. This can either be hosted by your ISP or by a reputable third-party that relies on a distributed global network of servers for superior performance.
It is the duty of these servers to look up the name servers associated with the domain name and then forward your request to those name servers. The name servers are computers that are managed by the websites web hosting company.
The name servers will in turn forward the request to the computer that hosts the website. This computer is called a web server and is powered by a HTTP server software such as Apache, Nginx, and Tomcat, whose duty it is to fetch the website, which is then sent back and rendered on your web browser.
How Do I Buy A Domain
Youve got a couple options. Domain registrars like GoDaddy and Register.com let you choose a domain name and register it for a fee . That gives you the right to the domain name for a year. If you want it for another 12 months, you pay a renewal fee thats often a little higher than the registration one. Youll also have the option to pay extra to get an email associated with your domain, and to add privacy protection that keeps things like your address, phone number, and email from being listed in a public database.
The challenge with this approach? You still need to connect your domain name to a website, which requires choosing a host and then transferring your domain name. It can be a little trickyespecially if you dont have much of a technical background .
Many website-building platforms let you avoid the hassle by purchasing your website and domain name at the same time. Thats actually how I got my domain name: When I signed up for Squarespace, a custom domain was part of the package. In fact, Squarespace makes your custom domain free for the first year if you sign up for an annual plan, after which its an easy flat fee that includes that privacy protection.
Now that youve got a name, why not consider building a website? It doesnt have to be a huge endeavor in fact, well show you how to create your personal site in just seven days!
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Create A Website Thats Attached To Your Domain
Chances are, you had a website in mind when you set out to secure a domain name. Your domain name is the heart of your website address. And everyone keeps telling you that you need a website for your business.
A website gives you a branded, dedicated space to share your contact information, a rundown of your services, a snapshot of what your business is all about, a portfolio of your amazing work, customer reviews and links to your social media accounts.
And did I mention its perfect for businesses that want to expand their reach and attract NEW customers?
But understanding the benefits of having a website for your business and actually creating one are two very different things. I know, it might feel scary.
You basically have three options:
Is A Free Builder Worth It
If you just want to build a basic site without an online store, then a free website builder is a solid way to get started. Keep in mind that free plans come with less storage, slower load times, and fewer SEO and marketing tools. If you know that you need Ecommerce facilities, lots of storage space , extra customer support, and/or a lot of webpages, free site builders are unlikely to work for you.
That said, free website builders are ideal for testing the waters and having a ready-made platform to share with contacts and social media followers. And if you decide youre ready to implement more features, many companies offer easy and cost-efficient upgrades. With Wix, for example, you can choose from 4 premium upgrades that provide increasing amounts of bandwidth, storage, and access to analytics and marketing tools, thereby allowing you to scale up at a rateand costthat meets your websites needs.
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How Do I Choose The Best Domain Name
Great question! Here’s a few core things to consider when choosing your new domain name:
Why You Need To Buy A Domain Name
First, lets answer the burning question most beginner online sellers have: what does a domain mean in business?
A domain is the address people will use to find your website, and its an important part of your branding. For example, Googles domain is google.com.
The suffix that follows the domain name in a web address is called a top-level domain , also referred to as a domain extension. There are different kinds of domain extensions for example, .com, .net, and .org are all TLDs. For a business domain, we recommend a .com domain because it is the most popular and memorable.
Learn more: What a Domain Is & Why You Need It for Your Business
Heres why you should buy a domain name for your business:
- It helps customers find you online. Customers type in a domain name in the browser to find your website.
- It makes your business look more professional. Having a domain name shows that youre serious about your business and helps you build credibility with potential customers.
- Its an important part of your branding. Businesses often use their brand name as the domain name, which helps with brand recognition.
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How To Buy A Website Domain Name
Luckily, if you sign up for a hosting account with GreenGeeks, you get a free domain name. We also offer website domain purchasing within your account.
This means that buying domain names is possible anytime you want, right from your GreenGeeks account. Prices vary depending on the extension you choose and the number of years you register the domain.
Since GreenGeeks acts as a domain registrar, it is simple and easy to get your free domain name or to buy a domain name from us. Of course, this is only one way to go about a domain name, its also possible to purchase one directly from another person.
Expired Domain Auction Sites And Drop Catching Services
Instead of offering backordering services, some registrars just sell off expiring domain names to auction sites. This means that once any registered name expires, it is handed off to the domain auction site. Here, others can bid for the name. Once the domain is actually deleted, it goes to the highest bidder.
Here are some popular domain auction sites: Namecheap Market, GoDaddy Auctions, Sedo, SnapNames, NameJet.
You can find all kinds of domains on auction sites
Most high-value names will likely find plenty of bidders at any expired name auction. However, if there are no bidders for the name, it is released to the general pool. The moment when a domain name gets back on the market is called the drop.
This is where things get interesting: once the domain is released by the registrar, there is a virtual free for all to register it. You can try registering it yourself, but if you are not able to do that, you can use a domain drop catching service.
A drop catching service is essentially a domain registrar that will register a domain name once registration has lapsed, immediately after expiration.
You are usually charged a fee by a drop catching service. In most cases, the fee is only payable if the registrar actually manages to register the name for you.
Some domain drop catching services are DropCatch, Dynadot, Nidoma, and Pool.
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Building A Website Once You Register A Domain Name
Once you register your domain name for your website, the next step is choosing what type of website you will build, and how you will build it.
There are many ways to build a website, some of them take a lot of specialized knowledge or coding expertise. Other methods are simple enough for anyone to do themselves.
If you are looking to build a website for your own local business, or perhaps a club or organization you belong to, then WordPress is a great way for people without any experience to get a website up and running in no time.
Likewise, if you want to build an affiliate website, or a content-based website, perhaps on a topic you enjoy or a hobby you have, then again using WordPress is probably the best way to get started.
eCommerce or sites with shopping cart capabilities are probably best built using a shopping cart script such as WooCcommerce, which we have other tutorials that you can follow.
Building a basic website is a lot easier than more people realize, as long as you are willing to learn some new skills along the way.
We have a ton of tutorials and help available to get you started. All you need is the willingness to do it. A few hours later, you could have something amazing up and running.