We often get frantic support calls like, “HELP! My web site is completely down!!!” We do a little checking and discover that the web site’s fine, but the problem is that the domain name registration has expired, so the registration agency has disabled the nameserver lookup. In some cases, the registration expired so long ago that the registration has been completely deleted (and in one case, re-registered by a porn site.) This underscores the importance of checking your web site frequently even if you haven’t made any changes to it lately. We do not monitor the status of your domain name registration.
This problem is almost always caused by invalid contact e-mail addresses in the domain name record. Most registration agencies send renewal notices via e-mail to the billing contact and/or the administrative contact associated with the domain name. If those e-mail addresses are no longer valid, you won’t get the renewal notice, your domain registration will expire, and your domain name will be “turned off”. In some cases, you may even lose your rights to the domain name entirely.
Don’t let this happen to you. Check the information associated with your domain name to make sure that all the information is still valid. If it’s not, change it. You can view your domain name record by using the WHOIS lookup of just about any domain registrar (e.g., Click here to look up your domain name using our cross registrar domain name checker.
Free Domain Name Registration
Don’t forget — you may be eligible for free domain name registration of domains hosted certain web hosts.
If you already have hosting and don’t have free registration, you can still take advantage of cheap registration rates some registrars offer.
Free Domain Name Registration and Renewals
If you’ve already taken advantage of a free registration offer, please remember that companies do not actively monitor those registrations for renewal. You must explicitly request them to renew the registration for you.
For qualifying accounts, follow the instructions posted here to submit your renewal request. If you do not make this request, your registration will expire and your domain name will be disabled. If you do not qualify for free renewal, follow the instructions contained in your renewal notice to purchase renewal for your domain name.
Please note that if you don’t turn on automatic renewal, companies do not monitor the status of your domain registration. Even if your domain name expires (or is deleted and/or re-registered by someone else), hosting services are still provided, active (by IP number), and billable.
Beware of Bogus Renewal Scams
Several domain registrars are targeting unsuspecting domain owners with domain expiration notices disguised as renewal invoices or as official government notices. These bogus “invoices”, sent by postal mail and/or e-mail , are in fact solicitations to transfer your domain away from your current registrar, which is likely to result in a significantly higher cost with no additional benefit.
Pay close attention to any domain renewal notices or invoices you may receive to ensure that they’re from the actual registrar of your domain name.