Failure to renew the domain name can have serious consequences for your website. Each domain extension has its life cycle, which it doesn’t hurt for you to know, so you can recover it in case you forget to renew it. In this blog we explain the importance of renewing it, the consequences of not doing so and when you can recover it. In addition, we remind you that at SW Hosting you have automatic renewal or auto-renewal, which will prevent you from having to keep track of the expiration date to know when to renew it.
Before entering the topic, we will clarify what a domain is, to avoid confusion with other concepts. The domain is the address of your website so that people who enter the browser can access it. In other words, it is a unique and easy-to-remember name that is used to identify and access a website on the Internet. This is made up of two parts: the domain name and its extension. The domain name is the primary identifier of the website and can be made up of letters, numbers, and hyphens. It can be the name of a company, an organization, a brand, or even the name of a person. The domain extension, also known as TLD (Top Level Domain), is the final part of the domain name. In other words, it is the designation of two or more letters found after the domain name and used to indicate the category or type of website.
Why is it important to renew the domain?
Renewing a domain is of vital importance to maintain the continuity of a website and avoid the loss of its Internet address to third parties, which can generate serious inconveniences in the online presence of a company or person. In addition, domain renewal is necessary to ensure that the website remains active and accessible to users, which is essential for the reputation and credibility of a company or brand online. If the domain expires, the website becomes inaccessible, which can lead to a poor experience for visitors and negatively affect the company’s image. Also, renewing the domain early can avoid additional costs and legal problems in the future.
What are the consequences of not renewing it on time?
Failure to renew a domain name can have serious consequences. Here we explain some of the most common:
Loss of traffic: If your domain name expires, the website will not be available online. Users who try to access your website will receive an error message and will likely look for another option. This can cause a significant loss of traffic and potential customers for your website.
Loss of credibility: If users encounter an error message when trying to access the website, this can cause them to lose trust in your page and your business in general. It can have a negative impact on the company’s reputation and users’ perception of your website.
Loss of data: If you do not renew your domain name, you may lose access to the website and all data stored on it. This can cause a significant loss of valuable information and data for your company.
Loss of income: If your website is linked to an online business, not renewing the domain name on time can result in a significant loss of income. This is because potential customers will not be able to access your website, which could mean a loss of sales and loyal customers.
Loss of positioning: If the domain name expires and you do not renew it in time, your website could lose its positioning in search engines. This could lead to a decrease in website traffic and visibility, and this is difficult to recover from.
Additional costs: If your domain name expires, you may have to pay additional fees to renew or recover it. These costs can be significant and can negatively affect your business budget.
Possible domain theft: If you do not renew your domain name on time, it is possible that someone else will register it once it is available again. This can result in the loss of the domain name, plus the need to search for and select a new one, which can be expensive and discouraging.
Damage to reputation: If the website is not available to visitors due to failure to renew the domain name, this can damage the reputation of your business. Visitors may think that your website is outdated or that you are no longer in business, which may lead them to look for alternatives.
Legal problems: If the website is linked to a business and you do not renew the domain name on time, you may face legal problems. If someone else registers the domain name once it is available, there could be a legal dispute over who has the right to use the domain name.
Lack of communication: If the website has an email address associated with the domain name, failure to renew it may result in the loss of the ability to communicate with customers and suppliers.
What is the life cycle of a domain?
Each domain extension has its life cycle. This refers to the process from creating to deleting a domain name on the Internet. This cycle consists of different stages, each with its own specific function and duration.
The first stage is registration, in which a user or company registers the domain name, which is free and available, through an authorized domain registrar. Once the domain is registered, the phase in which the domain is active begins, where the owner of the domain has the right to use it until he stops renewing it.
If a domain is not renewed and ends up expiring, depending on the extension, it will enter a Grace Period, also known as Renew Grace Period. During this period, some extensions allow the domain to be renewed at a small cost. If this Period ends and has not yet been renewed, the next state passes, the Punishment Period, also known as Redemption Period. During this period, the domain can no longer be easily recovered, it has to go through a recovery process, in which there are higher additional costs.
If the domain is not recovered during the Redemption Period, the deletion phase enters, also known as Pending delete. During this phase, the domain is released after approximately 5 days, so that anyone can register it.
In summary, the life cycle of a domain includes several stages and each extension has its own. Some are; registration, “active”, renewal, redemption and elimination. It is important to understand these stages to ensure that the domain is renewed on time and kept under control. Furthermore, as mentioned at the beginning, at SW Hosting you have automatic self-renewal that takes away the headaches of remembering what day to renew it.
What is the life cycle of each extension?
Now we will explain the life cycle of the most popular domain extensions:
.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .mobi, .cc: These are the most popular and are commonly used for commercial, informational or non-profit websites. These extensions can be registered for a period of 1 to 10 years, then they must be renewed before the term expires. If it is not renewed in time there is a Grace Period of about 30 days after the expiration date in which it can still be renewed for a small additional charge. However, if it is not renewed during this period, it will go into Redemption status, which lasts about 30 more days. If not recovered during this period, the domain will eventually be released and available for anyone to register.
.cat: This is for websites in Catalan. This extension can be registered for a period of 1 to 5 years, then it must be renewed before the term expires. If it has expired, you can still try to recover it within the grace period of about 30 days, but this may vary depending on the registrar. If this grace period passes, the domain moves to 30-day Redemption status. After that status it immediately becomes available for anyone to register again. It is important to note that registering a .cat domain is subject to certain requirements, such as demonstrating a connection with the Catalan culture and language, so not everyone can register this type of domain.
.es: This is used for websites in Spanish. This extension can be registered for a period of 1 to 5 years, then it must be renewed before the term expires. It usually has a grace period of about 9 days, in which you can renew it with a small additional cost. However, if it is not renewed during this period, it will become available for anyone to register.
.eu: This is used for European websites. This extension can be registered for a period of 1 to 10 years, then it must be renewed before the term expires. This extension has no grace period, directly after its expiration date, it goes into Redemption or Quarantine status for 40 days, during which it can be recovered by paying an additional recovery fee. If the domain is not recovered during this period, it will be deleted and made available again to the public for registration.