After going through the selection and registration process and then using the domain to brand your business, do you want to risk losing your domain?
Of course not.
The life cycle of a domain name
To avoid losing a domain after you've registered it, let's look at the stages that each domain goes through.
It's available
When you look up the domain in Whois records, it's available for registration. It may never have been registered before, or it may have already been through one or more domain name cycles.
It's active
Someone has registered the domain for the current time period. Domains can be registered for a minimum of one year and up to 10 years at a time. Some country-specific domain name extensions (e.g., domains ending in .uk and .au) can be registered for only shorter time periods. When a domain is nearing the end of its active period, an email notification is sent to the address in the record for the domain name registrant.
If the registrant renews the domain before it expires, it stays active. Otherwise, the cycle moves to the next stage.
It's expired (on hold)
A registrant had the domain name registered but didn't renew it before the expiry date. The domain name registrar may hold the domain to allow the registrant to re-register it, which would return the domain to active status. This time period is typically 45 days, but it may be longer, shorter, or non-existent, depending on the registrar.
The website and email for the domain might still work for a few days after a domain enters this stage. The domain cannot be transferred to another registrar at this stage, however.
It's in the Redemption Grace Period (RGP)
The domain is held in a 30-day redemption period, during which the registrant can still re-register it, perhaps with an additional service fee at this point. The website and email for the domain no longer work. However, the domain is not yet available to the public.
It's pending delete
This registry hold period, the last stage of the cycle, is five days.
It's available
Anyone can now register the domain name. The cycle can begin again.
The benefits of long-term domain registration
It's more convenient
When your domain is registered for several years, you only have to renew it once every several years. You also avoid the inconvenience of possibly having your site and email go down if you miss an annual renewal deadline.
It's less expensive
Some domain name registrars offer a discount when you register a domain for multiple years. In addition, you reduce the number of occasions when you might have to pay a service fee for renewing your domain late.
It's more secure
The chances of your losing your domain because you were away, busy, or didn't receive the email notification about its due date are reduced.
It's more legitimate
It's believed that Google weighs the length of the domain registration when ranking a website. A site with a domain that's registered for several years would benefit from the long registration time over a site with a domain that expires in less than a year.
Savvy customers will also notice how long a domain is registered for. A company with a domain that's registered for a few years is more likely to be around in a few years than one with a domain that's registered for only one year.
The management of a domain name
To keep your treasured domain name from going through the above cycle after you register it, take these preventive steps:
1. Register it for several years at a time.
2. Register it with an email address that doesn't go with the domain name --- you need to be able to send and receive email about the domain if you accidentally let it expire.
3. Keep the address in your whoisWhois records current so that you can receive renewal notices from your domain name registrar.
4. Set up a reminder in your calendar to renew your domain at least two months before its expiry date.
These security steps will help protect your domain name:
1. Use a complex password with a combination of letters and numbers for your domain name account.
2. Turn on the "lock" feature if the extension allows locking. When a domain name is locked, no changes can be made to it. Some domains (depending on the registrar or extension) can't be locked, but other security measures are usually in place to prevent unauthorized transfers or other changes.
Back to Domain Name Guides
Domain Names And Website
Even though domains are widely accepted as one of the most important aspects of your internet presence, a lot of users still don't know what exactly a domain is, or the different kinds of domains that are available and the significance of each type.
Let us first look at what a domain is. Firstly when you host your website with a web hosting service provider, your website is uploaded to the servers of your web hosting company and each server on the internet has its own address called as an IP address. A typical IP address looks something like this: 192.168.1.12. Now obviously remembering such numbers are quite hard and quite impractical as well. Also such numbers cannot be branded as well by website owners. Hence the need for a domain name arises. Your domain name is a easy to remember name referring to your company name or product or services you are selling or any other name you choose which you feel sounds right and can be developed as a brand.
The domain that you register points to the IP address of your server so instead of typing the confusing and complicated server IP address, one can simply type your domain name in their browsers to access your website.
Domain names are of course much more than mere names that make it easy to access your website. Choosing the correct domain name could mean make or break for your online venture. A domain name that is easy to remember, offers excellent branding opportunities, refers directly to your products and services or contains keywords that people generally use to search for similar products and services could make a whole world of difference on how successful you are on the internet.
Apart from your actual domain name, there are plenty of different extensions available. The most common and sought after extension is the .com extension. This is typical what anyone wanting to register a domain searches for first. But even if you don't get your desired .com extension, you need not worry anymore since there are plenty of other choices available. Some of the other extensions besides .com are .net, .org, .edu, .info, .mobi, .biz, .tv, country specific extensions like .com.au if you are living in Australia etc.
Although each of the extensions have their own purposes, but nowadays doesn't matter what your purpose is, if you want to register your domain and you don't get your desired .com extension, you can easily register your domain with any of the other extensions without making any difference to potential users of your website.
Nevertheless lets take a look at some of the other extensions mentioned and the purpose for which they were originally meant for:
.net ? This extension was meant for companies doing business on the net or internet service providers.
.net.au - The Australian version of the above.
.org ? This extension is meant websites of non-profit organizations.
.org.au ? The Australian version of the above.
.edu ? As the name suggests, this extension is meant for educational institutes
.info ? This extension is meant for websites that provide information about any particular topics.
.mobi ? This is relatively a new extension and is meant for websites that want to be accessed via mobile devices such as your cell phone or PDA.
.biz ? This extension is meant to denote that your website is a business website.
.tv ? This is the country extension for Tuvalu but it is used mainly for those websites that are related to the media or specifically to television.
As mentioned before although each domain extension had its own purpose, you can go ahead and register them doesn't matter what your goal is for your website. In fact most companies or even individuals prefer registering their domains on all the available extensions to help in branding and exclusivity for the main domain name. No matter what the extension you choose, you should always choose your main domain name carefully since it could make the biggest difference in success or failure of your online venture.
Both David Lechner & Lorenzo Modesto are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lorenzo Modesto has sinced written about articles on various topics from web development, Web Development and Site Promotion. Lorenzo Modesto started in the Internet industry in 1996 and has held executive positions in sales, marketing and business development at industry leading service providers. He is the Managing Director of. Lorenzo Modesto's top article generates over 2400 views. Bookmark Lorenzo Modesto to your Favourites.
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