Don’t Lose Your Domain Name!
Your domain name is arguably the most crucial part of your company’s online identity. After all, what would Amazon be without “Amazon.com” as the core of its identity? But unfortunately, losing a domain name is something we see happen occasionally, and it is entirely avoidable by taking a few steps.
Know Where Your Domain Is Registered
The most important thing you can do to safeguard this piece of your company’s online identity is to know the details. First, know where your domain name is registered. An accredited company that is a domain registrar provides this function. They maintain your domain name registration, proving your ownership and allowing you to make necessary changes, such as your contact information. The domain registrar collects an annual fee for this service. They keep part of it, and the rest flows upstream to the non-profit entity that runs the centralized database for the top-level domain. Examples include .com, .net, .and org. Switching your domain registration to a different domain registrar is possible and perfectly safe. Just ensure you know where your domain is moving from, where it is going, and how much lead time is required to transfer.
Don’t Fall For Phishing And Other Scams
Knowing who your domain registrar is makes you far less likely to have issues with scams. It’s a common practice for unscrupulous companies to send out messages that look like they are from a domain registrar. They attempt to get you to renew your registration, listing, etc., for a fee (usually a relatively substantial one). These notices come in the postal mail and email, so always be cautious. If you have questions about whether a particular company has anything to do with your domain registration, please ask us. We’d rather answer a few additional questions than see a customer lose either money or their domain name.
Pay Your Registration Fees
If your domain registration fees are not paid, your domain registrar can legally suspend your domain. There is typically a 30-day “redemption period” during which you can pay the domain registrar an additional fee to recover the suspended domain. After that period, the domain name is fair game. For example, suppose it has a positive reputation on search engines or is even slightly valuable. In that case, it will typically be snapped up immediately by a domain auction company attempting to sell it. Your only choice to recover your domain name is to repurchase it.
Keep Your Contact Information Up To Date
It is a must to update your contact information with your domain registrar. Aside from the obvious, they may need to contact you for payment or about an expired credit card. Therefore, keeping your contact information up to date is mandatory. Failure to do so can result in forfeiture of your domain. Your registrar will email you once a year to remind you to log in and verify the contact information on the account is current. Then, you can address any potential issues before your renewal is due and it’s crunch time.
Net10.net Can Be Your Domain Registrar – We Can Help
Net10.net is a domain registrar. The process to become one was arduous, but we did it. You can register your domain through our Domain Name Registration portal or we can register it for you. You can also transfer an existing domain to us allowing us the ability to help you manage it so you never lose it, just let us know. We’re happy to help take that headache off of your plate.
Net10.net Quick Tip
If you don’t know who your domain name registrar is or forget when your account will renew, you can check the public record by going to https://www.whois.com/whois/xx.com Replace xx.com with your domain name followed by the .com, .org, .net, etc. The public record provides helpful information.
Remember, when in doubt, contact Net10 at support@net.net. We’re here to help.