Why It’s Important to Renew Your Domain Name Before It Expires

For a website owner, renewing your domain name on time is a very important element since failure to renew on time can result in costs and may even result in the loss of your domain name.

To better understand the importance of renewing a domain name on time and what it implies if it is not done, here are the different phases of the process that starts the day after the renewal deadline.

What does your registrar do

First of all, it is important to know that the day after this deadline (if your domain name is a .com), the website will no longer be accessible, it will no longer be online, even if your hosting package is still active. The .ca becomes inactive from the moment it falls in redemption).

In these cases, the registrar will often ensure that if you attempt to access the site, you will be redirected to a reservation/renewal page for the domain name in question.

However, after the renewal deadline, the registrar is NOT obligated to prioritize the former owner. Once the renewal deadline has passed, the domain name moves into the first phase of the process..

The 3 phases of the non-renewal process

PHASE 1 Waiting for the registrar: The day after the renewal deadline, the server names of your domain name are modified (for a .com) which makes it inaccessible. The domain gets the status of “auto renew grace “A for .ca (waiting for the registrar).

This is a period that can vary from 30 to 45 days during which only the registrar can renew the domain. In most cases, the registrar offers the previous owner priority renewal and fees may apply.

PHASE 2 Redemption Period: After this period comes the “Redemption Period” (Redemption Period or Grace Period).

The former owner of the domain name is often given priority to renew it for a fee. The duration of this second reprieve period varies from registrar to registrar but is often between 30 and 45 days. This is nothing more or less than a second chance to renew your domain name before it is too late. But if you are at this stage of the process, it will cost you $250 to get your domain name back.

PHASE 3 Pending: The last period is called “Pending Delete”.

Period of about one week during which the registrar takes the final steps to put the domain name back on the market. Note that the second the domain name becomes available again, it is, most of the time, purchased by a competitor or a site promoting pornography or online games. In short, sites that are interested in getting back the Internet users you leave behind.

In all 3 cases, you must contact your registrar to resolve the problem. Please note that your registrar may be different from your hosting provider. 

Your non-renewed domain name

If someone else reserves your domain name, you won’t be able to find it easily.

You may be able to sue the new owner for use of your trademark (if you have one) or other copyright infringement. Note that if the new owners are in another country where the laws are quite different than in Canada, it may be extremely difficult to find your domain name.

Therefore, it is essential to renew your domain name on time with your registrar in order to avoid this type of trouble.

Beware of domain name “thieves”! 

If you are a domain name owner, you could be the target of fraudulent companies who are hijacking domains by pretending to be your registrar.

They send you a fake renewal notice in the mail and if you follow their instructions, you give them your domain name!

The importance of renewal.

Whatever your activity or the use you make of it, professional or private, renew your domain name, even if you no longer have the use of it. This avoids improper use of your domain name, harmful to your business, such as the purchase of your domain name by a competitor, employee or former employee who could return it to you for cash, except if it is in crypto-cash or prohibit you from using it. You would thus lose the benefit of the notoriety of your site and the money spent to promote it. If you do business online, that would be the end of that part of your business.

Or even worse, there are companies specializing in the monitoring of escheated domain names that buy them at a low price to (you) resell it at a much higher price, taking into account its seniority, previous traffic and other criteria that may give it more market value.

Another possible case is the purchase, without your knowledge, of your domain name when it has returned to the public domain. A change that you will only learn about at an inopportune moment.

So, be careful! The renewal is the moment to (re)verify that you or your company is the named beneficiary of the domain name and not the provider who may have made the registration for you.