How to keep your Blog and Website name Safe & Secure

Your Blog or Website name ( called a domain name in website jargon) is an important asset for your business and it’s important to keep it safe and secure!

In this post we show you what you need to look out for when registering your website & blog name to make sure you don’t miss your domain name payments, because if that happens your website and email will stop working, and you could even lose the right to use that name for your business…

Luckily it’s easy to make sure everything goes well with that, and in this quick post we explain all about it!

Also see our FREE domain name e-book with lots more info and inspiration to help you find the perfect name for your website or blog.

what exactly is a blog or website name & how is it important?

Your domain name (aka your blog or website name) is what people type into a browser to look at your website. It’s the address of your website.

The Domain name registrar, where you register your domain name, connects an address (your domain name) to your website files (that are hosted on a server by a hosting company).

When someone types in or clicks on your domain name, your website files are loaded into their browser so they can view your site.

Registering a domain means you claim that domain as your website address. This is always for a limited, defined period, usually a year (although longer periods are also possible).

After this period has passed, your domain registration expires, and you will have to renew it by paying the registration fee. This way you can continue to use your domain name.

**If you don’t renew, your rights to use the domain drop, and someone else can register and use that domain name.**

You don’t really ever become the owner of a domain name, you are “renting” it. So it’s very important that you pay your domain name registration fee each year.

what happens if you don’t pay the fee on time?

As soon as your domain registration drops, your website will go offline and any email accounts connected to the same domain will stop working.

If you forgot to make the payment, then there is luckily a 30 day grace period in which you can still pay the fee and the domain stays yours to use.

As soon as payment is made your website goes online again. After this 30 day period your rights to the domain name drop and you have to buy the name again.

But this is only possible if someone else has not already registered the name in the meantime!

If you can’t re-register your domain, you have to choose a different name for your website. The files of your website will have to be changed to work with the new name, a web developer can help you with that.

Of course any marketing you have done and links you have created with your old domain will then point to nowhere or to someone else’s site… not good. 

How to avoid this from happening

Luckily domain registrars send several emails in the period when your domain comes up for renewal, so when creating an account with a domain registrar to register a domain, make sure you use an email address that you look at regularly and never ignore emails from your domain name registar.

And it doesn’t hurt to make a note or set a reminder in your own diary of when your domain name will come up for renewal.

If you are unsure about an email from your domain registrar, contact your webdesigner or send us a quick email to check. 

Summarizing 🙂

Keep your website or blog name safe by making sure you keep an eye on your annual domain name fee. You will receive emails to remind you. 

Your domain name is an important business asset and it’s easy to make sure everything goes well with your domain! 

In our Free Domain name e-book we share all you need to know to find & secure your perfect blog or website name, like brainstorming tips, FAQ and where & how to register.