Posted in Website gone down? Realtors™ managing their own domain names risk this happening up to once per year, and the worst part is that their websites could be down forever…
What’s a domain name?
Wikipedia defines a domain name as follows:
“A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).”
Put simply, a domain name is the address of a website; for example, www.RealPageMaker.com is a Domain Name. Domain names are sometimes referred to (sometimes incorrectly) as:
- URLs
- Website Names
- Web addresses
How are domain names purchased?
Domain names are purchased through domain name registrars who are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Here are some examples:
Registrars charge a variety of fees and typically offer a variety of different services including (but not limited to):
- Website design
- Website hosting
- Domain name parking
- Domain name back-ordering
Who Owns a Domain Name?
This is a good question. Most people think that once they pay for a domain name they will own it indefinitely. The fact is that a person or company cannot “purchase” a domain name outright because they must continue paying registration renewal fees to keep control of that domain name.
In essence, domain names are like rented real estate – you can sign variable term leases (1-10 years), but the lease will inevitably expire and need to be renewed, or terminated.
What happens if I miss a payment on my domain name?
Missing a payment on a domain name can be EXTREMELY serious. Here’s what typically happens:
- The Domain Name Registrar will email the technical and administrative contacts associated with the domain notifying them that the domain name registration has expired and that the domain name has been suspended for 30 days.
- After two weeks, the domain name registrar will email the technical and administrative contacts notifying them that the domain name is entering a redemption period (prices go up here!!).
- After a month, the domain name registrar will send one last email notifying the registrant that the domain name is about to be lost.
- Within a few days the registrar will offer the domain name to any third parties that have placed back-orders on the domain name (though this practice has become less common recently some people are unlucky enough to lose their domain names to these “domain squatters“). The successful back-order will become the new owner of the domain name.
Recovering a domain name once it has expired or changes ownership can be an extremely expensive proposition. In many cases, unless the former owner is willing to pay hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, he/she will need to abandon the former domain name and start again. This means new business cards, email addresses, promotional material, advertising campaigns, search engine optimization, etc.
So, who should manage your domain name?
The following are criteria that qualify someone to manage a domain name:
- They check their email AT LEAST once per day, including weekends
- They will never change their email address
- They are experienced in domain name registration processes
- They use only the most stable registrars
Managing the domain name properly is crucial for the success of any website. Serious professionals will leave this up to the experts.
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