Have you ever wondered what happens when your domain name expires? Well, often there is a period of grace before everything goes away, not sure if there is a mandated grace period or if it varies by supplier. I think the part that does vary, if anything, is what happens to the domain during this grace period.
In a recent situation with a client the domain magically turned into a landing page for all sorts of internet goodies. Sadly none of those goodies included her website.
Another client just experienced this and it looks like they gave him 6 weeks with the appearance that all was well then his site just disappeared. Where did it go? Purgatory.
After that period of "grace" the domain enters this purgatory where it may remain for several months before its ultimate fate is decided... either back to the market or back to the original owner. The price of redemption is steep -- how does $80 to bring your domain back to life sound? About 5-10x the original price. Yikes!
Sadly for my friend this all happened a couple of days after a presentation where he specifically drove potential clients to his website.
The moral of the story...
- Pay attention to the renewal notices you get.
- Keep track of your domain provider login information.
- Check in on your domain from time to time to be sure your contact information is up to date.
- Add your domain name to the list of what needs to be updated when your contact information changes
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