Expired Domain Names
When you initially purchase and register a domain name, it is usually for a specified timeframe (2 years for .au domains, for example). Once the 2 years is up and the domain name is not renewed by the customer, the domain name can actually be put back on the market and sold to a new person. With most registrars, there is a grace period after the expiry date where the owner has the opportunity to renew the domain. If the owner fails to renew the domain before the grace period ends, they may fail to regain control of the domain.
To find out when a domain is set to expire, a Whois lookup search can be utilised. A whois lookup can give those dates, as well as other important information such as the domain owner's email address (just in case someone already has a domain name that you desperately need).
My domain name just expired.. What can i do?
If you own a .au domain name and just realised it has expired - do not panic. There is actually a 30 day grace period from the expiration date during which time the domain name can be renewed. If this deadline is not met, however, the domain name will be cleared from the registry and made available to other web users. For this reason, it is very important to stay on top of your domain registration process or else you might lose a big part of your web identity.
Section 10 > Url Forwarding
Domain Names
- Whois
- Domain Parking
- Name Servers
- Transfer Domain Names
- Expired Domain Names
- URL Forwarding
- Subdomains
Choosing a Domain
- Keep It Short
- Dot What?
- Use Keywords in the Domain
- Avoid Trademarked Names
- Already Registered?
