Your domain name is like your home address on the internet. And just like a rental agreement, it needs to be renewed regularly. Here's how to keep your domain name active and avoid losing it.
When does your domain name expire?
In general, your domain name is valid for one year after you register or transfer it. Unless you picked a longer period, of course. Open your domain name in your dashboard to see the date, next to Renewal Date.
You've got two ways to renew your domain name:
- Automatic renewal: we do it for you. It's on by default.
- Manual renewal: you decide when.
Automatic renewal: set it and forget it
By default, we renew your domain name 15 days before it expires. Prefer another moment? Click Settings in your dashboard. Under Number of days in advance for automatic renewals, choose anything from 1 to 30 days.
Before that, we email you a reminder. By default 30 days before the expiry date. You change that under Number of days in advance for renewal email reminder, from 1 to 45 days. The reminder always comes first. So choose more days for the reminder than for the renewal.
Turned automatic renewal off? Then you only get the reminder email. We take no other action. You turn it on or off next to Renewal, with Change.
Manual renewal: you're in control
Want to renew on your own terms? You can renew any time. Open your domain name and click Renew now. Then choose for how long. Tip: renewing for several years at once gets you a bigger discount.
How do you pay for automatic renewal?
You've got three ways:
- Online wallet: works when your balance is high enough, or if you're a regular Site.eu customer. Then your balance may go below zero for a while. Top it up again before the date you see under Billing & Payments.
- Credit card: make a payment first and give us authorization. Read how to authorize your credit card.
- Direct debit: make a payment first and give us authorization. Read how to set up a direct debit.
Which one is active? You see it under Billing & Payments, at Authorized payment method.
What if the payment fails? Don't panic. We send you an email warning. Then you can top up your wallet or renew manually.
What happens if your domain name expires?
This is important. When your domain name expires:
- It gets deleted at the registry.
- Your website goes offline.
- Your email stops working.
- Other services that use the domain name stop working too.
Your web hosting itself keeps running. Read what happens to your web hosting when your domain expires.
To get your domain name back? You'll need to pay a reactivation fee. And trust us: it's always (much) more expensive than a regular renewal.
Got an expiry notice although you already renewed? Read what that means.
Quick tips
- Keep automatic renewal on to avoid surprises.
- Keep your payment method up to date.
- Renew for several years at once to save money.
- Prefer manual renewal? Mark the date in your calendar.
