Domain Registrations

Every computer and server on the internet has an IP address. You can see the IP address you use to get onto the internet right now, by visiting IP Chicken.com. That series of four numbers, each between 0 and 255, is how information on the internet knows how to find you. It’s kind of like your internet phone number.

When you want to visit a website, your computer needs to know that IP address to get the information, but who wants to remember http://66.186.0.110? So we use domain names. You type in a domain name, your computer looks up the IP address in an internet phone book of sorts, and then goes to the right place to get the webpage.

If you want your own domain name to point to the computer with your website files (your web host), you have to get listed in the internet phone book, or “registry”. You do this by “registering” your domain name. There are many places to do this, like GoDaddy.com. (Hint: you can get a domain name for less than $7 if you use a coupon.) Get yours now!

GoDaddy will keep your contact information on file (this is required) and will enter the location of your website in the registry. Now this is where trouble can start.

What happened to our website?

GoDaddy and other registrars charge between $7 and $20 a year for each domain. It’s the “per year” part that’s important. At some point, domain name registrations will expire. And when they do, listeners who type in your domain name will no longer get your site. Sometimes they’ll get an error page, sometimes a bunch of ads – or in the worst case (this happened at a cluster I worked at where I wasn’t in charge of the domains) - a website with, well… “adult themes”. Or even worse – your competitor.

Getting it back can be expensive, frustrating and sometimes impossible. First, if you’re lucky, the domain is just in the “Redemption Period”. This means if you pay your registrar, they’ll turn it back on quickly. That is, if you can access the account.

Remember the required contact information I mentioned before? That name indicates who owns the domain. If it’s your web design guy from three years ago – you now will have to get on the phone and convince the registrar that the domain is actually yours – a much harder task than you’d expect.

In the world of domains, “finders, keepers” is the rule of the road. So, whoever gets there first owns it. Sure, if you have a trademark that it infringes on and the domain owner demonstrates a “bad faith” use of the domain, you can sue and get in back in a few years. Best of luck, though! Mostly, you have no recourse other than paying the other party off.