Do you know where your domain name is?

Do you know where your domain name is? This may seem like a funny question - but it is important to be aware of who is looking after your domain for a few reasons:

1) When your domain name comes due for renewal you need to know where to renew it. If the domain name registrar where you bought the domain name has an old email address of yours on file it is likely that they will not be able to contact you to let you know that the domain name is due to expire. Most registrars are fully automated and they will not make any extra effort to find you and notify you.

2) When you receive those emails (and even posted letters) notifying you to "renew" your domain name you need to ensure that you are paying the correct company and that they are a legitimate business. There are two common "scams" with domain names which are both legal but most would agree are unethical:

(1) a legitimate (but unethical) domain registrar will send out notices far in advance of the due date saying that you need to renew your domain name. If you fill in the paperwork and send the money they will transfer your domain name to their registrar. The domain name is still yours (and they have done nothing illegal) but they have deceived you to get your business and most often they have charged you more than you should have paid.

(2) again a legitimate (but unethical) registrar will send out a notice to you for a domain name renewal but the domain name will be a slightly different variation of your actual domain name. So they may send a notice to us for www.chiliwebsites.com (note the one "l" in "chili"). Again if you pay for the domain they will legally register it for you but now you will own an additional domain name you most likely did not want.

For these reasons it is worthwhile having on file where your domain name is registered. If you had a web development company (or your former assistant) register the domain name for you a year or two ago it is worth following up with them to find out where your domain is sitting.

Sorting Out Where Your Domain Name Is

If you are not sure about where your domain name is or are not comfortable with your current configuration, Chilli Websites is an authorised reseller of domain names and can look after this for you.

With your permission we can easily transfer any existing domain names to our registrar.

You will then know exactly where your domain resides and will have the convenience of having your domain name in the same place as your web site (and having just one company billing you). You will also know that your domain name will not expire without your being notified and can comfortably ignore any "notices" or "urgent reminders" from bogus companies.


Don't put off making a decision on this until your domain name expires - as it is much more difficult to transfer a domain name once it has expired.

There is no cost to transfer your domain name - the only costs will come when the domain name is next due for renewal.

Click here for domain prices.

Further Reading on Domain Names

For more information on Domain Names read our article Domain Name Registration / What is a Domain Name?



We encourage you to contact us with any questions or to register your domain name!

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