How a Domain Name Is Registered, Renewed, and Transferred

A domain name is the human-readable address you register, such as the part people type before the first slash. It is not a URL, which points at one page, and it is not an IP address, which is the number of a server. Registries run the extensions. They delegate registration to registrars, which are the companies you pay [1].

What are you actually buying?

The right to use that name for a period, through a registrar. Cloudflare's glossary says there are more than 300 million domain names, built from a top-level piece, a second-level piece, and sometimes a third-level piece such as a subdomain [1]. The price can be a few dollars or thousands. A premium name is priced higher because someone already treats it as scarce [1]. The hosting invoice is a different bill. DNS is the system that points the name at a server [2].

What happens if you do not renew?

The name expires, and it can be registered by someone else. The same glossary covers expiry and squatting: a lapsed name is how someone else ends up with the address your customers already know [1]. WHOIS privacy is a separate setting at the registrar. It hides contact details. It does not renew the name for you [1].

When can you transfer the name?

Cloudflare says a transfer is possible after at least 60 days, and it needs an authorization code and the name unlocked at the current registrar [1]. Transferring the name is not the same as changing the DNS records. You can point DNS at a new host and leave the registrar alone. You can move the registrar and leave the website where it is.

What if you are changing the name, not the registrar?

That is a site move. Google wants a redirect from each old URL to the new one, kept generally for at least a year, and it says a 301 does not lose PageRank [3]. Change of Address in Search Console is only for a domain or subdomain move. Google recommends you keep paying for the old domain for at least a year, and it asks for redirects for at least 180 days [4]. Combining that move with a redesign is how traffic gets lost [4].

What if only the host changes?

The domain name stays. Google treats that as a move without URL changes: lower the DNS TTL to a few hours at least a week ahead, remove any noindex before the cut, and turn off the old host when its traffic is zero [5]. You do not file Change of Address for a hosting-only move [4]. You do not buy a second name to "refresh" a host change.

Which redirect do you use if the name did change?

A permanent one. Google says a 301 or 308 is the permanent canonical signal, and a 302, 303, or 307 is temporary and is not that signal [6]. Server-side redirects are the ones to use. A meta refresh is a last resort: zero seconds is treated as permanent, a delay as temporary [6]. The old name has to keep resolving or the redirect never runs. That is why the renewal on the old name still matters [4].

Does privacy protection renew the name?

No. WHOIS privacy, when the registrar offers it, hides the contact record on the public lookup. It is not a renewal and it is not hosting [1]. You can have privacy on and still lose the name if the invoice is unpaid. Read the expiry date. Do not read the privacy badge and assume the name is safe.

Who should hold the login?

The business, not the freelancer who registered it on a personal account. The authorization code and the unlock live at the registrar [1]. If you cannot find that login, you cannot transfer the name and you may not be able to renew it. Ask for the account before the next invoice, not the week it expires.

• Registrar — where the name is paid for and renewed.
• DNS host — where the name is pointed at a server. Often the same company, not always.
• Premium — a higher price because the name is treated as scarce.
• Transfer — after at least 60 days, with an unlock and an authorization code.
• Old name — keep paying for it if you moved, so the redirects keep working.

How does this show up in a budget?

As a small line that is easy to forget next to the cost of the site. A build quote is not the renewal. The costs that show up later include a name registered in the wrong account. Hosting is the other invoice. Pay both.

What should you find this week?

The registrar, the expiry date, and whether the account is in the business's name [1]. If you recently changed the public name, confirm the old one is still paid for and still redirects [4] [6]. If you only changed hosts, leave the registrar alone and check the DNS record instead [5].