A domain is one of the essential components of a website as it acts as its address. However, the domain will not belong to you forever — you must renew your registration regularly.
As this process is not the same as buying a new domain, we will explain how to renew a domain name on Hostinger using hPanel, our customized control panel.
First, let’s discuss why you should renew your domain name and review what the lifecycle of a domain is so you don’t unexpectedly lose it.
Why Renew a Domain
A domain name is only active for a limited period of time. Depending on the registry and registrar, this time can last between one and ten years. After that, the domain will expire along with all associated services like a website and email — even if you have an active hosting account.
This will put your website at risk of losing existing and potential customers, as well as damaging your business reputation.
Also, if you don’t renew your domain several weeks after the expiration date, other people will buy it instead.
Understanding the Lifecycle of a Domain
All domains go through certain steps from registration and expiration to being made available again. These stages are known as the domain lifecycle.
Understanding the cycle is important to know when you can renew your domain without paying more.
In general, there are five stages in the domain lifecycle:
- Available. At this stage, a domain name has not yet been registered. You can check if your desired domain is available using a domain checker.
- Active. After purchasing and setting up the domain, it enters the active period. Depending on the registry and top-level domain (TLD), this period can range from one to ten years.
- Grace period. After a domain name expires, it enters the grace period, which lasts from zero to 45 days. Your website will not be accessible, but you can still renew the domain name with the normal process with no additional fees.
- redemption period. After the grace period, domain names will enter the redemption period, which lasts from zero to 30 days. Now, you must contact the registrar to renew your domain and pay an additional fee.
- pending deletion. This is the final stage: domain renewals are no longer available. Eventually, other users will be able to buy these domains.
Domain Search Tool
Find out if a domain name is available
How to Renew Domain on Hostinger
At Hostinger, there are three ways to renew your domain. We recommend going with the easiest one: turning on the auto-renewal feature.
How to Renew Active Domain
It’s best to renew the domain name while it’s still active to ensure your website doesn’t go down.
Depending on the TLD, domain renewal will be available a few months before the expiration date. To renew an active domain, log into your Hostinger account and follow these steps:
- In your hPanel, navigate to the page Invoices → Services and find the domain you want to renew.
- click in renew now.
- A pop-up window will appear. Choose the renewal period and payment method and click complete payment.
- If you don’t have any payment methods saved in your account, click the Choose payment method which will take you to the checkout page. Fill in your payment information details and complete the payment.
How to Renew Expired Domain
The process of renewing an expired domain depends on its stage: whether it is grace period or redemption period. To check the status of the domain, navigate to the page Domains in your hPanel. You will see the status of the domain in the column status.
If your domain is still in the grace period, hover over the status to see when it enters the redemption period. Also, you will find a button renew now close to the domain. Click the button and it will take you through the renewal process, similar to an active domain.
Important! Some TLDs may not have a grace period and will enter a redemption period upon expiration.
If your domain is already in the redemption period, you will need to contact our Customer Success team to renew it. Also, you will have to pay an additional fee to retrieve the domain.
How to Automatically Renew a Domain
We suggest enabling the automatic domain renewal feature to avoid downtime or paying an additional fee.
First, you must add a valid payment method to your Hostinger account. Navigate to page Invoices in your hPanel and click the button Add payment method. Choose a payment method and fill in the required information.
Once that’s done, go to the page Domains. Find your domain and activate the option enable auto-renewal. Once set, it will be charged automatically when the domain expires.
Conclusion
You will have to renew your domain to keep your site up. While most subscriptions are annual, some domains can be registered for up to 10 years.
At Hostinger, you can easily renew your domain using hPanel. We recommend that you do this while it’s still active to avoid downtime, losing customers, and paying an additional fee.
To make sure your domain doesn’t expire unexpectedly, don’t forget to enable the auto-renewal feature in your hPanel.
How to Renew a Domain – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
In this section, we’ll answer some common questions about renewing a domain name.
Is it necessary to renew the domain every year?
Yes, normally you must renew your domain annually. Your website will be inaccessible if you forget to renew it, and if you’ve passed the redemption deadline, your domain will be available to the general public for registration.
Alternatively, you can also register your domain for a longer period, but you will still have to renew it regularly.
How much does it cost to renew a domain?
The cost of domain renewals varies by TLD. At Hostinger, the TLD .com.br costs BRL 59.99 to renew, while the TLD .live can cost up to BRL 99.99. You can check the cost of renewing your domain by going to the page Invoices → Services inside from hPanel.
Carlos Estrella has a degree in journalism from UFSC and works as a copywriter, translator and SEO at Hostinger Brasil. He has already worked with games and technology journalism and today he applies this experience by writing posts and tutorials on the Hostinger blog. His passions include gaming, hanging out with his girlfriend and friends, and reading random Wikipedia articles late at night.