You’ve worked hard to drive traffic to your site and build your brand online. Then one day, your website and email just stop working… All because your domain contacts weren’t set up correctly. This nightmare scenario is more common than you’d think. Time and again, we’ve come across people who lost control of their domain over what seemed like a minor oversight: not paying attention to who was listed as the domain’s owner and administrative contact.
What are domain contacts and what do they do?
The database that tracks domain ownership (WHOIS) works like a title registry. It records who owns the domain (Owner-C), but also the contact details for the person responsible for managing it, known as the administrative contact or Admin-C. What many people don’t realize is that the person who actually controls the domain is the one listed as the administrative contact. Whoever has access to that contact’s email address can generally:
- Change the details of all other contacts (including the owner)
- Authorize transfers.
On top of that, for almost all domain types, notices and alerts go to the administrative contact’s email address.
What problems can this cause?
Some of the most common issues that arise when the administrative contact’s email address is incorrect include:
- The domain expires because renewal notices were never received.
- The web design agency that built your site registers itself as the domain’s administrative contact. If a disagreement later arises — or the agency simply closes down — you can easily lose your domain.
- The administrative contact is a business partner or employee. At some point a dispute occurs, and that person uses their position to take control of the domain.
I’ve lost a domain — what can I do?
If the domain has simply expired and you still have access to your admin panel (for example, your account at registros.com), renewing it may be as straightforward as sending a message to customer support. Keep in mind, though, that renewing an expired domain can be considerably more expensive than renewing it on time. In all other cases, recovering a domain you’ve lost tends to be a difficult and costly process. If the domain is in someone else’s hands, you may still be able to convince the other party to transfer it to you at a reasonable price. If not, legal action may be your only remaining option.
How do I avoid losing a domain?
The best approach is to prevent this situation in the first place, and it’s simpler than you think. Start by checking who is listed as the contact for your domain using a WHOIS lookup service like our WHOIS lookup tool. Make sure that you, or someone you fully trust, controls the email address tied to the administrative contact. If not, you can usually update this through your control panel or by contacting whoever currently manages the domain. Once that’s sorted, you can breathe easy knowing you’ve headed off a lot of potential headaches. Photo: phone_book by How can I recycle this
