When you type in your full domain name address, your website will appear on your Internet browser.  Although your website appears when you type in that domain name, your website and your domain name are actually two separate entities. Your website design and hosting contract is through Advanced Access. We helped you set up your design and at the time, you chose a domain name that is attached to your website.  Although we may have helped you register your domain name as a service, it remains in YOUR name for your own protection. Therefore your domain expiration and your website hosting expiration will most likely occur on different dates. This is necessary to ensure the ownership of your domain is in your own name.  

There have been cases in the past when unscrupulous website companies would register YOUR domain name in their company’s name thereby designating THEM as the registered owner, not YOU. This has resulted in a lack of control over your domain name and in some cases, loss of your domain name entirely, causing you to have to start over again with a new web presence. 

Advanced Access has always had the policy that YOU are the owner of your domain name.  Therefore, it's in your best interest to ensure your contact information is CORRECT through your Registrar.

Chances are, you've invested a significant amount of time and money in marketing your domain name to the consumer. Regardless of the investment, the unfortunate fact is that your domain name can be lost to people who track its expiration date and register it for themselves the moment the name expires and the grace period elapses.  We call these people “domain vultures,” and they’re out there in force! 

Although we make every effort to monitor our clients' domain expiration dates, the fact is that each domain registration company has different reporting standards for renewals. Due to many outside factors, we are not always aware of your domain name expiration date and cannot guarantee that we will notify you when it's time to renew.  

Many of our clients report that they never received an invoice for renewing their domain name. Although most registrars send out invoices 30 days before the expiration, addresses can change and mail can be lost. Many registrars also e-mail you your invoice; however, if your contact information is not up-to-date your invoice will be lost in cyberspace as well.  

Most domain registrars offer a grace period after the expiration date; however, if your domain name is not renewed it can result in your domain name being lost to another party.

Know your Domain Name Expiration Date

It's more important than ever to be aware of the date your domain expires. Here's how to find out your expiration date. Visit any of the domain registration websites, but for this example, let's use Network Solutions. Network Solutions website address is www.netsol.com. Click on the "Whois" section of the site (on the top center of the page) and enter in your domain name. You can look up the ownership information for any domain name here, and find out the date your own domain expires. Please make a note of your domain name expiration date for future reference. In most cases, your domain was originally registered for one or two years. If you have any trouble finding out the information about your domain name, simply call our Customer Support Department toll free at 866-518-1571 or e-mail us and ask them to look up the information for you.  

Very recently, to prevent cybersquatters from re-registering your domain name immediately after its expiration date, VeriSign - parent company of Network Solutions, implemented a new program that allows you to "redeem" your domain names within 30 days after its expiration period. 

In the new program, Verisign will "hold" your domain name for 30 days after it expires and prevent anyone else from re-registering it upon expiration. Once your domain name has entered into this "REDEMPTIONPERIOD" status it is only possible to have your domain name released back to you by paying a fee. Oddly, this fee seems to be different from one domain name registration company to the next. We've seen the fee as low as $100.00 (this seems to be the norm), which doesn't include your renewal fee, but companies such as Register.com are actually charging upwards of $235.00 ($200 restoration service fee plus $35 for one year renewal) when your domain name is in the "REDEMPTIONPERIOD" status.  

What does this mean to you? With Verisign's new program, it is less likely that your domain name will be stolen by a cybersquatter. However, if you don't renew your domain on time, it will cost you! Unless you want to pay a $100.00 (or MORE!) fee for releasing the hold on your domain name, be sure that you renew it before the expiration date.

If you don't receive an invoice before the expiration date, you can either (a) renew your domain name directly online with a credit card on the registrars' secure server, or (b) contact our Customer Support Department and we will be happy to renew your domain name for you.  

As always, we are committed to your success on the Internet and are pleased to serve you in any capacity with regard to the renewal of your domain name.

Read the following from real estate professionals who are using Advanced Access' Marketing Tips to their advantage:

"I just wanted to let you know since I make constant changes and almost daily updates to my site, the tools you have made available in the virtual office are awesome. The fact I can make changes via the source code (just one example) means I can just cut and paste URL's without disturbing the page (like using i-frames once it is set up). Also, I can copy a page and revamp it with new charts, graphic, etc without disturbing my "old" page, and only put the new page live when it is ready. Because of these easy to use tools, I have been able to add content easily and update things any time I want to.

The more I get familiar with what I can do, the better I like it. In fact, I almost hate to say it is fun, but it is addicting! I actually look forward to working on the site at midnight!!

I get rave reviews about my site (more importantly great leads) and it is because you all have made it easy to manage. Because of our site, I just got back to the office after writing a $1,000,000 offer on a property because a “relo” found us on the top spot on Google. A three month process since the initial contact, but it culminated with writing an offer within just a few weeks since they actually arrived here.

Thanks for keeping us all ahead of the competition. You really have the best product out there!

Keep up the great work!"

Drew Hartanov
San Clemente Real Estate