Businesses have been reminded of the importance of making sure their domain names do not expire.
According to Zachary Rose, founder of Green Education Services, letting your domain name registration lapse can have untold — but potentially financially damaging — consequences.
Writing for entrepreneur.com, Mr. Rose claimed that if your domain name gets pulled from underneath your feet you can lose vital business contacts — as well as key customers.
Nick Hoffmann, a business owner who let his domain name accidentally expire in 2000, told Mr. Rose that he had to wind up his business as a result of the error.
“The whole aftermarket industry is based on names that drop off,” he said.
“It happens every day,” he added.
Mr. Hoffman suggested that businesses buy up their domain name for either five or 10 years, or set up an automatic annual renewal payment.
Recently, the UK’s largest bike retailer, Halfords, forgot to renew its domain name — causing its Web address to redirect to a holding page.