Where the settings are
Everything below is in the Control Panel, then Domains.
Renewing
- Sign in to the Control Panel.
- Open Domains and select the domain.
- Use Renew domain, or check the auto-renew setting.
Turning on transfer lock
Look under the domain's management page for Transfer lock or Registrar lock. It is frequently off on older registrations.
Moving the notices somewhere safe
Under Account settings. For .uk domains, the registrant contact is held at Nominet and can also be updated there directly.
Worth knowing about 123-reg
123-reg holds a large number of long-standing UK small business domains, many registered by a web designer rather than the business. If the account is not in your name, resolving that is more urgent than the renewal itself.
The three that actually prevent a lapse
- A payment card that is current. An expired card with auto-renew on is the most common cause of a lapse, and the failure notice goes to the same place as everything else.
- A contact address that survives someone leaving. Not a personal address, and not an address at the domain that is expiring.
- The renewal date recorded somewhere other than the registrar's email, because that is the channel that failed.