Registrar guide

Renewing and locking a domain at Bluehost.

Where each setting lives at Bluehost, and the changes that actually stop a domain lapsing.

Where the settings are

Everything below is in the Domains section of your account.

Renewing

  • Sign in and open Domains.
  • Select the domain and use Renew.
  • Auto-renew is under the domain's settings.

Transfer lock

Under the domain's settings, labelled Lock or Transfer lock.

Moving the notices somewhere safe

Under Account, plus the domain's own contact section.

Worth knowing about Bluehost

Bluehost bundles domains with hosting, and a free first-year domain is common. Check what the second-year renewal actually costs, and check whether cancelling hosting affects the domain.

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 personal, and not at the domain that is expiring.
  • The renewal date recorded somewhere other than the registrar's email, because that is the channel that failed.

Check yours

Not sure who holds your domain?.

The free check reports the registrar, the renewal date and whether the transfer lock is on.

A different registrar?

The menus and defaults differ enough to be worth their own page.

Netim · an unknown registrar · Shopify Domains · Squarespace Domains · Tucows and OpenSRS · Key-Systems and RRPProxy

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