What we check
We monitor your domain registration expiration date
We continuously monitor your domain registration expiration date via WHOIS lookups and alert you 90, 60, 30, 14, and 7 days before expiry. This gives you multiple reminders to renew your domain before it expires and causes catastrophic business disruption.
Security Impact
Why domain expiry monitoring is absolutely critical
Complete business disruption
When your domain expires, your website goes offline, emails stop working, and all services relying on that domain fail immediately. Your entire business grinds to a halt.
Expensive recovery costs
Expired domains enter a redemption period with fees of $100-300+. If your domain goes to auction, competitors can bid thousands. Recovery is expensive and time-consuming.
Loss of SEO and reputation
Expired domains lose search rankings immediately. Backlinks break. Customer trust evaporates. It can take months or years to rebuild your online presence.
Competitors can grab your domain
Domain backorder services monitor expiring domains. Competitors or domain squatters can register your expired domain within seconds, holding it hostage or using it against you.
Implementation
How to prevent domain expiration
With Httpeace
Httpeace automatically monitors domain expiration dates and provides multiple alerts:
- Add your domain to Httpeace
- We check expiration dates daily via WHOIS lookups
- Get alerts at 90, 60, 30, 14, and 7 days before expiry
- See renewal instructions and registrar links in your dashboard
Without Httpeace
Manual domain expiration monitoring requires maintaining detailed tracking systems:
# Check domain expiration via WHOIS whois yourdomain.com | grep -i "expir" # Parse expiration date whois yourdomain.com | grep -i "Registry Expiry Date" # Calculate days until expiry EXPIRY=$(whois yourdomain.com | grep "Registry Expiry Date" | cut -d: -f2) EXPIRY_EPOCH=$(date -d "$EXPIRY" +%s) TODAY_EPOCH=$(date +%s) DAYS_LEFT=$(( ($EXPIRY_EPOCH - $TODAY_EPOCH) / 86400 )) echo "Days until expiration: $DAYS_LEFT" # Different registrars have different WHOIS formats # GoDaddy uses "Expiry Date:" # Namecheap uses "Registry Expiry Date:" # Need to handle all variations
You'll need to:
- Create and maintain a spreadsheet of all domains and expiration dates
- Manually check WHOIS for every domain regularly (different syntax for different TLDs)
- Parse WHOIS output which varies by registrar and TLD
- Set calendar reminders at 90, 60, 30, 14, and 7 days for each domain
- Update tracking sheet every time you register, transfer, or renew a domain
- Ensure multiple team members have access to the tracking system
- Enable auto-renewal at registrar (but it can fail due to expired cards)
- Monitor credit card expiration dates used for auto-renewal
- Set up backup payment methods at registrars
- Verify auto-renewal is actually enabled (easy to accidentally disable)
- Check registrar contact email regularly for renewal notices
- Handle domains spread across multiple registrars with different interfaces
- Remember domains acquired through acquisitions or historical purchases
- Test reminder system regularly to ensure it's working
Manual domain tracking is error-prone and time-consuming. One forgotten domain can result in permanent loss if grabbed by domain squatters or auction systems.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What happens when a domain expires?
When a domain expires, it enters a grace period (usually 30-45 days) where you can still renew at normal cost. After that, it enters a redemption period (30 days) with high recovery fees ($100-300+). Finally, it's released for public registration where anyone can claim it.
Can I recover an expired domain?
Yes, but it's expensive and uncertain. During the grace period, you can renew normally. During redemption, you pay steep fees. After that, the domain goes to public auction where you must compete with others. Some domains are grabbed by backorder services instantly.
Why should I use monitoring if I have auto-renewal?
Auto-renewal can fail due to expired credit cards, insufficient funds, payment processor issues, or registrar system glitches. Monitoring provides critical backup alerting when auto-renewal fails, giving you time to fix issues before your domain expires.
How often does Httpeace check domain expiration?
We check domain expiration dates daily via WHOIS lookups. We send alerts at 90, 60, 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration, giving you multiple opportunities to renew before disaster strikes.
What if my domain registrar changes my expiration date?
Httpeace tracks changes to expiration dates and alerts you when dates change. This catches situations where domains might have been transferred, renewed, or modified without your knowledge.
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Peace of mind for your domains.
Start monitoring today and prevent outages, hacks, and costly mistakes.