Understanding Domain Names Life Cycle
Securing and maintaining a Domain Name is one of the basic steps in building your website. Here’s how the process works.
* Redemption of .MY Domains is free of charge, however, gTLDs and .SG Domains require a Redemption Fee as per Registry policies. Learn more about this in the Redemption section below.
Registration
The first step is to check if the Domain Name you want is still available. If no one else is currently using it, then you can claim it through a registrar such as Vodien. A Domain Name Registration is similar to getting a lease; you pay a fixed amount to be able to use it for a given period.
Active Status (1-10 years)
A Domain Name may be registered for a minimum of (1) one year and a maximum of 2 years for .SG and .MY Domains, or 10 years for gTLDs. The Active Status will depend on the Domain Name subscription period you selected upon registration.
Expiration (1-29 days)
You will be notified when the registered period is about to end. If you pay the Renewal Fee, then the Domain Name stays active. The Active Status will be extended with the new subscription period selected upon renewal.
If you don’t renew the Registration, your Domain will be put on hold. Those who try to access your website will be redirected to a page announcing that the Domain has expired. You will not be able to transfer your Domain Name to another registrar at this time.
The expired status lasts from 1 to 29 days for all of the Domain Names. You can still renew your Domain within this period.
Redemption (30 days)
After the expired period has lapsed, the Domain will go into Redemption Period for 30 days (or 14 days for .MY Domains). During which period, you can still renew your Domain Registration; however, the registry charges a Reinstatement Fee for the Domain Name. The whole Reinstatement Process is manual and takes about 1 working day to complete. This is definitely not a recommended method and clients are advised to renew their Domain before expiry.
Note: For .COM.SG and .SG Domain Names, the status will show as Deleted when you do a WhoIs Lookup, even while it is still under Redemption. You will need to manually count the number of days from the expiry date, or contact us, to know if the Domain Name can still be reinstated or not.
Pending Delete (5 days)
At this stage, your Domain Name is already about to be deleted from the registry and can no longer be restored. After deletion, it becomes available again for Registration but you will now have to compete with other people who may want to register it as well.
Do not hesitate to contact our 24/7 Singapore or Australia Support Team if you have further questions.