How to Recover a Domain Name

Without a domain name, no one can find your website. Most domain names cost under $20 a year, depending on where you have it registered, but some domain names can cost thousands of dollars or more. In 1999 business.com sold for $7.5 million. A website can exist without a domain name but then it is only a series of numbers and dots that most people won't remember. Domain names are only rented for a set number of years but have unlimited renewals. If you don't renew your domain on time, you may have to pay a high price to get it back, if you can get it at all.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Open a Web browser. Enter in your domain name to see if it is still working. If it does not go to your page but gives an error saying "page not found" you can probably recover it. Otherwise, if your domain name points to a completely different site, either it lapsed too long or was stolen by a hacker and you need to call your domain provider for help.
   • 2
     Go to your domain provider's website. Look for a login area that asks for your username and password. Log in to your account by entering the username and password you set up when you registered your domain name. Select the domain name you want to renew if you have more than one. Choose one of the available options to renew. Options might include one year, two years or longer.
   • 3
     Pay the fee for the renewal. You will have to enter credit card or PayPal account information. Enter the DNS information if it has changed. The DNS address is the server where your website is being hosted and is provided by your website host. After entering in the information, click "Continue" or "new" or something similar. Continue through the rest of the registration process by following the prompts on the screen to renew your name.