Every time I’ve got to order a hosting package for a client, who already owns the domain name I cry a little. Why? Because transferring their domain name usually takes longer than it should, because they haven’t kept their information up to date. Especially the most important part of the information – and to be honest the only part I care about – the e-mail address for the domain holder.
Below is an image of an e-mail conversation I had just last week. Please note that I’ve “recreated it” by exchanging mails with myself for various reasons.
Oh, it's been unused for 10 years?
As it turns out our client no longer had access to the mailbox it had used to register the domain name with. For over 10 years, no less!
Why is that a pain in the butt? Because when we request to transfer a domain name, an e-mail will be sent to the client’s registered e-mail address. And if that address no longer exists… well, things become complicated. We’ve got to convince the client to change the information themselves – but in most cases it turns out we have to ask for their username and password and do it for them, and then end up using one of our own e-mail addresses. This entire process can take some time, and while I always warn the clients of this very early – before we submit the transfer request – they still think it’s our fault. Obviously.
So please, people. If you own a domain name or multiple of them, please log in at the website where you registered them, and check what e-mail address you’ve used. If it no longer exists, change it. For your own sake. For future generations of website builders. For me?
