Just A Minute!

Don't Delete This Incredibly Boring Email

Hi Reader,

Often, people I know (not just clients, but also friends, family, even my parents) forward me an email from GoDaddy or another domain registrar with a subject like: "Update your domain contact information" and ask:

I don't know why registrars do this: it's confusing and annoying. Okay, so I actually know why they do it... It's laid out clearly in the body of the email itself: "We’re required by ICANN, our regulating authority, to send all our domain customers an annual reminder to update their domain contact information."

They ask you to verify the identity of your Registrant, Administrative Contact, and Technical Contact, and at the bottom, they add some scary language: "Providing false or inaccurate WHOIS information can be grounds for canceling your domain name registration."

You may be wondering:

These emails are made worse by the fact that they come separately from your regular domain renewal emails, which often makes people say, "Wait, I thought I just renewed my domain. What are they asking me for now?"

I know it's easy to be irritated with auto-generated emails like this, but... Just a Minute! Before you hit "delete," read it carefully. You can ignore everything in these emails, except for two very important things.

This email asks you to verify your name, address, email address, and phone number. (Just like your doctor does every time you go in for a check-up). Your name and address are not so important. People will visit your website, but it's not like anybody's going to "visit" the actual physical address on your domain registration.

Don't skip over these:

#1: Make sure your phone number is accurate.

#2: Make sure your email address is accurate.

These emails aren’t really about your login password: that is tied to your registrar account. But this ICANN-required contact info is critical because:

• It’s where renewal, transfer, and compliance notices go. If you don't get those, your domain could expire or be moved without your knowledge.
• It’s how you prevent hijacking. If someone tries to steal or transfer your domain, the registrar sends the approval/denial link to the contact email on file.
• It proves your ownership. If there’s ever a dispute, bad info makes it harder to show the domain really belongs to you.

Bottom line: double-check that your email and phone number are yours and up-to-date. If they’re wrong, fix them right away.

I know this is incredibly boring stuff: I deal with it every day. But if your domain expires without you knowing, your website could go down, and your email could go down at the same time. That could be a total disaster, and there may not be an easy fix.

I've seen this happen before: it makes people cry.

Don't let this be you. Check to make sure your "domain contact information" is accurate. If it's good, move on. If not, fix it.

If you’re unsure what an email from your domain registrar means, just forward it to me. I'm happy to take a look.

Got a question you’d like answered in a future email? Just hit reply. Yes, it’s really me, and yes, I read every response.

Ron Stauffer

Lieder Digital

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