Originally Posted by cassiesue:
I bought my domain name (I think that is what it is called) back in July although I have yet to do anything with it. Actually I guess I rented it because it seems I have to renew it again next July.
Domain names are actually rented or leased with the agreement that it's yours for as long as you pay for it. You can pay yearly, or for most domains, you can prepay for up to 10 years. When it comes time to renew it, if you don't renew it before its expiration date, it will stop working, then you have a period of time when you can still renew it at regular price, usually about a month. After that, it becomes more expensive to renew, then too late to renew.
For anyone else who reads this, don't let a domain name expire and not renew it, and think you can just register it again later. I've had clients do that, and sometimes if you let one go, it ends up getting taken by another person later.
Another mistake some people make is deciding they want a domain name, but they aren't going to use it yet, so they are going to wait until later on to register it. They go to register it later and oops, someone else got it. Once you decide you want a domain name, get it.