The website and email disappeared at the same time

When the website and email stop working at the same time, first check whether the domain has expired. Even when the website and email are hosted on different servers, both depend on the domain and go offline when it stops resolving.

How long you have to renew depends on the domain extension and your registrar. In most cases you still have time, but act the same day.

Check whether it's the domain

1. If the website works but email doesn't, or the other way round, the domain is probably fine. In that case the fault is in the service that has stopped.
2. Look up the domain at ICANN Lookup. For most extensions it shows the registrar, the expiry date and the domain status.
3. Search your inbox and spam folder for renewal reminders from your registrar. The early ones arrived while email was still working.

If your email is on the expired domain, you can't read the notices there. Check whichever other address you may have used when the domain was registered. Many registrars also redirect the website to a page saying the domain has expired.

Renew with your registrar

1. Log in to your account with the registrar shown in the lookup, or contact them.
2. Renew the domain and pay what is outstanding. If you have already paid and still got a warning, ask the registrar why the payment isn't registered.
3. Check that automatic renewal is turned on, and that the payment card and contact email on the account are up to date.

How much time you have

For generic domains such as .com, .net and .org, ICANN sets the rules. After the expiry date, the registrar must give you a grace period to renew, and the site and email stop working before that period ends. If the domain is then deleted, there is a 30-day redemption grace period during which the registrar that deleted it can restore it for you.

The status in the lookup shows where in the process you are:

• redemptionPeriod means the domain has been deleted but can still be restored through the registrar.
• pendingDelete means it's about to be released, and anyone will soon be able to register it.

Country-code domains, such as .uk, .de or .no, follow their own registry's rules and deadlines. For .no, Norid sends the first notice on day 0, removes the domain from DNS on day 60 and deletes it on day 90, after which anyone can register it. For other extensions, your registrar can tell you how long you have.

When the domain is renewed

Once the domain is renewed, the website and email work again without any changes, as long as the DNS settings are unchanged. It can take a while before it works for everyone, because ISP resolvers cache the old DNS answer for a while. Google Admin Toolbox Dig shows what Google's resolvers return for the domain. Email sent to you while the domain was down may have bounced back to the sender.

When you're stuck

If the domain is registered to a previous developer, a closed company or someone other than you, contact the registrar, explain the situation and ask what they need from you to renew or transfer the domain. If the domain has already been released, check whether it's available and register it again through a registrar.