Am I required to buy domain mapping when I renew?

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  kenwoodbeach · Member · Dec 10, 2013 at 1:45 pm

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  I want to renew my domain but don’t want to renew domain mapping if I don’t have to.

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  kraftbj · Staff · Dec 10, 2013 at 3:20 pm

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  Hi,

  The domain mapping and registration are one piece and both must be renewed if keeping your domain name. The registration is what reserves your name and the mapping allows our system to know where to take folks when they visit your domain.

  Please let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers!

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  kenwoodbeach · Member · Dec 16, 2013 at 4:43 pm

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  Hi – thanks very much for your reply (above)! I’m not sure yet what I want to do with this blog (whether I want to continue it or not.) BUT – I do know I want to keep the domain name for at least another year while I try to figure it out. Since I just want to keep my domain name for the time being, can’t I renew the domain name (and the part that keeps my info private), without doing the mapping? When I registered the domain name w/WP, I could have done it with GoDaddy; I didn’t realize it might possibly be tied inextricably to the WP mapping, blog, etc. Sorry to press this, but can you clarify that part for me? Thanks very much for your help.

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  kraftbj · Staff · Dec 16, 2013 at 5:05 pm

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  You can use your domain anywhere—you don’t have to keep it pointed to your WordPress.com site.

  That said, internally, you need both pieces. The registration is what actually reserves the domain name to the world and the mapping assigns it to your account. Without the mapping piece, you wouldn’t be able to manage the domain or use it anywhere as long as it is registered with WordPress.com. A bad analogy is if when registering a car, you pay for both registration and for the license plates. Some states include both together, other states have separate line items, even though both are required. We’re the latter.

  You can Transfer a Domain to Another Registrar, though you’d want to act fast to avoid renewing it at WordPress.com since it about to expire. Some registrars won’t accept a domain if it is within 7 days of the expiration date, so you may need to renew it at WordPress.com, then transfer it out.

  Please let me know if you need anything else. Cheers!