Can I get my website back?

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    I quit blogging some years ago, but I would still want my domaine. Can I get it back?

    WP.com: Yes
    Jetpack: No
    Correct account: Yes

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to moderators and staff)

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    Hilderafto.com

  • Unknown's avatar
    aisajib · Member ·

    Hi there!

    I found that your domain was removed from our end after it expired/was canceled, and as of now, someone else owns the domain. You can see the details of the domain here.

    Since it’s already registered by someone else, you won’t be able to register this again, I’m afraid. Your WordPress.com site is still here, though. And you can upgrade to a paid plan and register a new domain.

    I see you previously had the WordPress.com Business plan on your site. If you want the same plan, you can upgrade using this link. After upgrading, please follow these steps to register a new domain.

    Let us know if you have more questions.

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    That was a very hard lesson. I only needed a break and didn’t want to pay when I didn’t use the site. How could they sell it? Did you see the site? This is terrible=(

  • Unknown's avatar
    aisajib · Member ·

    Hi there!

    I understand, and I’m sorry that you lost your domain. :( Unfortunately, the process is automated, and it applies to all domains that expire or are canceled.

    We strongly advise against canceling a domain that you wish to use again in the future. You can cancel a WordPress.com plan and upgrade again, but when it comes to a domain, there’s no guarantee that you can get it back again.

    At this point, you can try contacting the domain owner and see if they’d be willing to help. The WHOIS data on this page lists email addresses you can contact. But if they don’t respond, using a new domain would be the only way forward.

    Perhaps you can look at a different TLD (.blog instead of .com, for example) for your domain? hilderafto.blog is available to register. And there are many other TLDs, such as .blog, that you can choose from. This will let you keep the same name but use a different TLD/extension for your domain.

    Oh, and if you upgrade to a yearly paid plan, you get the first year’s domain registration free of cost. You previously had the WordPress.com Business plan. If you want to upgrade to that plan again, you can use the button below:

    You can also check out our other plans at this link. If you need help deciding, feel free to tell us more about your site: What’s the site for, and what features do you need on it? This will help us understand your site goals and suggest the best plan for you.

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    I’m so sad about this… It looks like a porn site, with my name on it… I never thought anyone else would pick up my domaine! And wordpress is so expensive, so when I didn’t use it…

  • Unknown's avatar
    themagicrobot · Member ·

    There is a lesson here for anyone thinking of buying a custom domain address, especially one that uses all or part of their name. You will have to renew the domain annually for the rest of your life. Failure to do so will leave the domain available for purchase by someone else. This may just be a “domain squatter” who hopes to resell the domain back to the original owner at an inflated price. Or it could be someone who hopes the domain they have purchased already had visitors/links to it they can piggy-back onto for their new content of spam or porn.

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    Yes, indeed. It should be a warning sign. I really had no idea this could happen. Thanks for your support. If you think of any easy solution, please let me know.

  • Unknown's avatar
    bookstooge · Member ·

    the only solution is to go dotblog or dotnet or something. But the dotcom ship has sailed.

    So if you want a custom website, next time I would recommend NOT using your name or something so personal.

  • staff-95percentghost · Staff ·

    Just to note, it looks like the current expiry date on hilderafto.com is 7 July 2023. It can be worth keeping an eye out on the WHOIS data for the domain, in case the current owners choose not to renew it, and it eventually becomes available for you to register once more.

    Should you decide to register an alternative domain, it’s worth knowing that you can also choose not to renew a plan, but renew only your domain (so that you keep the domain renewed and active under your ownership). We have some general information about purchase management here:
    https://wordpress.com/support/manage-purchases/

    If you do want to go for an alternative extension instead of the currently unavailable hilderafto.com, we have a list of the extensions we offer here:
    https://wordpress.com/support/domains/domain-pricing-and-available-tlds/

  • Unknown's avatar
    hilraf · Member ·

    Thank you. If they dont’t renew it, will I need to have a deal with WHOIS, or are there alternative solutions?

  • aleone89 · Staff ·

    Hello there,

    If they don’t renew the domain, it may very well become available again for purchase in the future – and this can be checked at anytime via Upgrades > Domains.

    WHOIS is just a service that tells you the information about the domain.

    It looks like the expiration/renewal date is:

    Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2023-07-07T17:14:03Z

    According to https://www.whois.com/whois/hilderafto.com.

    I hope this is useful information.

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