Do I keep my domain if I cancel my online store?
Do I keep my domain if I cancel my online store?
This is a question many ask when considering closing their online store or switching platforms. The answer is fortunately often a clear yes: You keep your domain.
Read on to understand why this is the case and what you should be aware of.
Domain and online store: What's the difference?
To understand why you typically keep your domain, it's important to know the difference between a domain and an online store:
- A domain is your unique address on the internet – e.g., "yourcompany.com". It's like the street name and house number to your store. You rent a domain for a period at a time (typically a year) through a domain registrar (e.g., domain registrars).
- An online store is the actual "building" or store that sits at that address. It's the system that shows your products, handles orders, and gives you the opportunity to run your business online. Your online store sits on a server with an online store provider.
Think of it as a physical house: You can move out of the house (cancel the online store), but still own the land the house stood on (keep the domain).
Who owns (or rents) your domain?
When you register a domain, it's you as a private person or your business that is the registrant and thus the "owner" (or rather, renter) of the domain. This registration is a completely separate agreement from your agreement with your online store provider.
Your online store provider is just the one who "shows" your online store on your domain, i.e., the one who connects your domain name with the right address on the internet where your online store is located.
What happens when you cancel your online store?
When you cancel your agreement with your online store provider, the following happens:
- Your online store, with all content (products, design, orders, etc.), will be closed and deleted with the provider. It thus disappears from the internet.
- Your domain remains yours. It's still registered in your name, and you continue to pay for it to your domain registrar (not your online store provider).
Your domain will thereafter point to nothing, show an error page, or you can choose to point it to a new online store, a temporary website, or an empty page that informs that your store is closed.
What should you remember when you cancel your online store?
1. Domain registration is separate
Make sure you have control over who your domain registrar is (e.g., domain registrars). It's them you need to pay to renew the domain annually if you want to keep it.
2. Email addresses
If you have email addresses linked to your domain (e.g., info@yourdomain.com), these are typically also a separate service, which either your domain registrar or another provider hosts for you. Canceling your online store normally doesn't affect your emails, as they're linked to your domain and not your online store platform.
3. Future plans for the domain
Consider what you want to use the domain for in the future. You can:
- Transfer it to a new online store solution (e.g., a new, easy online store with GoShup.com).
- Use it for a simple information website.
- Park it so no one else can register it until you figure out what you want.
- Choose to let the domain registration expire, after which the domain becomes available for others.
Conclusion
In most cases, you keep your domain when you cancel your online store. It's two separate services that just work together to make your online store visible online. Remember to keep your domain registration active if you want to preserve your online name.