Ask Girl Geek: How Can I Check To See If My Domain Name is Available?

Hi Annette,

I went to www.registerfly.com and found that www.myname.com is taken. I had registered that some time ago and allowed the registration to expire. Could that be the problem? What are my options here? Finding the documentation for my earlier registration could be a challenge.

R

Hi R,
Yes, that's the problem. You can either call the company you originally registered it with and pay a penalty fee to get it back or you can wait 30-90 days to buy it after it's freed up. Usually, if you register your personal name, no one else is likely to register it. Also, if you register a business name that includes an "LLC" in the domain name, that one is not likely to be purchased by anyone else either.

To check to see if your domain has expired, go to www.whois.com. I just looked at your personal name has not expired.

Thanks for asking,
Annette