Auto Renew is a nice feature and it has it’s good and bad’s. Each registrar is a little different on how it works. GoDaddy.com’s get’s turned on automatically but at NetworkSolutions.com you have to turn it on manually.

If you choose not to renew a domain, it can also be a pain to shut off auto renew as it’s not something that one does everyday, so it can be a challenge. Here are my "bads" about Auto Renew.

To much trust! ~ I have spoke with many people that said their domain was on Auto Renew, so they felt they had nothing to worry about…. Well, since credit cards expire each year or two, your Auto Renew will not do you much good if the credit card on file is declined due to being expired. Be sure your credit card on file is up to date.

Normal Pricing! ~ At GoDaddy.com there are always discount renewal codes floating around and most will get you a .com domain renewed for under $8. This weekend, I had a couple auto renew and they cost me $10.19 Each… It’s not a huge deal, but when you start adding up $2 + for each domain that you could of saved, it does add up and effect your bottom line.

Security! ~ Now Auto Renew doesn’t directly affect the security of your domain but Auto Renew can prevent you from logging into your account and just looking around. It never hurts just to login and check around to see if anything is missing.

The good part of Auto Renew… Well there is really only one if everything is working correctly. Your domain name Auto Renew’s when it comes near the expiration date and you do not have to do anything!

I do advise to have Auto Renew on, just for an added layer of protection that you do not let a domain expire when you didn’t intend to. At GoDaddy, you will see an Account Alert with the number of domain names that will need to be renewed shortly. They do not use the Auto Renew right away, so you do have time to renew using a discount coupon.

If you are looking to Shut Off auto renew at Godaddy, here is a How To:

  • Login and go to upper left of the screen and mouse over Domains
  • From the Domains tab, select My Domains
  • Once in Domain Manager, put a check mark next to the domain you wish to shut off/turn on Auto Renew
  • In the upper toolbar, the icons will now be usable and you will want to mouse over the Renew tab
  • Once the box drops down, select Change Auto Renew
  • You will have two options, Automatically renew domains or Do Not Automatically renew domains
  • Select which you choose and click OK. This will complete the process.

Here is a How To for Moniker.com (Auto Renew is turned on automatically)

  • Login to your Moniker account
  • Under the Domain Overview section, click on the Number next to: Domains expiring in 60 days or less
  • Each domain name will have a check mark next to it, so you can uncheck any you wish. Once you have the proper domains you wish checked, click on the blue & white Renew tab
  • You will now see the list of domain names you had a check mark by. Under the Auto Renew column you will click Modify
  • After clicking Modify, you will have the option to select Yes or No for the Auto Renew as well as selecting the amount of years if you wish to auto renew the domain
  • Click Save to complete the process