Websites for local businesses
Someone took my domain. What happened?
You typed your own address and it is not your site. Maybe it points somewhere else, maybe the public record shows a stranger's name. Most of the time this is not theft. Here are the four ordinary reasons it happens, how to tell which one you are in, and what to do about your website while it gets sorted out.
Before you call it stolen, check these four explanations
Almost every domain that looks stolen is not stolen. It is one of four ordinary situations, and each has a different fix. Read all four before you spend money or send an angry message.
Only after you rule these out should you think about a real takeover. That means somebody got into your account and moved the name out without permission. It does happen, but it is rare.
- Your renewal lapsed. The name dropped and somebody bought it, often at auction.
- The web person or web company you hired registered it in their own name, so their details sit on the record.
- A partner, spouse or former employee owns the account. The domain was bought with somebody else's card or email.
- Your business never owned it at all. A directory, a franchise office or a marketing company bought the name and pointed it at your listing.
How to find out which one it is, using public records
Every domain has a public record, usually called a WHOIS or registrar lookup. It is public, and reading it takes about a minute. Type your business name with .com into any lookup page and read four lines.
If the record is hidden behind a privacy service, that is normal and not a sign of theft. Most registrars hide details for every customer, so compare the other clues instead.
- Creation date. If the name is far older than your business, somebody else had it first. If it is recent, your renewal most likely lapsed.
- Registrar. If it sits with a company you have never heard of, the name was probably resold after it dropped.
- Registrant name and country, when the record is not hidden. If it points to your old web person, your partner or a listing service, you have your answer.
- Name servers. If they point at a host you never used, somebody else is running content on your address right now.
Owning a domain and having access to it are two different things
The domain is the name. The account is the login the name sits in. You can own a name and still have no way to touch it, because the account is somebody else's.
This is the most common version in small business. You paid for a website years ago, the person who built it signed up for the domain with their own email, and you have used the address ever since without holding the keys.
That is not theft, but it is still a problem. If that person stops answering the phone, you cannot renew the name, move the site or fix your email. The fix is to have the domain moved into an account in your own name and your own email. That is usually a calm conversation.
What the grace and redemption periods mean in plain terms
When you stop paying, the registrar does not let the name go straight away. There are two quiet windows before release, and knowing them tells you whether the name is still recoverable.
Your email and your site usually stop working at the start of the first window, so act as soon as you notice something is wrong.
- First window, the grace period. Usually a few weeks after the expiry date. The name is still yours and you renew it at the normal price. Nothing else has to change.
- Second window, redemption. Usually about 30 days after that. The name is pulled from sale, but you can still bring it back by paying the registrar's fee.
- After that the name is released. Anyone can register it, and names like yours are often bought within minutes by a reseller.
- A name bought by somebody else can only be had back by paying that person. There is no official price and no rule that it comes back to you.
Paying to buy your name back: when it is worth it and when it is not
Once another person owns the name, buying it is a commercial deal, not a right. The price is whatever they ask.
If it is worth it to you, buy through a registrar escrow service, where the money and the name move at the same time. If the seller refuses to use one, treat that as a warning sign.
We do not sell domains, and we never ask anybody to buy a new one. If your domain has lapsed, we say so before anything else happens, and renewal always happens inside your own registrar account.
- Worth it: the name is your business name, printed on your truck, signs, invoices and cards.
- Worth it: customers type it, email you at it and search for you by it.
- Worth it: reprinting everything and telling every customer a new address would cost more than the asking price.
- Not worth it: nothing is printed on the name, nobody emails you at it, and customers reach you by phone.
- Not worth it: the seller wants thousands and the name is one you invented last year.
- Not worth it: you already own a second name you could use instead.
If it turns into a legal fight
If somebody moved the name out of your account without permission, or a former partner is holding it over you, that is a legal matter and not a website matter. We cannot advise you on it and we will not guess at your chances.
Talk to a lawyer, or talk to the registrar that holds the name and ask what processes they have. Both conversations cost little and will tell you more than any web page can.
One more thing. Do not put your website on hold while that plays out. A disputed name can sit for a long time, and your customers will not wait.
What to do about your website while the domain question is open
Your website and your domain are also two separate things. The site is files on a server. The domain is only the address that points at them. You can have a working site this week even if the name question drags on.
The main move is to pick an address you control, in an account in your own name, and put the site there.
LocalSiteShop finds local US businesses whose website is broken or missing, rebuilds it, and sends a free preview before asking for anything. Of the local business websites we checked across eight US metros, 27% were broken.
The preview is five pages: home, services, about, FAQ and contact. It uses your own services, your area and your opening hours, with a real map and a tap-to-call button. It is built phone first and loads in under a second.
If you want it live on a domain you control, the price is $600 flat, one time. No retainer, no monthly fee for the first year, no contract and no sales call. You see the work before you pay. It goes live on your domain within 24 hours of you saying yes, and payment is by a reply-to-email link, card or bank transfer.
- Keep your phone number on every page. A number is the one address nobody can take from you.
- Get a real site up on a name you own, even if it is not the name you wanted.
- Update your listings and your social pages to point at the address that works.
- Keep your email on the domain you control, not on the one in dispute.
Questions we get about this
My domain shows someone else's name. Was it stolen?
Usually it was not. Most cases are a lapsed renewal, a web person who registered it in their own name, a partner who owns the account, or a directory that owned the name all along. Check the public record first.
How do I check who owns a domain?
Type the name into any WHOIS or registrar lookup page. You will see the creation date, the registrar, the name servers and sometimes the registrant. It takes about a minute and costs nothing.
Can I still get my domain back after it expired?
Often yes. During the grace period, usually a few weeks, you renew it at the normal price. During redemption, usually about 30 days after that, you can still bring it back for a fee. After release, only the new owner can sell it to you.
Is it worth paying a stranger for my domain back?
Only if the name is truly your business name, printed on signs and cards, with customers who email you at it. If nothing is printed on it and you already own another name, leave it and move on.
Will you buy the domain for me?
No. We never sell domains and we never ask anyone to buy a new one. Renewal always happens inside your own registrar account. If your domain has lapsed, we tell you that before anything else happens.
Can I have a working website without the domain?
Yes. A site is files on a server and a domain is only the address pointing at them. Put a working site on a name you control now, then move it over if the original name comes back to you.
The public record hides who owns it. Can I find out anyway?
Usually not the person, but you can still learn a lot: when it was registered, which registrar holds it, and which name servers it points at. A masked record is normal, not suspicious, because privacy protection legally hides registrant details for most domains.
Does having a trademark help me get the name back?
If you hold a registered trademark and the name was registered in bad faith, there is a formal dispute process called UDRP. It costs real money, takes months, and needs proper legal help. For most small businesses the faster answer is a working site on a domain you control today, and dealing with the name separately.
Someone must have taken it after I looked the name up. Is that a thing?
It is a persistent belief that searching for a domain causes someone else to register it. Registrars deny it and the evidence is thin, but either way your options do not change, so it is not worth spending time on.
Reply to the email, or write to shoaib@localsiteshop.com with your domain name. We will read the public record and tell you plainly which of the four situations you are in, free.
$600 flat, live on your own domain within 24 hours. Look at the finished site before you pay anything.