Last year we saw the release of the new shorter .NZ domain name extension, which gave many businesses the opportunity to register the shorter version of their existing .co.nz domain name. For example, if a business had the domain mybusiness.co.nz, they may have had the preferential right to register the shorter domain mybusiness.nz.

As a result of many businesses taking up the opportunity to register the shorter version of their domain name, many business now have more domain names than they previously had. Many have registered multiple domain names in order to protect their Intellectual Property. But most businesses have an accountant who likes to ‘trim the fat’, and save money where possible. One way some businesses may see an opportunity to make some cost savings, is to consolidate the number of domain names they have. For example, a business may choose to let their old .co.nz domain lapse when it is next due for renewal, and only retain the shorter .nz domain name. However consolidating domain names in order to save a bit of cash short term can be a big mistake, and cause major expensive headaches down the road. As the .co.nz domain is focused toward companies, we believe any business should try to retain their .co.nz, and not let it expire. If your domain does expire, you may find that one of your competitors may buy that domain, or it may get purchased by a cyber-squatter, who buys and sells domains for a profit. Both may use your old domain name for different things. A competing business may use the domain name, to redirect it to their own businesses website, gaining the traffic that your website should be getting. If you were previously using the expired .co.nz domain for email, you may find that the organisation that has purchased your old domain now has the ability to receive emails from your clients who are still sending you emails on that old domain email address. These are just a few of the many potential problems companies may face in letting a domain name expire.

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