If your website, and any email at your domain, suddenly stopped working, the domain itself may be on hold. Look up your domain at ICANN Lookup and check its Domain Status. If it shows clientHold, the registrar has paused the domain until something is sorted out, and the domain stops working everywhere until then. Your website itself is fine at GUDHOST; visitors just can't reach it.
The same lookup shows your registrar's name, in case you're not sure where your domain is registered.
Common causes and fixes
Unverified contact details. When a domain is registered, or the owner's name or email changes, the registry asks the owner to confirm their details by email. If nobody clicks the link within the deadline (usually 15 days), the domain is suspended. Search your inbox and spam folder for the verification email and confirm your details, or ask your registrar to send it again. Once verified, the domain comes back online.
Expired domain. If the renewal date has passed, renew the domain with your registrar. It comes back online once the renewal goes through.
Compliance issues. Rarely, a registrar holds a domain because of a complaint or a breach of its terms. Contact your registrar to find out why and what they need from you.
If you're not sure which applies, your registrar can tell you exactly what's needed to lift the hold. Once it's lifted, it can take a few hours before the domain works everywhere again.
Avoiding it
- Keep the owner contact details on your domain up to date, and use an email address that doesn't depend on the domain itself, because email at a domain on hold stops working too.
- Turn on auto-renew at your registrar.