Online forms can be more difficult to complete than you might expect, especially when error messages don’t tell you exactly what you need to change. Sometimes all it takes is removing a space here or a comma there.

This is annoying in itself, but it becomes even more frustrating when your domain name is about to expire and you need to change your credit card details before you can renew it. Remembering these few pointers will make it a much less stressful experience when the time does come to renew your domain registration.

Firstly, make sure that your billing address is correct. Many registrars use an address verification system to avoid fraudulent transactions, which checks your billing address against your credit card or bank details. The domain renewal won’t be accepted if these details don’t match, so make sure that everything is up to date. That said, details like apartment number or suite number could cause errors, so it might be best to leave these out. If in doubt, you can always contact your registrar. Foreign or non-English characters can also cause difficulties. Look out for the ampersand in particular, as it sometimes appears in addresses, and avoid putting a hash before any digits. If your country doesn’t use a postcode or zip code, try entering NA or 00000 into that field instead.

It is worth checking that the expiry date on your credit card is correctly entered, as you may have been issued with a new card since your previous registration. Also check your card verification code (the last three digits of the number printed on the back of your credit or debit card). If the number is faded, contact your bank to verify it. Also, if you have an older card which does not have the security number, your bank should be able to advise you as to what to put in that field.

Author: Natalie Catchpole