Where to register a domain name

hark

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Which sites are recommended for registering a URL? GoDaddy.com and Register.com are two of many sites out there. Any pros/cons to consider when choosing a domain registration site? Thanks for any info! :)
 

Wolfeye

Senior Member
I can only speak for Godaddy. They are planning a public IPO soon and are in the midst of redesigning the company culture and focus. That may mean something.
 

Jon Rowlison

Senior Member
I've been with GoDaddy for a decade now... their interface is as simple or complicated as you want it to be (that's a good thing...) Straight-forward web and email (webmail) hosting, all the way up to complex DNS and zone transfer systems. One of the best features is the integrated "Domains by proxy" feature you can purchase. I've put my personal information in domain registrations before and you get tons of unwanted spam messages from all of the interwebs. Pay a small fee and they anonymize your ownership of the domain so people can't put you on spam contact lists.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Which sites are recommended for registering a URL? GoDaddy.com and Register.com are two of many sites out there. Any pros/cons to consider when choosing a domain registration site? Thanks for any info! :)

Are you looking to Register a Domain, or HOST a domain???... They're different...
 
Godaddy. I have 10 names registered with them. You do have to be careful when registering a domain name especially if you are getting a "Free" domain name when you buy web hosting. Some of those places will not transfer the name to you if you ever decide not to host with them anymore. I worked for a webhosting company for a number of years and I ran into that issue many times.
Someone would drop their account somewhere and come to us only to realize their name was being held hostage. Since you never registered the name then you have no claim over it.
 

hark

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Thank you to everyone for the info. The only one I'm familiar with is Go Daddy but figured some of the members here would have experience with one.

Are you looking to Register a Domain, or HOST a domain???... They're different...

Definitely a registering a domain.

Godaddy. I have 10 names registered with them. You do have to be careful when registering a domain name especially if you are getting a "Free" domain name when you buy web hosting. Some of those places will not transfer the name to you if you ever decide not to host with them anymore. I worked for a webhosting company for a number of years and I ran into that issue many times.
Someone would drop their account somewhere and come to us only to realize their name was being held hostage. Since you never registered the name then you have no claim over it.

Thanks, Don! This info is new to me and is highly informative. It's greatly appreciated. :D

So I will register with Go Daddy. Even though I've now made my choice, if people still want to comment about which sites to use for domain registration, please feel free to do so. Hopefully all this info will help others. Thanks again! ;)
 

briansullivan

Senior Member
Hello Hark,

I've been building sites since the mid-nineties. Up until recently, I would have sworn up and down for Network Solutions, but, not any more. Their recent switch to web.com has seen a drastic downturn.

For me, and I do have hundreds of domains under my control, factors are;

1) Service (NS has gone very sour here recently). For instance, how easy is it to REMOVE something? Always easy to add, but, how about removing? I just had a client that ordered hosting and email with one, and they do not need it and it is a real pain to remove it. (Not as bad as Comcast)
2) DNS performance: Read up on this. For a small site, maybe not a big issue, but, there are differences. Trust me.
3) How do you get along with their admin? Some of them just don't make a lot of sense to me and are laborious. True, I sometimes have to deal with bulk actions more than the average user.
4) Price. To me, almost insignificant. Folks, this is your website. Next to word of mouth, probably your most significant bit of marketing you do. A couple of bucks a year difference is nil for such an important thing.

But, I can say, GoDaddy.com is OK. I find the admin so so but OK for simple routine things. Their DNS is sub-par.
I've been researching vendors, and have not come to a final conclusion yet as it needs to beat the test of time. But, I can say NameCheap is in the lead thus far.

take care,

Brian
 

hark

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Quick question for anyone...is it worth paying the extra for the privacy feature?
 

traceyjj

Senior Member
Answering the original question... just checked and mine is with Fasthosts, been with them for my travelthrutime site since early 2009 and never had an issue...
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Quick question for anyone...is it worth paying the extra for the privacy feature?

I have 34 domains through GoDaddy, all with registration privacy.

Before I switched to GoDaddy, I was a very loyal Network Solutions customer ... but their pricing just didn't reflect what I needed from them.

That said, I host most of my DNS for my domain names myself, and have used GoDaddy DNS as a backup DNS for my primary's when I wanted an extra layer of redundancy. I still have a few domains where DNS points to HostGator, but not many.

If anyone wants/needs a remote secondary DNS server, let me know and I'll happily point a slave to your primary NS if that helps you out.
 

SteveH

Senior Member
I use GoDaddy too and can't fault them - I switched to them from 1&1. The privacy option is good for preventing you from getting a lot of spam etc., and also stops your home address being linked to your domain so keeps your details nice and private.
 

briansullivan

Senior Member
Quick question for anyone...is it worth paying the extra for the privacy feature?

This will to some small degree prevent some spam, mainly companies trying to sell you other domains and such by masking your address and email. (Some doing research may find this to troublesome as they want to verify where you are, as in the USA or whatever, but, that is rare.)

Is it worth it?

If you are using a relatively new, spam-free email account to register, than possibly yes.
If you are using an email account that has been around for awhile, probably not.

Brian
 

Wolfeye

Senior Member
I used to work for Godaddy so I know a bit more than most. They are very aggressive about growth and market share. As with all such strategies, the goal is not to be the friendly, inexpensive neighborhood dealer. They are doing what they can to monopolize the market, offering lower cost solutions right now, with price hikes coming later on if they ever achieve their goal of cornering the market. They are not a bad company; they're a free market company with a huge "loan" to pay off.
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
dont mean to hijack but this interests me. when I did my website it included everything. I now want a personal website and want a few names so that they all would lead to the same website. is there a package to buy more than 1 domain name with any of them?
and whats the privacy feature?
 
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