What's the best domain name registrar you've used so far, or one you can recommend?

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[+28] [27] genieyclo

[2009-08-13 22:38:57]

[ website dns domain service-rec ]

[ http://superuser.com/questions/22536] [DELETED]

Please no spamming or aiming for cheap money.

The registrar needs to have a good ui, work with no downtime, be easy and flexible to use, support easy changing/adding of CNAME fields, MX records, and work well with outside host DNS.

In this kind of question, how come the accepted answer has less than half the upvotes of a non-accepted answer? In my humble opinion either don't accept any answer, or accept what the community thinks... Otherwise what's the point of asking for a recommendation? :) - Roee Adler

@Rax: It is ok for the OP to select any answer he wants. Just because it is what the community uses/recommends or what is popular does not mean it will solve the OP's question or requirements. This is great example of this too. The OP selected which solution/choice works best for him and we can see what much of the community recommends/uses also. - Troggy

[+13] [2009-08-13 22:40:53] Troggy

http://www.godaddy.com/ I recently used godaddy for the first time and it was a decent experience and relatively cheap if you catch a sale. The only thing I don't like is the over 9000 options you can add on through the checkout process. I wish the privacy feature was cheaper too. Otherwise, smooth transaction. I believe it supports most of the features you want also.

(15) I don't like GoDaddy - they seem spammy with their millions of add-ons and such. - Isaac Waller

And thats exactly why I mentioned what I don't like about them. - Troggy

(4) I've used GoDaddy for 2 years and am going to renew for a third. They're nothing super-fantastic but I really don't have any complaints. - STW

(1) I like GoDaddy - worlds largest registrar, cheap, all the features you need (some registrars leave out basic features like forwarding). Sure, you have to click through 2 pages of 'deals' when you first register (make sure you don't tick any extra 'features') but if you are smart enough to do that, GoDaddy is fine. (I actually like those deals - because they are there, GoDaddy can offer low prices and OK service and still exist. Then again, I'm the type who goes to Vegas and doesn't gamble, just enjoys the cheaper/better hotels, shows, food and free entertainment the gambling pays for) - MGOwen

(1) +1 for GoDaddy. When you need help, you can actually pick up the phone and talk with a human: godaddy.com/gdshop/support.asp - Dan Esparza

Another +1 for godaddy - yes, they have a lot of option, but the help desk seems competent - they actually read and respond to questions, which these days is a bit of a surprise. Plus, they credit you with existing time left on your renewal when you move a domain over to them, and .ca prices are very reasonable compared to others. - chris

I've used them, but can't stand the interface or the customer support; auto-renew is handy, but everyone offers that. They were also a customer of ours at a previous employer, and the technical knowledge of those entrusted with managing their horribly outdated systems was frightening! - warren

I have used GoDaddy, and found their interface confusing and everything was in Flash (ick). - Isaac Waller

I'd say start with a registrar with a clean, easy-to-use interface. They might be a bit more expensive, but it will give you some experience with the registration process. Then switch to GoDaddy and ignore all the ads for add-ons that you don't need. - Barry Brown

+1 for godaddy. their ads are tacky but their service is smart and good. - Mark Harrison

I would vote this down 1000 times if I could Go Daddy is the Worst, in fact I have never hated a website more-- stackoverflow.com/questions/238177/worst-ui-youve-ever-used/… - blank

@cgreeno: Agreed, it is a bloated bad UI. Doesn't mean the service is bad though. - Troggy

(1) Be aware that godaddy can, at its own discretion, suspend your account for a min of 2 days if they believe that your domain sent UCE (spam). You have to pay a "reactivation fee" of $199 to go live again. godaddy.com/gdshop/legal_agreements/… - jimg

As everyone's said, the website is extremely commercial. Aside from that, I had no problems with setting everything up; it all went through pretty quickly. I'd recommend signing up for the privacy option for an extra free, to prevent your contact details appearing on WHOIS. - Steve Melnikoff

GoDaddy are hypocrites. They have a terms of service saying that they won't host hate-speech sites, but they do host a site which actually calls for the murder of gay people in Kenya. If GoDaddy were strong free-speech/no censorship types, this would be acceptable, but they aren't, so it isn't. I avoid GoDaddy for this reason. - TRiG

[+13] [2009-08-13 22:44:55] ahsteele

Whatever you do, do not use 1 & 1 internet. My experience with them was the worst I have ever had with any company internet or otherwise.

(4) +1 they sucks seriously, I tried them too - martani_net

+1 for honest negative personal experience - Troggy

Yup, they're the ones I have right now and my 1 year with them is ending in three days so that's why I'm trying to register my domain again with a better registrar, and this time maybe by month or something a little shorter than a year contract ;) - genieyclo

I'd be interested to hear your actual negative experience. My dedicated servers with them and their support have been great. I wonder if it's just their other products? - hamlin11

I'd prefer not to get into specifics of my situation with them but suffice it to say every member of their customer service was unhelpful, rude, and argumentative. Suffice it to say it revolved a billing discrepancy. A discrepancy they ultimately admitted to causing but pretended to be helpless to solve. I spent 4 years as a customer service rep and as such try to give a lot of latitude to people in that role; however, given the way I was treated by the reps at 1&1 I have to assume it is emblematic of a larger customer service failing by the company. Again simply an awful experience. - ahsteele

I worked with a client that used them. Man, they were terrible. - Electrons_Ahoy

1&1 has served me well because they're dirt cheap and offer a decent amount of configurability and flexibility with hosting (even shared hosting). They've also been rock-solid in my experience. Unfortunately, their customer support is useless and if something ain't supported, it ain't supported. I'm considering slowly moving over to someone else. - Sidnicious

[+11] [2009-08-13 22:46:25] Isaac Waller [

ACCEPTED]

By far, NearlyFreeSpeech.NET ^[1]. They have great customer service, cheap domain names, and a great and easy to use DNS configuration panel. Of course, they are the most useful when you are using their hosting too (which is the best I've found.)

[1] http://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/

(1) Oh so they do domains too? I just started doing hosting with them, after they were recommended by a friend. Looks promising! - genieyclo

(1) You know what, I think I just might go ahead with NFS, thank you very much Isaac! - genieyclo

How can you award someone a badge on the stackoverflow network? Or is it automated and can't be given out by users? - genieyclo

Badges are given automatically for meeting certain requirements. If you click the badges link and click a badge, it will show you the requirement. - MarkM

I've had a domain and site with NFS for years, their support is out of this world. - Lunatik

What is their admin panel like? - tnorthcutt

@tnorthcutt - it's very clean, no flash, pure html. - Isaac Waller

As far as I can tell, there is no simple way of paying just for domain name registration, without having to deposit a greater amount of cash, and paying a fee for doing so! (And if there is a way, they need to make it more obvious.) - Steve Melnikoff

[+6] [2009-08-13 22:53:45] arathorn

Stay far away from Yahoo Small Business Domains ^[1].

They've got a ridiculous bait-and-switch renewal policy, described here ^[2], which many, including myself, have fallen for. (Can you say 34.95USD/yr renewal for one .com domain?)

Also, in my experience, tech support was very difficult to reach and not very helpful when needed (which was, admittedly, not more than a couple of times.)

You'll also find the DNS management pretty lacking in functionality. (Of course, you can always use a different DNS management service than what your registrar provides.)

[1] http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains
[2] http://elliottback.com/wp/yahoo-domains-sucks

So you link to them from a post titled "best domain name registrar" ... I wonder what SU's pagerank is.. - John Fouhy

@John Fougy: Hmm, good point...will remove the link. - arathorn

God I hate Yahoo Small Business, but a customer insist that I use them for building their website and not another provider. - Lucas McCoy

@John, @arathorn: nofollow. That will be all. - Hello71

[+2] [2009-08-13 22:56:48] Nate

DynDNS ^[1] is the one that we use. They have great customer service and a real corporate-grade product. No advertising, just a nice clean UI. They have servers at multiple locations around the world and DNS updates happen instantly.

If you use their DNS management you can create all common record types, plus less-common ones like TXT and AAAA. You can also use NS records to delegate a sub-domain to another nameserver. For example, have DynDNS host records for domain.com but delegate lan.domain.com to your on-site server.

You can also have a domain name forward to a specific web page. For example, have testsite.domain.com forward to https://s3.amazonaws.com/somebucket/index.html. You can’t do this with a plain CNAME record.

Cost is $15/year for registration + $29/year for DNS + $5 discount ($39 total). It’s more expensive than most, but in the context of a corporate IT budget that’s nothing.

[1] http://www.dyndns.com/

[+2] [2009-08-13 23:54:53] EvilChookie

I register all my domains through Bluehost ^[1]. Mainly because I'm hosting with them, and it's easier to addon new domains for my purposes, rather than create new accounts.

But the domain registration wizard is fast, prices are reasonable, and I'm very impressed with their support.

[1] http://www.bluehost.com/

[+2] [2009-08-14 01:01:17] warren

The best one I've found yet is PairNIC ^[1]. They're inexpensive, fast, don't squat on domains you search for but don't buy, and the interface is the cleanest I've yet seen.

[1] http://pairnic.com

[+2] [2009-08-14 17:18:49] Sam Hasler

123-reg ^[1] is good if you're in the UK

[1] http://123-reg.com/

[+1] [2009-10-24 03:33:34] Cheng

Buy domain with with Google App Standard, only 10 USD / yr

[+1] [2009-09-12 04:33:53] Loren Pechtel

Avoid SimpleURL. They have security problems:

1) I needed to log in when I was away from home and away from my recorded passwords. Ok, lost password time, do a reset. Nope--what I got was an e-mail with my existing password!

2) I was on vacation but I was responding to e-mail on a daily basis and the two other IT people knew how to reach me by phone. Someone up in the company wanted to switch over to a new hosting company to deploy a new version of the company website. Note that the domain is still registered to me personally, not to the company. He didn't have the password, he called them and managed to get them to change the info.

Yes, it's the company name but how in the world did he convince them that changing the address was the right thing to do? I got no e-mail, there was no message on my answering machine when I got home--in other words, no attempt was made to contact me. Furthermore, the person who called wasn't in IT and shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the registrar record. (As evidenced by the fact that the next day I had to undo his changes as he took out all company e-mail.)

[+1] [2009-08-14 01:37:53] bill weaver

GoDaddy ^[1], for reliable service and decent prices. Some things to remember with them:

Coupon codes can be found at fatwallet ^[2]. Search the forums for "Godaddy Hosting promo code and coupon list" or similar, go the last page and work backwards looking for current codes. At checkout, try several codes and pick whichever gives the lowest total. 20% off a total order is often cheaper than 25% off domains, for instance.
Be careful when transferring a domain out of a GoDaddy account. You need to unlock the domain, and they insist that you drop private registration, which kind of defeats the purpose of it. If there's a way to transfer without dropping privacy, i'd like to know how.
Private registration is free for the first year, but about $9 per year after the first year (and see note above about dropping it before transferring a domain out of a GoDaddy account).
Skip all the add ons and up sells they push on you on the way to adding a domain to your shopping cart. Can't fault them for trying, but look for the No Thanks link. (Unless, of course, you need the add ons.)
They have very good customer service.

[1] http://godaddy.com
[2] http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/725207

(1) I was pleasantly surprised when I got a phone call when registering a domain via GoDaddy. - pcampbell

[+1] [2009-08-14 03:01:06] pcampbell

Have used NameCheap ^[1], and haven't been disappointed. They allow payment by CC and by Paypal. They throw in WHOIS protection ^[2] for free on new registrations.

[1] http://www.namecheap.com/
[2] http://www.namecheap.com/learn/privacy-protection/whoisguard-whois-protection.asp

[+1] [2009-08-13 22:54:05] ajm

I've been using name.com for a few years and they've been excellent.

[+1] [2009-08-13 22:56:30] Axxmasterr

Network Solutions ^[1] is a good registrar to consider. They have been around a long time and they can do all you need. They have dropped their prices to reasonable rates due to the longstanding competition with other registrars.

One good thing I would say about network solutions is they have one of the most stringent policies to making changes on your domain name. They make it very difficult for unauthorized parties to hijack your domain.

[1] http://networksolutions.com

[+1] [2009-08-13 22:56:48] Joe Philllips

You can use Google but I have tried this and it was a horrible experience because it actually goes through GoDaddy.

(2) Google works with several different registrars, I believe. When I registered through Google a few years ago, eNom ended up being the actual registrar. - arathorn

All I know is that I can't transfer my domains now... - Joe Philllips

I tried Google first, but the transaction never went through. I contacted them, and a month later, they said they'd fixed it, but hadn't. In the end, I registered my domain with GoDaddy, and everything went through the same day. - Steve Melnikoff

[+1] [2009-08-13 22:53:28] Lance Roberts

Very expensive, and they seem to spam you a lot more than some others I've used. - chris

[0] [2009-08-13 23:02:34] martani_net

I'm using rebel.com ^[1] and I am satisfied so far, they have advanced DNS settings and forwarding

[1] http://rebel.com

[0] [2009-08-13 23:04:51] Axxmasterr

Another choice is cheapville domain registration ^[1]. Don't let the name fool you... They are an off brand name of a much larger company that was already mentioned in this thread. I've used these folks before and there has never been any problems. They have always been able to help me when I have needed to contact them.

Their interface works fine to hand off to your own DNS if that is what you are trying to do.

[1] http://cheapville.com

[0] [2009-08-13 23:24:10] jerryjvl

I personally use www.planetdomain.com.au has been great service for me over the last 4-5 years for numerous domains.

[0] [2009-08-13 23:42:10] bpapa

I've used GoDaddy many times and have no complaints. Also, if you watch any of the Revision3 podcasts, they always have coupon codes for discounts. The only problem is that their website is horrible, making the checkout process a bit annoying, but all in all it's a good experience at the right price.

I will say though, stay far away from Yahoo. The lack of features there really hurts them.

Go Daddy is Brutal - blank

Any examples of problems you've had? Cause otherwise that's not a particularly helpful comment. - bpapa

[0] [2009-09-12 05:05:59] Blade

www.everydns.net is definetly worth a look for free and reliable DNS hosting.

I buy my domains from www.moniker.com. The domain managing interface is way better than godaddy.

[0] [2009-10-24 04:56:13] hodapp

I've used 1 and 1 for years and really had no problems. I've never called their support, or had any reason to want to. Their interface is quick and effective.

GoDaddy's interface and website is the most awful thing I've ever seen, and their prices are not great. I've registered a domain with them and it set my eyeballs back about 10 years. I can only assume they're supported by the mafia to have become so successful, because there is no other explanation.

I used to register through Register.com years ago, but their prices are a bit high in today's market. However talking on the phone to them got me a 75% discount, so you may try that.

[0] [2009-10-24 05:05:00] Chealion

Big fan of Domainsatcost.ca ^[1] for Canadian (.ca) or even regular .com domains.

At my workplace Dotster.com and Network Solutions (both mentioned before) have worked out quite well but Network Solutions tends to be more expensive but offers DNS.

[1] http://domainsatcost.ca

[0] [2010-06-12 10:17:11] user39826

I recommended to this http://www.tucktail.com/ .This site provides the domain registration service and web hosting package at cheap price.I am also host my site here.

[0] [2009-08-14 17:40:26] David Zaslavsky

I use Dynadot ^[1]. I don't really have experience with other registrars to compare it with, but I was rather impressed by their customer service when I first signed up. (Not that I've ever needed to go back to customer service since then!) Plus the web UI is full-featured (albeit a little busy) and not cluttered with irrelevant stuff like ads.

[1] http://www.dynadot.com

[0] [2009-09-11 23:22:36] Ryan Farley

I've always been very happy with MyDomain ^[1]. I've been using them for many, many years. Very cheap and easy to use admin console.

[1] http://www.mydomain.com/

[0] [2009-09-12 01:59:38] Mr. Flibble

I use Netfirms for nearlhy all my domains. Cheap and never had a problem with it.