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GoDaddy.com

$10 per year and up
Reviewed
May 2013
by ConsumerSearch
GoDaddy.com

Pros
  • Low prices
  • Good support
  • Optional hosting
  • Bulk name transfers
Cons
  • Cluttered interface
  • Pressure to buy add-on services
  • No toll-free phone support
Where to Buy
 

Bottom line

GoDaddy.com is the most popular domain registrar in the world, having sold more than 29 percent of the Internet's domain names, according to DotAndCo.net. The company's business practices of aggressive upselling, before and after purchase, and controversial advertising are a turnoff for many customers. However, even detractors agree that GoDaddy.com has excellent prices -- though, other registrars like NameCheap.com and Name.com offer similar pricing.

Features

Plenty of add-ons and bulk discounts. GoDaddy.com offers frequent promotional discounts, including sales on certain domain name extensions and domain transfers, and domains are less expensive when bundled with other services such as web hosting. With the purchase of a domain name, customers receive some free products including a one-page website, a spam-free email account and an advertisement-supported photo album.

On the plus side, reviewers praise the range of support products available, such as privacy tools, and the fact that GoDaddy can register nearly every extension out there, including country codes, such as .ca for Canada and .nz for New Zealand.

In addition to domain names, GoDaddy.com offers other products and services such as web hosting, web development tools, secure SSL certificates and e-commerce solutions.

Customer service

Relentless upselling. Users complain that GoDaddy.com's interface could be easier to use and that aggressive upselling continues after the sale. A user at DomainsBot.com says, "You must know what you are doing when you work with GoDaddy. Their self service user interface is cluttered and jammed with ads and upsells to other services." Support is through email, online help and telephone calls (though not toll-free), and is available 24/7. However, some user reviewers complain that the customer service representatives are not very tech-savvy.

Where To Buy
GoDaddy.com Hosting & Servers
 

Our Sources

1. DigitalTrends.com

DigitalTrends.com includes GoDaddy.com in their list of best registrars, though they note that the company is "both loved and hated" by users. They recommend them, despite their aggressive upselling practices because of their variety of plans and "fast customer service."

Review: Best Domain Name Registrars, Drew Prindle, Jan. 27, 2013

2. SiteBuilderReport.com

Despite the ads for GoDaddy.com that surround this review, it is far from glowing. Editor Steve Benjamins mainly reviews their web hosting and web building features, calling them "painfully incoherent." He adds, "The entire checkout process is filled with upselling."

Review: Our GoDaddy Review, Steve Benjamins, Sept. 11, 2012

3. WhoIsHostingThis.com

GoDaddy.com gets an overall score of 4 out of 5 stars (based on 29 pages of user reviews), but most of the recent reviews are highly negative, complaining about upsells and site downtime. There's also an "expert opinion" that concludes that GoDaddy is not worth it.

Review: GoDaddy.com Reviews, Contributors to WhoIsHostingThis.com, As of May 2013

4. DomainsBot.com

More than 35 users rate and review GoDaddy.com here, giving it average ratings of "good" for price, but only "satisfactory" for services, offerings and ease of use. Most users say they're quite satisfied with GoDaddy.com, though there are complaints about navigation, payment problems and relentless upselling.

Review: GoDaddy.com Reviews, Contributors to DomainsBot.com, As of May 2013

5. TopTenReviews.com

Although part of their domain hosting review, GoDaddy is praised as a service that can register nearly every domain extension available, including international extensions. The editors highlight the privacy tools available for an additional cost with the purchase of a new domain name.

Review: Go Daddy Review, Editors at TopTenReviews.com, Not dated

6. About.com

Jennifer Kyrnin of About.com appreciates the low cost of domain registration through GoDaddy, but has a problem with their hard sell in "pushing products on you when you're trying to buy the domain." She also notes that some people find GoDaddy's advertising to be offensive.

Review: Where to Register a Domain, Jennifer Kyrnin, Sept. 16, 2009

7. WebsiteHostingTalk.com

In this web hosting themed forum, user "Stub" lists nine popular domain name registrars in response to complaints from members. "Stub" says that you need to be careful upon checkout, since the company will keep trying to add on extras, but otherwise their service is good.

Review: The Definitive Who to Switch to Thread, "Stub", March 28, 2011

Domain Name Registration Runners Up:

GoDaddy.com $10 per year and up

2 picks including: About.com, DigitalTrends.com…

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