Domain Name Registration

Questionable business practices taint the industry

Domain name registrars use a variety of questionable business practices, according to reviews and news articles. The one that is most likely to affect you is entrapment. Many registrars have policies that make dropping or transferring your domain name difficult or expensive -- that's a big problem if you ever want to switch registrars. If you want to re-register an expired domain name, prices can also be a lot higher. A June 12, 2006 BusinessWeek Online article reports, "Some registrars, like GoDaddy.com, charge almost 10 times the signup fee of $8.95 for failing to reregister."

One way to circumvent that problem is to register for multiple years. Registrars commonly allow you to register a domain name for up to ten years, and some offer discounts for long-term registrations. Expect to pay $80 to $150 for discount domain registration from Namecheap.com or GoDaddy.com. VeriSign and ICANN are currently lobbying the government for price increases. A long-term domain registration will protect you against price increases, as well as prevent your registrar from turning your domain name into a hostage.

The entrapment issue is an argument both for and against using your web host as your domain name registrar. Using a third-party registrar makes it easier to switch web hosts in the future. Using separate service providers halves the hassle of switching hosts. On the other hand, getting web hosting and domain registration from the same company is less expensive and easier to set up initially. We found many unsubstantiated claims that some web hosting services that bundle free domain names with hosting actually register themselves as the registrant and administrative contact rather than you. If those allegations are true, that creates another entrapment opportunity for an unethical business.

Both VeriSign and domain resellers have been accused of using tricks to entice or force renewals. According to a CNet.com news article, VeriSign was sending false notices to domain-name owners telling them that their domain names were about to expire. A GoDaddy lawsuit resulted in a court order that stopped that practice.

GoDaddy -- the most controversial registrar

Most Americans know GoDaddy (*est. $9.20 per year for a .com name) from the company's controversial and titillating Super Bowl commercials. GoDaddy has also publicized racier commercials that were rejected by the television network, including one that satirizes the now-famous half-time-entertainment exposure incident. CEO Bob Parsons generates additional publicity and controversy with a satellite radio program. While those strategies alone may sell or repel you, equally controversial are those of GoDaddy's business practices that are relevant to customers.

The first distasteful practice that customers will notice is that domain name registration prices do not include the annual ICANN fee of 25 cents. GoDaddy's competitors include that fee in their prices. The $9.20 fee for a .com name is still a great value, but $8.95 sounds better in advertising. Users complain that GoDaddy's interface is busy, cumbersome and unclear. People are required to click through multiple screens with sales pitches for other services to complete the domain name registration process. According to user reviews, the selling continues after registration. You will receive e-mails and a customer-service phone call that confirms your domain registration was successful -- while trying to sell you additional services.

According to CNN Money, GoDaddy places Google pay-per-click ads on websites that haven't been developed yet. This policy is not advertised. If you buy a domain and don't immediately upload your website, your URL will have a home page hosted by GoDaddy. Your personal or business name will be used to advertise products or services, including GoDaddy.

GoDaddy thrives in spite of these practices. About one-sixth of all domains are registered through GoDaddy, which is twice as many as eNom, its nearest competitor. A considerable majority of reviewers and customers agree that GoDaddy has excellent prices and good customer service. Support is through e-mail, online help and toll calls. Support is in-house, so your call won't be routed overseas. On the whole, and despite comments about distasteful ads and questionable business practices, most customers say GoDaddy customer support and reliability are actually very good.

The Arizona-based company offers frequent promotions, and domain registration is discounted when bundled with other services. At press time, GoDaddy is offering .info domains for 99¢ for the first year. Standard .com domain registration is only $2.24 (that's less than wholesale) if you buy other services, such as website hosting, from GoDaddy.

Domain name registration includes a quick blog, an optional ad-supported website, e-mail and e-mail forwarding, domain forwarding and other features. GoDaddy claims it will not increase prices to current customers, other than to pass along industry price increases.

Best domain registration services

The domain-name registrar that rises to the top most often in reviews is Namecheap.com (*est. $9 per year for a .com name). The California-based company has made a good name for itself with low prices and a no-frills approach. Namecheap isn't listed as an ICANN-accredited registrar because it is an eNom reseller (eNom is the second largest domain name registrar and is ICANN accredited).

DomainRadar.com describes Namecheap as "one of the best places to buy and manage your domain names." Occasional system problems are its only flaw. Namecheap is also commended for good customer service. According to Pick Registrar.info, "We host all of our domains through Namecheap.com other than the ones which use rare [top level domains]." Pick Registrar recommends, "As a newbie to the domain registrar market, you might want to stick with Namecheap simply because of its simple user-friendly interface, reasonable prices, etc." Rick Smith of Reviews OnLine.com also recommends Namecheap, but he notes that you can sometimes find slightly find lower prices on domain registration.

Namecheap has more than 100 customer reviews at NamePros.com. The average overall rating is 3 ½ stars (out of four). Customer service is the weakest point, but it’s still above average. A typical user summarizes, "Namecheap is the best registrar I've ever used. Their price is good, they accept PayPal, and their interface is good and easy to use." We didn't find any Namecheap customers at NamePros.com or elsewhere who complained about offensive advertising or other questionable practices.

Namecheap.com includes e-mail and URL forwarding, security features, free transfers and domain management control with all domain name registrations. Namecheap proclaims "no hidden charges and you own the domain in your name." Privacy protection is an option, as are e-mail accounts (by default, Namecheap will forward mail to your domain to another e-mail address), but Namecheap does not provide website hosting. Namecheap offers 22 top-level domains, but most alternatives to .com aren't less expensive. Support is through e-mail only.

Pick Registrar.info also likes Moniker.com (*est. $10 per year for a .com name). This Florida-based domain-name registration company is an ICANN-accredited registrar. Pick Registrar says, "Moniker is known to provide the most human-to-human support available on the market. Support is friendly, fast and helpful, which is more than you can say for some of the other, more popular registrars."

Namecheap has four times as many reviews as Moniker at NamePros.com, but Moniker earns an overall average four-star rating. Still, some users say the interface at Moniker is mediocre, and the company ignores some e-mail messages. Moniker is currently the tenth largest domain name registration service. The Moniker website seems oriented to people in the domain name speculation business. It promotes no features. Support is through e-mail or a toll-free number.

Dynadot (*est. $8 per year for a .com name) isn't formally reviewed, but it fares exceptionally well in user reviews. The California company is an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar. Dynadot earns four-star (top) ratings in all categories at NamePros.com: features, price/value, interface/usability, customer service and overall. We found little commentary about Dynadot elsewhere. Dynadot domain names include e-mail and URL forwarding, free ownership changes and many extra features that will sound Greek to people without specific expertise. Support is through e-mail or a limited-hours toll-free number. Dynadot also offers web hosting starting at $11.99 per year.

Dotster.com (*est. $15 per year for a .com name) hasn't been recently reviewed, but the company is most frequently recommended in articles by experts. Dotster also lacks enough recent user reviews to paint a picture. Dotster is apparently trying to emulate GoDaddy. The company conducted and publicized a nationwide search for sexy spokesmodels ("Dotster Dots"). Dotster also runs frequent promotions. One questionable practice is that the subtle default during registration is set to automatically charge renewals to the customer's credit card.

Dotster's prices are ordinary, but the Washington-based company does offer discounts for long-term registrations. Support is through e-mail, limited-hours live chat or limited-hours toll calls. Dotster offers a complete range of Internet services, making it an appropriate candidate for entrepreneurs starting an e-commerce venture. Dotster is an ICANN-accredited registrar.

Other domain registration options

Network Solutions (*est. $35 per year for a .com name) creates a unique image with high prices. The company relies on brand reputation from when the brand was a monopoly. Reviews cite Network Solutions as an ordinary service. The company retains its high market share by marketing peace of mind, mainly because it's been in the marketplace for so long.

Yahoo! Small Business (*est. $10 per year for a .com name) is another famous brand without strong review support. In a dated review, PC Magazine selects Yahoo! Small Business as an Editor's Choice. However, the review focuses on Yahoo! Small Business as an e-commerce web host, and all readers who responded to the review completely disagree with the recommendation. Yahoo! hasn't been recently reviewed.

PC Magazine does say that Yahoo! Small Business has the easiest registration process. Yahoo!'s prices are competitive, and the company offers 24-hour toll-free customer service, a rarity in the industry.

Another option: Use your web host

As discussed above, experts disagree about whether you should acquire your domain name from your web hosting service or a third party. Web hosting services commonly charge $15 per year for .com names, but many bundle free or below-cost domains with hosting service. If you are choosing relatively expensive hosting services, as for e-commerce or other sophisticated business use, you are more likely to be offered free domain name registration.

A practical approach would be to choose your web hosting service first (see our report on web hosting). Then, you can decide if a separate domain name vendor like Namecheap.com makes sense. If the cost difference is only $6 per year, the choice may be a matter of comfort and confidence in your web host. Using one company is obviously simpler and cleaner.

Stability is important for a web hosting service, but much less so for a registrar. According to the mandatory agreement between ICANN and accredited registrars, if a registrar goes out of business, another accredited registrar will take over its customer base and become responsible for its registered domains. So even if your registrar goes under, your domain will still be registered and maintained, at least theoretically.

We didn't find any reviews of web hosting services or domain registration services that suggest leasing a domain from one service and choosing another as a host is common. Price differences are small in either direction. The top web hosting services we found charge between $10 and $12 per year for domain names. Netfirms.com offers a very inexpensive e-commerce web hosting service and includes two domain names with its base plan at $9.95 per month.

This is assuming you plan to set up a website right away, of course. If you merely want to register a domain name to reserve it for future use, then you can get a domain name pretty much anywhere -- from a domain registrar or a web hosting company -- then subscribe to web hosting when you're ready.

Not quite reviews

Although we found a shortage of up-to-date, credible reviews for domain registration, we found many articles from experts that mention domain name registrars. Some are tacit or direct endorsements, while others are merely informational. Many come from how-to articles.

Rhonda Rains reports, "The domain registration service I see recommended all the time on message forums is Namecheap.com." Syndicated columnist Reid Goldsborough informs, "Among the registrars recommended in an online discussion about the subject by those who write about the Internet for a living are GoDaddy, Dotster, DomainDirect (http://www.domaindirect.com), and Sibername (http://www.sibername.com)."

CNet.com reviewer Matt Lake mentions that he uses GoDaddy and Dotster. Syndicated columnists Bob and Joy Schwabach ("On Computers") also mention Dotster. Web consultant Aaron Turpen says, "I have used, worked with, and recommend the following registrars: DirectNIC (http://www.directnic.com?3908), Domain-Maniac (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1357406-4050466), and Dotster."

In an older article, editors of All Business.com describe GoDaddy as "one of the best places to go for deals on domain names." They also mention that Yahoo! has low prices. While not specifically reviews, these comments from established technology columnists do carry some weight, since these individuals are critical and objective in their writing and advice.

Important Features: Domain registration

Reviewers say the following about shopping for a domain name registrar:

• Make sure the registrar is accredited by ICANN, or is an authorized reseller of an accredited registrar. Check the ICANN-accredited registrar official list at http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html.

• Find out the cost and procedures for transferring your domain name to another domain name registrar in case you become dissatisfied or find a lower price. Registrars in general have a terrible reputation for holding names hostage. Some charge exorbitant fees or create delays to avoid losing business.

• Consider features, if you want them. Extra services offered by domain name registrars are generally oriented to domain name speculators or duplicative of what web hosting services provide. Those often include e-mail accounts, e-mail forwarding and domain forwarding.

• Consider add-on services. Private registration hides your identity and your contact information from Whois searchers. However, it damages the credibility of a business website. Companies such as GoDaddy will lower the price of domain names with add-on services.

• Consider support options. Registration should be simple, and a name is a name, which means most customers will never need tech support or other customer service. If you want -- or know you'll need -- more support/service, look for e-mail options, live chat and telephone options. Most registrars have limited phone support, if any, and it usually requires a toll call.

• Make sure the domain is registered to you, as opposed to your web host or registrar. Some people claim that if you get a free or below-cost domain name, the registrar will control the name to make switching to a competitor difficult or impossible.

• Think twice about using an alternative top-level domain. Reviewers point out that a high percentage of site searches are conducted by guessing a domain name, as opposed to using a search engine. Alternatives to .com can be cheaper, especially .info, but they can make your site hard to find and difficult to remember. Although use of .org is unrestricted, it's inappropriate for anything other than a non-profit organization.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of picks	Registrar	One-year price for a .com name (as of April 2007)
3	Namecheap	$8.88
2	Moniker	$9.95
1	Dynadot	$7.99
1	Yahoo! Small Business	$9.95
1	GoDaddy	$9.20

Namecheap earns the most recommendations in reviews, and all reviews are favorable. User reviews are equally favorable, and customer opinion is consistent. Some describe Namecheap as a plain vanilla service, but that is a huge compliment relative to competitors with questionable business practices. Moniker is less popular than Namecheap, but it has an equally clean reputation with reviewers and customers. Dynadot garners the highest kudos in user reviews, but it hasn't yet been professionally reviewed.

All other domain name registration services that have been recently reviewed generate mixed reaction. GoDaddy, the most successful registrar, is widely commended for good prices and service, but it's heavily criticized for some of its business practices.

Sponsored links