I’m thinking of registering a couple of domains. GoDaddy annoyed me with their lame Superbowl ads, and their registration system is equally annoying (far too many screens, all with options I have completely zero interest in). Does anyone have recommendations for good basic registrars? What I want is basic .com|.org|.net, as well as .ca (separate registrars for all of these are ok). I don’t expect to host at the same place I register, so I don’t care about their hosting packages or email setups. A reasonable price and a straightforward way to set the DNS servers is what I’m looking for. Reminders of registrations that are about to expire come in handy as well.
BTW, please don’t flame registrars you don’t like in the comments. Just tell me the ones you do like (adding a sentence on why would be helpful). Intemperate comments run the risk of being deleted.
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I’ve been using joker.com for about 8 years for a bunch of domains and been generally happy. My requirements are much the same as yours. They do .com, .net, .org, but not .ca.
They had a problem a few years back with a fire taking out the electrics to their data centres (both primary and secondary were on the same electrical grid, geographically). They’ve subsequently rectified that and I can’t say I’ve had any cause for complaint.
We use GoDaddy. They used to be MUCH less annoying and straightforward. They’re still the cheapest and most responsive, with the best bulk tools. I still recommend them (but I no longer tell our clients to go register themselves, because they WILL end up buying the ASP form add on, etc.
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I use pairNIC. Never had any issues with them and everything “just worked”. I used them because I was moving my hosting to Pair Networks.
Hi, I have been using domainsite.com for the last 7 years, good folks in Colorado.
Yes to all; “I don’t expect to host at the same place I register, so I don’t care about their hosting packages or email setups. A reasonable price and a straightforward way to set the DNS servers is what I’m looking for. Reminders of registrations that are about to expire come in handy as well.”
From Roland via Twitter (http://twitter.com/rtanglao/status/1242563753)
@laurendw i recommend (and have no stock, financial interest, etc.) in @namecheap for domains, namecheap.com
+1 for NameCheap. I move everyone off of GoDaddy if I have any say, and also for first time registrations. Because clients can register themselves, and won’t end up with any services they don’t need.
They recently (1 — 2 years?) started supporting .ca, so my previous choice of EasyDNS is no longer needed either.
By default they do email forwarding for free, so coupled with a Gmail account, you don’t usually need email services at all.
The biggest, baddest, most excellent feature is that you can give access to multiple accounts. Which means, I can setup an account for a client, give access to my “main” account to change basic DNS settings, and then hand the account over to the client to own. You can also register a domain with one account and then “push” the domain to another account.
I second the recommendation for GoDaddy, which I use for tagsoup.info. If you buy your domain for a reasonably long period, you don’t have to negotiate the screens often, and they send you detailed instructions for how to do the IANA-mandated reconfirmations. Yes, the UI sucks, but keep a clear head and you’ll be fine.
That said, I may go with someone cheaper for my next domain name.
I alternate between GoDaddy and EasyDNS.com.
Pluses for GoDaddy: it’s cheap. And, um. That’s about it. You get what you pay for in terms of user-friendliness. Their website UI causes me to dry heave whenever I log in.
Pluses for EasyDNS: Just as the name says. Their service and UI make it incredibly easy to set up and manage your domains. They handle .ca domains as well as .com/net/org etc.
The downside to EasyDNS? It’s pricey compared to GoDaddy. But if I was that concerned about cost, I probably wouldn’t have bought the MacBook that I’m typing this on.
I’ve been quite happy with the folks over at http://www.dyndns.com/. Started there on the basic free dynamic hosting and they’ve evolved into a full service provider with a straightforward console with everything you need without any sales crap. Perfect service for the engineer.
I currently work at Directi –> http://www.answerable.com/
On the other hand, I really like Gandi. They have a fair amount of clue, and are extremely whitehat. They don’t seem to do .ca though.
I spread my domains around — my primary email domain is with a local Melbourne provider and my affiliate marketing ones with GoDaddy. The real benefit is appreciated long after the purchase, e.g. sophistication of the tools they provide and responsiveness. We don’t watch the Superbowl, thank god, so no idea what GD advertised there. GD is not the cheapest but their discount code SAVETEN works for most new purchases. If transferring a domain there, they give (gave?) you the first year free.
I use “inexpensivedomains.com”. Cheers, Tony.
Stick with GoDaddy and ignore the sexism of the CEO (which pervades their image). They have been totally reliable for me.
Domainsatcost.ca for inexpensive .CA registration, also offer com/net/org/info and others.
Hallo Frau Wood,
nachdem ich gerade gesehen habe, dass Sie lange Zeit in Deutschland gelebt haben, dachte ich, ich schreibe Ihnen mal zur Abwechslung auf Deutsch;-)
Also Registrar würde ich Ihnen http://www.1and1.com empfehlen. 1und1 ist nach GoDaddy die Nummer 2 (oder auch 3) im weltweiten Hosting-Business und sehr zu empfehlen: einfacher und unkomplizierter Bestellprozess und auch guter Support.
Viele Grüße aus Berlin
Thomas
I ended up with domainsite.com and have been using it for a few months now. Cheap, an understandable UI that doesn’t push you to buy other services, and it works just fine. They don’t do the .ca sites, but that’s the only downside I’ve seen so far.
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