poll Domaining's version of March Madness - Who is the best registrar in the business? 2020 Edition

[equity78]

It's time for the domain industry's version of March Madness

The best registrar in the business for 2020

Registrars that got less than 2 votes from last time were not included, Uniregistry being acquired by GoDaddy is not included.

the last big poll here.

Can NameSilo defend their crown? Will Epik finally come through and attain the top spot? GoDaddy always a contender. Any surprises?

 

[DomainVP]

Epik is my registrar of choice. The only reason I have domains at other registrars is the 60 day lock.

When that 60 days is up I move my names right over to Epik.

- Side note -

I have read many posts from @Rob Monster , and I find them extremely relevant and helpful. In fact, I think the content he provides extremely helpful content across all levels of domaining experience.

The issue Namepros has is a troll problem.

Trolls have chased away any relevant thought leaders as their trolling posts far outweigh any knowledgeable information here on the forum.

Every now and then I will see a extremely valuable post/question get buried because nobody will contribute to the thread or it gets lost in threads that are focusing on yelling/shaming another domainer or registrar.

Now I'm not saying that there aren't great posts here, because there are, but most of the real knowledge doesn't get shared or discussed here.

For me, anyone who provides good content and knowledge should be supported by the community.

 

[dncafe]

Below are all the NamePros accounts that voted for Epik, with a note of which accounts have a Epik.com Staff badge on them.

• simran.net
• Mikeyboy
• Oxigy.com
• equity78
• omnia
• candyengineer (EPIK Staff)
• Compassion
• loredan
• JoeCanadian
• deebong
• Jurgen Wolf
• asxforum
• korganian
• DanSanchez (EPIK Staff)
• Kassey Lee
• Investful
• namekart
• CreativeMedia.us
• Rob Monster (EPIK Staff)
• onemore
• Boz
• AnthonyD
• nish20111
• TURIST
• iGreen
• franka46
• gipson
• DomainVP
• SuperBrander
• NamePrime
• Samer
• thekiller
• Cal2
• Constantin S
• Abdullah Abdullah
• pachuxy
• DNGear
• D Haynes
• Sarah Frank (EPIK Staff)
• topdom
• Andish
• ShortBrandable.com
• NetPark
• NamesMax
• Domainnya
• mAd MaX
• Hireinternet
• BrandZen
• OralB
• Mister Funsky
• Domainscoop.com
• Kipa
• DnFolk (EPIK Staff)
• Lee Latner
• Pat8 (EPIK Staff)
• Makise (EPIK Staff)
• Ategy
• Aftab Iqbal
• Nikhil Jain
• Danish Harjiani
• Furquah (EPIK Staff)
• ajenipa
• Jevsim
• awwalmb
• aheiven
• karmaco
• Kamaldeen
• Moosan
• domaineed
• Samuel Adebo (EPIK Staff)
• Joshua Harding
• jmaurya
• Sumeeth (EPIK Staff)
• Mohamed Ahmaid
• etifit
• Donavan
• NicTraders
• Riz M.
• Tony Blessed (EPIK Staff)
• Jonathan Beadle
• jamesall
• list (EPIK Staff)
• Kingpin1966
• Joshua Mayowa (EPIK Staff)
• nameaura
• ak4586
• Surender Singh
• eternaldomains
• YairDD
• BradWilson
• Gube (EPIK Staff)
• Vijay342
• domainexpert77 (EPIK Staff)
• Votumejero
• Wali Dahot
• geekjojo
• Orichjay
• Footprint789
• Sufyan Alani (EPIK Staff)
• sharastar
• HSNZ
• DpakH
• Kwikkie
• Pay.My.id
• Ryan217
• Lord Voldo
• Nerob Tuner
• Nhi Doan (EPIK Staff)
• Fortnite
• BharatR
• Siful Moni (EPIK Staff)
• M0rd0r
• Zayto
• MayC18 (EPIK Staff)
• koolishman
• Shaan Chopra
• NicoleLI (EPIK Staff)

 

[Embrand]

My favorite registrar is now Dynadot. They have everything I need. Great control panel, good prices, loads of ccTLDs and support staff that are mostly very knowledgeable. One small thing that I love is that if you have a name in the Afternic DLS Fast Transfer, it will say "Afternic" next to your name in your Dynadot control panel.

Despite having had my differences with Rob Monster, I do still think Epik is a very good registrar and a clear No. 2. Great control panel and very nice options for payment plans. Very good and personal support. Also many ccTLDs, although it seems the accreditation for .ng never materialized.

I actually love Porkbun's control panel, but since they have so few ccTLDs and no integration with Sedo or Afternic, they can never become my registrar of choice.

NameSilo used to be great, but has gone downhill fast in my opinion. It seems the people who feared for their future after the founders sold out were correct.

As to Network Solutions getting votes, that must be because of their wonderful control panel and awesome support. Or something

 

[boker]

I voted for Dynadot genius. You can't even read a poll. And you're really the last person on this forum to talk about anybody being a fanboy. You've went to some other level on that, I believe you may have a shrine.

I don't want to accuse anybody and I will not point out anybody, but I have checked a few of the well known dynadot voters and most of them are big fans of godaddy and you can't find a single thread talking about dynadot, only about godaddy but they still voted for dynadot. If you count that lot's of godaddy voters voted for dynadot this year, it looks like is mostly a vote against epik, from godaddy fans, than a vote for dynadot. PS I have voted for namesilo, so can't be accused of anything, just pointing the obvious.

 

[bmugford]

Spamming is the one who supports misleading $12.99 .com renewals for "low" $8.25 transfer?
Register at $8.99; only to jack up prices year-2

$12.99!! almost double Epik, and not going transfer circles to avoid Name com $$ renew?

there reason post liked; Name sucks (Sorry) even if Name cut .com renewal almost half!
Gladly stick Epik, where dont have enter codes to get free privacy; epik it’s free for life

Samer

1.) Actually the spammer is the one who has had multiple posts removed, has received multiple infractions, and is currently facing a timeout for blatant self promotion.

2.) $12.99 is not close to double $8.99. $12.99 / $8.99 = 1.44. Basic math.

3.) Is there a reason why Rob has not hired you yet? You spend an awful of of time promoting Epik and defending Rob.

Brad

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

Hello,

We're working on a lot of updates for polls. In the near future, polls on NamePros are going to have a lot more options and features thanks to your feedback, such as not allowing comments until the poll closes if the pollster chooses. However, we've only read a few posts in this thread, so if you had/have suggestions, please share them in the Poll Feedback thread so that we can take them into consideration during development.

Note: Newly-registered accounts have not been able to vote in any polls this year, which is different from last year. Soon, there will also be advanced analysis available on larger polls like this one, which will help to remove manipulative votes from polls.

Edited for clarity: Accounts may not be considered newly-registered the whole time for a long-running poll like this one. For example, March 1st is 25 days ago (almost 1 month ago), so that's not really considered a newly-registered account by our standards, but it is possible for members who registered on March 1st to not be able to vote because it's based on more than just the registration date.

Follow the poll feedback thread for updates.

Cc @NickB @equity78

 

[JB Lions]

Brad, I am a domainer first and 90% of my domains are at Epik because I like the registrar most of all. My duties as an employee at Epik have nothing to do with this poll. The same applies to all the people that decided to vote on this poll.

I also use NameSilo, Godaddy, Network Solutions, etc. almost daily.

There were 18 votes for Epik shortly after this poll was started, 11 employees, I think the next was like 1 or 2 for other companies. Pretty obvious there was some message sent out to vote at past 1 in the morning East Coast time. No employee is going to vote for another company, obvious stuff.

 

[bmugford]

Brad, I am a domainer first and 90% of my domains are at Epik because I like the registrar most of all. My duties as an employee at Epik have nothing to do with this poll. The same applies to all the people that decided to vote on this poll.

I also use NameSilo, Godaddy, Network Solutions, etc. almost daily.

That is fine, but I would have the same issue with any company's employees voting for their own company in a poll like that.

I just don't put any faith in a poll like this. When you have people voting for their own company it just appears to be too biased.

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

I am wondering can the poll be edited to make it 100% transparent - who voted for what. I'm enduser, I voted, even though I did not post a comment with my selection yet - would not mind if it becomes visible...

It is, it's public. I can see who you voted for. You can just click on the vote number. Now, it's not visible to those who haven't voted but once you do, you can see who voted for what. I do wish it was more than 1 vote because I like both GoDaddy and Dynadot.

 

[MarkedMarket]

Anyway the Namepros forum starts to feel increasingly more like a hospital in which only one pharmaceutical company is allowed to visit all the patients saying that they have the perfect medication for their cure (irrespective of their particular disease ).

 

[equity78]

Normally, one would expect all members to vote, including registrar representatives / staff members. In case of one particular registrar (Epik), we now have ~35 representatives @ NP. Other registrars have just 1 or 2 representatives (if any). So, for the reasons of fairness, Epik representatives should avoid voting in this poll imo.

Tony I will make sure to break down the votes when it closes and if I can identify members as employees of any company I will include that in results.

 

[tonyk2000]

Normally, one would expect all members to vote, including registrar representatives / staff members. In case of one particular registrar (Epik), we now have ~35 representatives @ NP. Other registrars have just 1 or 2 representatives (if any). So, for the reasons of fairness, Epik representatives should avoid voting in this poll imo.

 

[BRANDERX]

GoDaddy for me this time, instant trust by end-users, in most cases. They are my customers & so I have to take that into consideration.

I love Dynadot, but recognition & global reach are GoDaddy's advantages over every other registrar.

imo

 

[bmugford]

I am wondering can the poll be edited to make it 100% transparent - who voted for what. I'm enduser, I voted, even though I did not post a comment with my selection yet - would not mind if it becomes visible...

If you click on the number of votes you can see who voted for what.

Brad

 

[tonyk2000]

I voted for DynaDot this time. GoDaddy? They are good but the new interface is horrible. Epik? I did not yet try the registrar side, only marketplace - nameliquidate. NameSilo? They stopped development unfortunately, at least visible development. Sav.com looks promising, but they are too young.

 

[Pay.My.id]

Epik is good registrar , support for many payment method , not complicated and suitable for everyone.But we also respect to other registrar with their flexibilty to their global customer, like namesilo , dynadot, porkbun , and google. We pray all registrar always be there to serve in all situation , especially when customers need fast solution.

 

[equity78]

I also think it is highly inappropriate for company employees to be voting for their company in a poll like this.
It is very misleading.

Brad

Well that's why I made it public Brad so people could see, a lot of people in the past have felt but of course just speculation that other registrars did that too. It was the previous years before Epik had so many employees here, I figured by you being able to click a company and see who voted it gives other insight.

To be fair if someone has been a member they are allowed to vote and most Epik employees were here first as members, but we can break everything down by clicking each registrar when it closes.

 

[MarkedMarket]

I disagree with you there Brad, this is the third year running and I am sure that employees from many registrars have voted in the past, this is the first time it can be seen, the fact that members here were so drawn to Epik they became employees is another discussion, @Mod Team Alfa @Mod Team Bravo can chime in if employee votes should be removed or if they can remove them.

But this is something that was done before this forum became a group of 3 factions

Those that love Epik
Those that dislike/Hate Epik
The rest of us, wading through the back and forth

But stuff on this forum can't stop because Epik has a lot of members who joined Epik.

I'm not sure if those categories are relevant. I like Epik and I think they are doing great innovative work, in particular for domainers and emerging markets. I also like Rob Monster's contributions - he is always insightful, polite, full of ideas and he seems to have an infinite amount of energy.

The issue is one word: overkill. I love my mother, but I don't want her to call me every 5 minutes to ask me if I need something from her. Sometimes, less is more, particularly on a forum that should ideally be registrar/registry-agnostic.

 

[Internet.Domains]

We are far from perfect, but we are listening

Probably the most underrated attribute is "listening", yet it is the most important. The fact that a company, at it's highest levels, is listening and engaging is both phenomenal and exceptional. Both critics and supporters should appreciate this attribute and share in it's importance.

 

[7363824]

OMG - This is NOT the thread to continue self promotion.....

I'm going to scream!!!

Seriously? He was responding to someones post. Not everything is self promotion just because you don't like it.

 

[Peak.Domains]

I voted for Porkbun, and it's nice to see a few others have joined me so I'm not the lone vote anymore haha.

They aren't the most feature-rich, but I just find the process to be really pleasant with them. It's kind of an intangible thing, I went with my gut instinct. If I'm buying a name to develop or keep for myself, and there aren't any great promos elsewhere, I'll default to Porkbun which is why I voted for them.

There are some registrars that have better features, but the user-interface and experience feels a bit janky with a lot of them, and others feel like they're half-janky and half-redesigned and it just puts me off. It shouldn't, but it does. I want to see professional-looking design that isn't from the early 2010's (The same way everyone here says that a @your-domain.com email is more trustworthy than a gmail, some of these registrars site design feels like the equivalent of using gmail for dominating.)

Porkbun are few bucks less than I've seen elsewhere for premium .co's as one quick example, and their normal prices for .com's are just as competitive as anywhere else.

I don't use them for names that I'm selling tho which is a big caveat, but I would if they added support for Afternic's fast trasnfer etc (It seems to me they don't support this - why wouldn't a registrar integrate that? Maybe I'm wrong tho.)

Anyways, from a domainer POV my answer might look different, but just from the point of view of "I need to buy a .com right now, where am I going?" It's Porkbun. Now, I'm not about to change my sig to "Porkbun's biggest fan" and post in every thread that mentions them, but it's a start ya?

 

[Intelliname]

I just used Epik for the first time today, and even access to their support representatives through their chat system was just another level for this industry.

This was an amazing experience.. Fast customer service, smart engagement, logical and solid comprehension levels... especially in a world that can seem of late to care more about cost reductions and dividend management than they do in maintaining competent staff to deal with consumer handling.

Intelligent and predictive handling and proactive guidance to provide direction in a matter of seconds... amazing initiative by the service rep (thank you Jessica!!).

Plus the subtle introduction and reinforcement of their promotional offers, the positive encouragement for migration benefits, and a genuine passion to ensure I had access to amazing rates to keep my own costs down...

Hands down this may be one of the best experiences I've had in ANY industry in awhile, let alone just a domain name and hosting company.

Bravo Epik.. Bravo!

 

[PeakDots]

I only have one account. I'm not a fake vote.

I voted Epik for my own reasons especially for their customer service.

P.S. I do not work for Epik. I'm just a customer who likes their service

 

[DanSanchez]

So Rob gets banned from this thread for promotion and tag teams 3 employees to take his place. You guys have no chill.



I don't see any other registrars over promoting. I'm sure you guys have great support. The other registrars I use, run pretty smooth. I guess if they were buggy, had lots of issues, I would need more support. The only time I ever use it with GoDaddy is to cancel a sale if the buyer doesn't pay. The only time I used it with Dynadot is to refund a deposit

And forums aren't the only place for support. Usually if I need it, I email or call. And I've had great support.

When did I promote anything JB? You truly need to heed your own advice in this case. Chill. Nobody is promoting anything. I simply answered with facts. We are here because this is where domainers are and it's organic to send a DM about any issue.

I get 1-10 daily DMs from various members and several issues, I often respond within a minute or less.

There are no registrars investing real labor here. You call it "overpromoting" because you can't fathom seeing a registrar answering like real human beings? We are bringing competition to the forefront of the battlefield, period. You don't have to like it, use it, or listen to it. Just hit the little ignore button and boom, we all disappear! The pettiness in this constant call for censoring someone you don't want to hear from is absurd. You are here voluntarily, take personal responsibility for the messages you choose to see. That's how I curate my experience and sometimes I do reveal the ignored messages to reveal what is already known, most people on my ignore list are there for a reason.

 

[bmugford]

You call it "overpromoting" because you can't fathom seeing a registrar answering like real human beings? We are bringing competition to the forefront of the battlefield, period. You don't have to like it, use it, or listen to it. Just hit the little ignore button and boom, we all disappear! The pettiness in this constant call for censoring someone you don't want to hear from is absurd. You are here voluntarily, take personal responsibility for the messages you choose to see. That's how I curate my experience and sometimes I do reveal the ignored messages to reveal what is already known, most people on my ignore list are there for a reason.

It fairness, Rob has received multiple infractions for self-promotion and is banned from this thread due to blatant self promotion.

NamePros made that decision. That is a fact.

I am not willing to just ignore it. The people abusing the rules can learn to follow them.
Being forced to follow the rules about self promotion is not "censorship".

Brad