poll Favorite Domain Registrar Poll

[JB Lions]

Another thread asking about this, I figure let's finally poll it. I remember looking for something like this years ago here and was surprised one didn't exist, since it's a topic that gets brought up from time to time. I picked 20 (19)* domain registrars, all the ones mentioned in the recent thread plus a few others. If your favorite isn't listed, post it in the thread and I'll see if I can add it to the poll. You can pick up to 3 of your favorite, just 1 if you want. I still think Namepros should have a Best Of The Year series

*there is currently a 20 choice limit with polls, but NP can add more if needed. In case I missed some obvious ones.

 

[Doyosi]

Dynadot gains a big star for its api support, if you didn't try api yet, start trying today. They are the best registrar in this mean (for personal, not commercial).
Godaddy for daily usage / auctions / closeouts.

I think that name.com is trying to do great things (api support, expired domains also) but they need to do some extras to be favorited.

 

[Euforia]

Dynadot is the number one for me. Their prices are great, support is outstanding and interface is easy to navigate and work with. On the other hand their backorder service is useless, but nothing is perfect, right?

 

[carob]

About Uniregistry

All registrars look like they have basic pricing available but for bulk or domainer pricing, it's the only one that's not transparent. The other registrars I can find the info, this one, I need to email. If you have competitive pricing, why wouldn't you put it out there? Get out there and compete.

That is why I do not use Uniregistry. If I can only get the true price by asking privately, how do I know it will be the same price come renewal time. No thanks.

About Dynadot support - they respond but sometimes in a very mediocre way.

 

[BostonDomainer]

Uniregistry is the superior registry by a mile when you have a sizable portfolio to manage imo. It's interface is very clean, intuitive, and uncluttered. I like things simple... when I see things simplified, I'm a happy camper They have an easy Filtering feature that is great! Filter by nameserver, email, length of domain, keyword, with number, without number, TLD etc is a big time saver.

Also the site is very fast. Searching 5000 names at a time is a cinch. I hate the lag of some larger registrars that slow down checking just 200 names. The 1 click access to turning privacy on and off is nice and FREE.
Their Tracker feature is nice too. You can add your names from other registries and Uniregistry scans their information, email, expiration date etc. So you can easily manage your whole portfolio as though it were local in one centralized place.

Recently they integrated Domain Name Sales (DNS) with the Unireg platform. Great move! Whether handling negotiations yourself or letting one of their brokers handle it this integration freaken rocks. And it just makes sense.

While other registries have some of the same features as Uniregistry, there is an attention to detail in their interface that cleanly caters to small portfolio holders and large domain holders alike. They get it! Their motto should be...."We thought of you...." :D I've moved about 300 names already with 700+ to go!

 

[GoKaizen]

I don't think I could ever use Uniregistry simply because it's the only one I'm aware of where the owner is literally bidding against me in auctions. So when I'm geting outbid, outbid, outbid, in my head I would be thinking I could be getting outbid with my own money, which doesn't make sense to me. For me to send money off to a competitor, they need to go above and beyond and it would take more than a Pretty (Inter)Face, to do that. Let's say the have the best interface in the world, I myself gave GD a C, but other things more than make up for it.

Good point.

 

[JayT]

Dynadot is the only clear choice for me. They have bulk pricing discounts when you $500/yr and 5k/yr. The .com are 8.75/8.5 then (ICANN fees included). Most other ext are competitively priced too. They offer way more extensions that I like vs most other places. They give free whois protection.

 

[vivaldi]

Funny you who argue that using Uniregistry is like feeding competitors and use Godaddy instead. Like Godaddy isn't your competitor already if you deal with .com's.

 

[JB Lions]

Funny you who argue that using Uniregistry is like feeding competitors and use Godaddy instead. Like Godaddy isn't your competitor already if you deal with .com's.

When I first started getting in the auctions, I kept a spreadsheet of nicknames I was bidding against. When they won, I waited a couple of weeks for the whois to change over to find out who they were. I like to know who I'm bidding against. Bill Parson's name never came up. I'm talking about being a direct competitor in the auctions, fighting for names. You're happy with them, like I said, great. They're getting a lot of votes, so I imagine other people are as well. Even tho you can't tell me how much you're paying. The only place I guess that requires that.

 

[vivaldi]

When I first started getting in the auctions, I kept a spreadsheet of nicknames I was bidding against. When they won, I waited a couple of weeks for the whois to change over to find out who they were. I like to know who I'm bidding against. Bill Parson's name never came up. I'm talking about being a direct competitor in the auctions, fighting for names. You're happy with them, like I said, great. They're getting a lot of votes, so I imagine other people are as well. Even tho you can't tell me how much you're paying. The only place I guess that requires that.

They never ever told me what I can tell or not tell others.

Fine, but they are still a big big player with their portfolio and feed the very bloggers who drive traffic to the auctions you and others are participating in.

 

[JB Lions]

They never ever told me what I can tell or not tell others.

Ok great, so how much are you paying so we can compare to the other ones that have their bulk/domainer pricing public.

 

[johnn]

I am running a business and sold many names to the end users so I believe the registrar choice is not my choice but my customer.
The majority of the customers only know Godaddy so I don't want to complicate the process or lose a sale so most of my names are at Godaddy.

Good luck with your poll.

 

[usernamex]

I have the only vote for Moniker LOL, I use them for $25 IO (best price AFAIK). I read a lot of old bad threads and I can understand how people are unwilling to go back.

I hate with a passion the NameCheap UI, I transferred many personal domains to NC on cheap transfer day, and if their UI doesn't change by next year renew, they will move again to NameSilo.

It would be interesting to also vote for least favorite - count me in for GoDaddy on that one!

 

[GoKaizen]

FYI on NameSilo. On WebHostingTalk they disallow the use of the term "namesilo" anywhere on the forums. No idea why. Perhaps because they have some odd policies but Idk.

 

[Name Trader]

I only saw you could have multiple choices after I posted Dynadot was may favorite Registrar. But I would say their is a bit of a learning curve with their Control Panel. Great support. I never have to ask to clarify any reply from Dynadot, because I don't get cookie-cutter replies from them.

My criteria is not to look for the cheapest prices for everything. Ease of use is very important to me. As is great support.

I really like Uniregistry as well. So please add 1 vote for Uniregistry. They are competitively priced for everything apart from .com. You win some. You lose some. But overall, excellent.

Probably still, NameBright have the best .com pricing. You cannot beat cost. But their Control Panel is still not up to wonderful standard of Uniregistry. Uniregistry's CP is the best in the industry, IMHO. Not surprising since it was built from the ground up by a domainer

I think NameSilo requires an honorable mention as well. They have thought long and hard about their offering. They were on a shortlist of 3 when I was looking for a new Registrar several years ago. When they were just starting up. Good option, imho.

 

[raubin]

Simply down to the reason their support has been first class for me - Namecheap gets my vote, however Namesilo is best for features and what you get for your money, plus I have only ever had to contact their support once so can't really compare with the support of namecheap.

For .co.uk domains, I use LCN (formerly Telivo) - been with them for over 10 years, support is first class.

 

[Name Trader]

A lot of these posts are just lacking specifics. New giant, innovative thinking, cheap prices.......... Some people posting GD pricing isn't great. Let's take that. We actually went thru specifics in the GD coupon thread. If you happen to have a few hundred domains and using their club, it's the cheapest. Nobody in that thread came up with anything cheaper. I went thru the ones that had the top 4 votes, reg a .com:

GoDaddy - $8.29 - $8.47 with fee (using their Discount Club) $11.99 without club
NameSilo - $8.99 icann fee included
Dynadot - $10.99
Uniregistry - $10.88, renewal same, when I searched for .com, they also had .link right next to it

So GoDaddy is cheaper for me. For those other 3 and people that use them, how do I get cheaper for a .com? Is there some club, do I need to have a certain number? Specifics. I'm looking to get cheaper than $8.29, renewals also. Or around that area because you need to factor in the price for the Club, which I think I got for free last year.

Also, what are the major things you look for in a registrar, if you were to have the perfect one. Most domains, you buy and they just sit there. You don't need to feed them or take them out for a walk. For me, it's simple, the 3 main things, GoDaddy scores:

Price - A they're the cheapest for me
Service, if I need it - A, have a great rep, fast response
The ease of site - C, it could be better, they change it too often for me. But I can get around and do what I need to do

What else do you look for in a registrar besides Price, Service, Ease Of Site?

I'm sorry. But you only need to spend $500/yr (or prepay $500) to get $8.75 .com registrations at Dynadot. This is still more than GoDaddy's $8.47 with their DDC. But you do need to compare like with like in these price comparisons. Also. the DDC Fee is gone once paid. The $500 is a usable prepayment. Which is only 57 domains renewals. Would be affordable for many domainers.

When I used GoDaddy as my main Registrar, I always thought the Control Panel was World Class. I still think that. I don't really understand the complaints I see here about their Control Panel. Their portfolio search is the best I have ever seen, up until now. I moved away from GoDaddy because I didn't like their ToS. Far too onerous. IMHO. There were other reasons as well contributing to my decision to leave.

Those are my 3 criteria also, Price, Support, Excellent CP. Price is always going to be the top item, but it isn't always price above anything else. For example the price of .com domains at NameBright is cost. I pay slightly more at Dynadot, but I get excellent support at Dynadot, and I like their Control Panel. Also I don't go chasing every registrars daily offers. I'd end up with 100's of registrars. Price is not good without good support and good Control Panel.

I think it should not be underestimated that most buyers have only ever heard of GoDaddy and want their domains to be at GoDaddy. It's a bit of a hassle having to transfer domains back to GoDaddy to complete a sale. Especially if Escrow is involved, where usually the buyer has to instigate the transfer, and they usually don't have a clue how to do it.

 

[brandnow]

Namesilo and Uniregistry are best for me.

Namesilo is the best all around generally speaking.

Uniregistry you can save a lot by applying discounts with their digital blockchain currency.

Namecheap is sometimes good for sales and chat support. So I voted these three.

 

[DomainMOD]

I have to say I'm very surprised that GoDaddy is #1 by a mile. In addition to them just outright stealing a domain from me years ago, I find their UI pretty awful, and unless you happen to catch a super sale their prices are high (their current "sale" on .com domains is almost 40% higher than the regular price I pay at Dynadot).

This was a very interesting poll indeed.

 

[Name Trader]

What does the "*" and bolded name mean in this poll?

 

[DomainMOD]

What does the "*" and bolded name mean in this poll?

I believe the asterisk indicates who you voted for.

 

[Name Trader]

I believe the asterisk indicates who you voted for.

OK. Thanks. That would be true in my case

 

[claudedauman]

It's not surprising that the registrars who offer the lowest levels of customer service, and those who have the most abusive policies (eg. excessive renewal fees & prompt and outrageous redemption fees) score at bottom. I gave my three votes to the registrars who absolutely deserved them.

 

[Name Trader]

It's not surprising that the registrars who offer the lowest levels of customer service, and those who have the most abusive policies (eg. excessive renewal fees & prompt and outrageous redemption fees) score at bottom. I gave my three votes to the registrars who absolutely deserved them.

We value your opinion Claude. Which were....

 

[claudedauman]

We value your opinion Claude. Which were....

I like GoDaddy and Name.com the best. Mason, my account exec at GoDaddy is an amazing person to work with. It's nice to have such a knowledgeable and professional go to, when I need assistance.

Name.com has an amazing team as well. I've always received excellent customer service from their top notch CS professionals including Bernice, Trisha and Amy.

 

[ramkumaritrvs]

I'm the 100th vote for Godaddy

It was my fav registrar before but not now.