GoDaddy Domain Manager "Beta" Review

[MapleDots]

I've been using the new GoDaddy domain manager pro for a few weeks now and I'm absolutely happy to announce that it is superb.

The Good

- show domain count right at top
- you can decide what fields to display
- you can hide fields not used
- you can set column with for most fields
- it display's the godaddy appraisal value (I love that)
- it now uses the whole screen instead of a small window
- it shows domain create date as well as ownership date and expiry date (how cool is that)
- it shows renewal price (I'm with the discount club so it shows reduced pricing)
- you can also display nameservers and any forwarding address

- the search feature can search any part of any domain even just a few letters in the middle of the domain name. When I first started using beta you had to search from the start of the domain name but that has changed to any part now.

One of the best features is you can make a profile and when you attach it to any domain it sets whois, nameservers, lock status, and pretty well anything specified on that profile.

So if I transfer ten domains in to godaddy I just assign them to the MapleDots profile and everything changes automatically.

Wow, Wow, Wow..... super cool

The Not So Good

- you cannot change nameservers in bulk settings unless you attach them to a profile. So if I have 10 domains to set nameservers for and I do not want to attach them to a profile then I have to do them 1 at a time.

- When I attach domains to my profile it changes all setting except there must be a bug because the whois settings right now only update the admin contact. I had to remove from my profile, change the whois info and then re-attach to my profile. @Joe Styler that must be a bug.

- When I attach a domain to a profile it can take quite a while (15 minutes) to change the setting and the only email notification you get is that the lock status was changed. Probably also a temporary bug.

Conclusion

I use my adblocker to remove the one banner they have (see above) for a nice clean look and to fit more domains on a page without scrolling.

This interface is a game changer for me and I have started moving in domains and I purchased discount club. I will be moving in 500 domains to start over the next 30 days and I will update this review with my findings.

Right now I have 40 sitting there (another 50 in transit) and I also like that it shows the number at the very top. Every day when I log in I see that number first and I compare it to my spreadsheet. If the number changes then I know someone has tampered. Its a basic feature but having it right at the top makes one very aware of it.

 

[Ategy]

That's what bugs me so much about GoDaddy .. there's sooo much potential to be so much better.

This is a good sign .. ironically however .. the very moment you posted this I also wrote my rep frustrated at yet another navigation bug .. as well as different navigation issue I reported back in January that led me to losing domains while on vacation that has not been fixed yet.

Anyhow .. don't want to hijack the thread .. but some of those things you've mentioned sound like great improvements. I like the addition of ownership date .. I've wanted that for a while now!

Whole screen is going to be a plus as well!

I'm due to update my personal excel inventory sheet .. I'll go take a peak tonight .. been meaning to for quite some time now!

 

[MapleDots]

I forgot to mention one more bug....

When you transfer a domain in they have 3 links to display the transfers...

- Transfers
- Transfers-In
- Pending Account Changes

The "Transfer In" shows basic information if there is an issue but does not allow you to make any changes.

The "Transfer" link is the one that has all the details and allows you to add transfer codes etc. For me this link will not show my transfers in progress and defaults to a generic screen. If I first visit "Pending Changes" and then visit "Transfers" then everything will display normally.

Again that must be a bug of some sort but when it does display it shows all the information I need and anything I have to fix or approve.

Again, I can see the concept and how it is supposed to work and it looks very promising.

Being a Beta one would expect a few bugs and I understood that going in. Still the Beta version is so much better than the main control panel that it does not deter me. I know how to work around the few bugs and godaddy seems to be fixing them. At the beginning search only worked from the first character forward but now you can search for FirstBestDomain.com by typing anything.

Before search only worked...

FirstB....

Now any part

search for Best or est and all domains containing est will pop up.

 

[MapleDots]

An update to this.....

The maximum number of domains I can display on the screen is 500 and I have quite a few more domains than that so I would prefer this to be 1000. I have a high speed connection so being able to pick a higher display count would help members with larger portfolios.

I had also mentioned you cannot change name servers in bulk but it seems you cannot do anything in bulk. You attach to a profile and if you need something different you make another profile and attach it to those domains.

I find myself switching back to the regular version to do some bulk changes outside of the profile settings. So in my opinion the bulk features in Godaddy Beta still need a bit of tweaking. That said, most of my domains fall into the same settings so the switching back and fourth from beta has been quite minimal.

My favorite feature......

Display all domains and sort them in "Market Value" order. I understand that market value only represents godaddy's opinion but it is nice to see which domains are valued highest and lowest by godaddy. I can see this feature definitely influencing users in setting the prices when listing at auction. I will look at several sources when deciding on price but having this readily displayed is definitely an asset.

 

[MapleDots]

Anyhow .. don't want to hijack the thread .. but some of those things you've mentioned sound like great improvements. I like the addition of ownership date .. I've wanted that for a while now!

Yes, I understand there are a number of navigation issues and this topic is a great place to discuss them because it is only 1 keyclick to go from beta back to the standard control panel. So we can see where the navigation issues are and click back and fourth as we need specific features.

Beta has a lot of advantages and new features but the standard control panel has the bulk editing muscles that are still missing.

 

[frank-germany]

I've been using the new GoDaddy domain manager pro for a few weeks now and I'm absolutely happy to announce that it is superb.

The Good

- show domain count right at top
- you can decide what fields to display
- you can hide fields not used
- you can set column with for most fields
- it display's the godaddy appraisal value (I love that)
- it now uses the whole screen instead of a small window
- it shows domain create date as well as ownership date and expiry date (how cool is that)
- it shows renewal price (I'm with the discount club so it shows reduced pricing)
- you can also display nameservers and any forwarding address

- the search feature can search any part of any domain even just a few letters in the middle of the domain name. When I first started using beta you had to search from the start of the domain name but that has changed to any part now.

One of the best features is you can make a profile and when you attach it to any domain it sets whois, nameservers, lock status, and pretty well anything specified on that profile.

So if I transfer ten domains in to godaddy I just assign them to the MapleDots profile and everything changes automatically.

Wow, Wow, Wow..... super cool

The Not So Good

- you cannot change nameservers in bulk settings unless you attach them to a profile. So if I have 10 domains to set nameservers for and I do not want to attach them to a profile then I have to do them 1 at a time.

- When I attach domains to my profile it changes all setting except there must be a bug because the whois settings right now only update the admin contact. I had to remove from my profile, change the whois info and then re-attach to my profile. @Joe Styler that must be a bug.

- When I attach a domain to a profile it can take quite a while (15 minutes) to change the setting and the only email notification you get is that the lock status was changed. Probably also a temporary bug.




Show attachment 84718


Conclusion

I use my adblocker to remove the one banner they have (see above) for a nice clean look and to fit more domains on a page without scrolling.

This interface is a game changer for me and I have started moving in domains and I purchased discount club. I will be moving in 500 domains to start over the next 30 days and I will update this review with my findings.

Right now I have 40 sitting there (another 50 in transit) and I also like that it shows the number at the very top. Every day when I log in I see that number first and I compare it to my spreadsheet. If the number changes then I know someone has tampered. Its a basic feature but having it right at the top makes one very aware of it.

most of the good features
are standard at many other registrars
plus nameserver updates in bulk

I really don't understand why so many of you like godaddy best

 

[MapleDots]

I really don't understand why so many of you like godaddy best

1. Ease of moving in and out of auction
2. Ease of selling to another domainer, I have never had a case where a domainer did not have a godaddy account and I could not do a push.

I had to open yet another registrar account this weekend to accept a domain still under lock. Almost everyone at least has a godaddy account so that is never an issue if the domain sits there.

I guess to answer your question directly....

Laziness (especially if there is an very large portfolio involved)

 

[frank-germany]

1. Ease of moving in and out of auction
2. Ease of selling to another domainer, I have never had a case where a domainer did not have a godaddy account and I could not do a push.

I had to open yet another registrar account this weekend to accept a domain still under lock. Almost everyone at least has a godaddy account so that is never an issue if the domain sits there.

I guess to answer your question directly....

Laziness (especially if there is an very large portfolio involved)

thats no good reason to LIKE them
just to keep the domains there...