What to look for in a Domain Vendor

I am currently in the process of purchasing a domain name for my corporation. However, I am fairly new to the process and I am not sure about a few things. I have searched other threads and found plenty of vendors that I can purchase a domain name through, but I don't really understand enough to compare them.

• When I purchase a domain, can I choose to host with another service other than the site that sold me the name?
• Also, what type of documentation/verification do I receive noting me as the legitimate owner of the domain name?
• If I am only purchasing the domain name from an organization, and not any other services (hosting, e-mail, etc...), does it really matter who I purchase the name though

Any help on this would be fantastic! Thanks in advance.

 

You can buy domain names through registrar services such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, 1&1, Dynadot, Name.com and many other.

These companies are primarily domain sellers, despite they can also sell hosting and other services though.

You can buy only the domain name and decline to buy any of the other additional services they will try to get you buying during the order process. While you buy from a registrar service, there is no need to buy hosting and you can host the domain wherever you want.

There are hosting companies that sell domain names and most of the times they sell both, domain and hosting space or try to make you believe domain is free when hosting with them on a yearly basis, but the real fact is that cost of domain is often included in the price of the hosting service.

Other than UK, AT, and DE domains, you will not receive any proof of purchase. You are the owner of a domain for the term of the registration and the only proof is the whois information. Nominet (the UK domain authority) send a certificate of ownership via snail mail, same as the Austrian (AT) and German (DE) central registrar service.

Even though the most advisable domain extension you should think or register is dot COM

 

Yes right Mystique,
You can buy domain from any registrar & order hosting from someone else.

Thanks.

 

To your questions, I have quick answers as follows:

#1. Yes, domain, hosting/server, email hosting can be purchased with 3 different providers.

#2. No doc/verification will be received in most cases.

#3. It's better for you to fill out valid contacts according to updated ICANN policy.

 

So really, if I am buying ONLY the domain name from a registrar the only thing that matters is price? I have heard others mention that certain registrars offer better service, but I don't see why the service would matter once you have purchased the domain. Wouldn't any services following the domain purchase be more involved with the hosting company?

 

Yes, when you purchase a domain, you can either purchase it with a host and have directly hosted, or purchase it with just a registrar, and have the domain "pointing" to a host via "nameserver". This option is best as it is more secure to have your domain name with just a registrar, so if you have people working on your server, they can't ever have full control of your domain.

 

Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it!

 

Here is a good link that you may consider reviewing: http://www.registrarowl.com/buying_guide.php

 

Yes, but one of the easiest and cheapest is Godaddy. They are simple and do not cause problems, plus there is always a discount code you can apply to get your name for less than $10 and usually much cheaper than that. Check here for the latest coupons, it is always updated.

https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/2013-godaddy-discount-codes-thread.2617816/page-30

As someone who has bought thousands of domain names I can assure you Godaddy is easy and cheap. Just ignore all the extra stuff they might offer on the way to the cart page. They try to sell you other versions of your domain and stuff but it is easy to skip all that.

 

Your questions seem to be answered quite well already, so I'll answer the question in your title.

You should make sure the domain registrar is reliable and has been in business for long time (at least few years). This is to make sure the registrar will not go down and cause problems with your domain.

Cheap price is always a plus but you should make sure it's not too low. It's not possible to find $5 .com domain without buying some other services at the same time. Cheap prices often mean low quality. The average price for .com domain is $9-14. This of course varies between other domain extensions.

It's good to check if the domain name comes with free services such as domain privacy if you are looking for some. Most good registrars offer such services for free while others can charge up to $10 for the same thing.

 

Thanks everyone! Your responses have helped me quite a bit!

 

That is simply not true. I buy .com from Godaddy all the time for less than $5. In fact, there was an ad in your very post when I looked at it offering one for .99. You don't need to buy anything extra to get these deals. Although sometimes they only apply to US or Canadian users.


Here is how your post appeared right above an add for a .99 domain deal. Read the thread I linked above and you will see coupons posted all the time for .99 cent domains or $2.95 domains. They are most certainly available:

 

That .com domain is only valid for the first year and limited to one customer. After the first year you will have to pay the normal price which around $10/year without any extras or specials included. That 99 cents excludes ICANN fees which make it actually cost more than $0.99. It's not possible to purchase a .com domain and keep paying less than $1 for it every year.

 

Yeah, a .99 domain will end up costing you $1.17. That is still a far cry from the $10 you told him to pay. And yes, renewals are not that cheap but you should never end up paying $10. You might end up paying around $8.67 for renewals on that .com, so after 2 years you still have not spent $10. This isn't rocket science.​

​

The point is that your statement, which I will quote again below, was completely false.​

 

Better service may involve additional services that you can buy on an individual basis, in example email, faxing, hosting, SSL certificates, etc., but it can also mean finding a registrar offering a friendly control panel, good support service, fast loading site, and more.

It's impossible to say what could be the best in this matter because it depends on your personal approach and each one's personal experience. In example, GoDaddy's control panel is one of the less friendly I have tried, it was since the beginning about a decade ago and keep worsening over time.

Namecheap seems to have a better one, but the site runs slow whenever they implement a special offer that has a time frame, and we could keep listing flaws that you could find going from one registrar to another, but the most reputable and reliable are usually the best known, so it's about trying yourself to see if they meet your expectations when it comes to better service.

 

I actually went with godaddy because of all the great things I heard about them. Thanks for all the good info!


My website is not built yet, but we will also be looking for hosting services soon. I have heard from a few people that godaddy offers a good hosting service as well. I know they are cheap, but will I get what I really want? My website will be fairly static. It will mostly be informational with no databases needed.

 

I have two blog websites hosted on two different web hosting companies. Speaking from personal experiences, it is always good to shop around the Internet before you decide on your chosen domain hosting company. I have checked with GoDaddy, Hostgator, Bluehost, i-page, etc reputable web hosting companies. The names do not always guarantee you the services you need really or want. The aforesaid domain hosting companies have great features and up time records but unfortunately none of them fit in my needs. So, I kept shopping around and finally came across the hosting companies I needed.

But when I purchased hosting services from another relatively well-known hosting service provider, I started facing a lot of problems. Can you imagine it took nearly two days for the company to point my DNS server names to their own server. I spent hours on live chat and they kept passing me around like a football. I have to agree that at least they have got one of the best live chat services in this industry. Then, once my website was up and running (I did not create any content at the time), the next day I started experiencing serious problem while trying to load my website. I contacted sales, support and billing departments to cancel my account and only then they flooded my mailbox with just the same email time and again.

This is totally unacceptable and unethical for a reputable web hosting provider to deal with a customer in this fashion. Finally, I was able to get some really good support from other support staffs. I understand that there are hundreds of thousands of other customers and it is not always possible for them to address one specific problem of a specific customer. Yet, they should ensure that they give you the right information and right directions, especially if someone is new in the hosting world.

Well, my experience with this web hosting provider has been fantastic now, but I am still not happy with their refund policy as they kept ignoring my request for refunds. I know they did not want to lose a customer and they started doing everything to satisfy me but not dealing with my request. I would suggest that you do your own research and read not only one or a few reviews on just one review site but go to different places online and read what people have got to say about them. Thanks for reading.

 

I'm no fan of GoDaddy so I would say no, don't get your hosting there. Besides my biased opinion, I still would advice you to get it elsewhere. When I started out I was told it's safer to have your domain and hosting at 2 different companies, in case one screws you over.

For hosting I have used Surpass Hosting and Dreamhost - never had a problem with them =).

 

Hi there Wendy84, thanks a lot for reading my post and coming up with good advice. I certainly agree with you that it is safer to have different companies for domain name registration and hosting services respectively. At least that way there is no way for a domain registrar and hosting company to screw you over lol. I am using Webhostingpad at the moment and their services are excellent I must say. Thanks for sharing.