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Where To Buy Domain Names: Popular, Cheap & Simple Providers

Your digital project starts with a domain name. Your domain name is the foundation of your brand. It's your online identity - and how people and search engines navigate to your content.

But choosing the right place to buy your domain name is tough. There's dozens if not hundreds of providers. And choosing one to register and handle your online identity is a big deal. Oh - you also want them to be affordable and convenient.

There is no such thing as an overall "best" option for everyone. There is no "best web hosting" or "best domain registrar" - there is only the best option for you based on your goals, expertise, resources & situation.

Best Place To Buy Domains - Short Version

Here are the companies that are usually a good place to buy your domains from based on my experience.

Name Best if you want... Plans!
NameCheap …low long-term pricing & user-friendly management. Visit!
GoDaddy …low short-term (or bulk) pricing from a well-known brand. Visit!
Google …seamless user interface and easy integration with Google Apps. Visit!
Hover …indie company w/ transparency & usability. Visit!

The other best option for some is to buy your domain name directly from your web hosting or website builder provider.

A domain name doesn't do a lot on its own, so you will likely purchase hosting or a bundled website builder as well. Many good hosting companies or good website builder companies will bundle your domain name for free. Renewals are often a bit more expensive than a traditional registrar, but the convenience is worthwhile.

Factors in Domain Registrar Purchases

I've been able to look at a range of domain registrars as part of my or my clients' projects. There's a lot of factors that go into my domain registrar reviews, but the main factors are:

Price - How competitive is their short-term pricing? What about their long-term pricing? Are they offering real value or just a short-term "bait" type pricing?

Ease of Use - How daunting is their process? Is purchasing and managing seamless and intuitive?

Selection - What top level domains (TLDs) do they have? Do they have access to all domains currently for sale?

Support - How much does the company invest in support? Individual experiences can be anecdotal, but it's usually possible to tell if a company views support as an investment rather than a cost.

Management - How seamless and intuitive is their management options? Is it straightforward to make domain changes and manage the behind the scenes?

Culture - What does the company value? Are they all about lock-ins and upsells or do they value long-term relationships?

Options - Do they have an array of complementary services such as DNS, SSLs, etc?

Next Steps

Browse my domain registrar reviews below (all based on how recently they were published).

Learn more about domain names and web hosting.

Learn more about domains and how they work.

Take my domain registrar quiz which will generate the best domain registrar for you based on your goals & preferences.

Porkbun Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

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Porkbun is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar based out of Portland, Oregon. Their primary pitch is making the domain registration process easy, enjoyable, and affordable.

See Porkbun’s Current Plans & Pricing.

They are one of the myriad smaller domain registrars that have a dedicated but smaller following than the big brands like GoDaddy.

Does Porkbun hold up to their mission of being an “amazingly awesome” domain registrar? We recently tried them out. Here’s our full PorkBun review with pros, cons, and alternatives.

[Read more…] about Porkbun Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Domain.com Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

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Domain.com is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar founded in 2000 that also provides web hosting, email, website builders, SSL certificates, and other web solutions. They’re part of Endurance International Group, who owns some of the biggest names in web hosting like Bluehost, HostGator, and Constant Contact.

See Domain.com’s Current Plans & Pricing.

While their focus is on domains, Domain.com has started positioning themselves as more than just domains — but that the process starts with a great domain name.

I’ve gotten some questions about Domain.com as a domain registrar, so I decided to give them a try. Here’s our Domain.com review with pros and cons.

[Read more…] about Domain.com Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Namecheap or GoDaddy? Where To Get Your Website Domain Names

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Namecheap or GoDaddy? Where’s the best place to buy your domain name? And once you buy your domain…who has the best hosting, email, and services? I get asked those type of questions a lot. I’m a customer of both GoDaddy and Namecheap. So this review is based 100% on my experience with both companies as far as domains go.

Notes: If you are just looking for discounts, coupons, or promo codes – here’s what I’ve got for you. I’ve got links with promo codes built in from both GoDaddy & Namecheap. I get referral fees from any companies mentioned in this post, but any opinions are based on my experience as a paying customer.

If you click this link for GoDaddy – you can get a .com for $0.99 for the first year.

If you click this link to Namecheap, you’ll access their current flash sale.

Quick Aside on Domain Registration & Hosting

GoDaddy & Namecheap both started life as domain name registrars, which allows them to sell & manage domain names. It is also the service that they are well-known for. But they also offer a ton of complementary services. I’ll actually cover that below. But – it’s important to keep in mind that you can buy web services such as domains, hosting & email separately. If you aren’t quite sure how they all interact, I’ve written posts on Domain Names Explained; Web Hosting Explained; Website Builders Explained; and Domain Registration vs. Web Hosting.

I’ve also specifically covered Namecheap’s hosting services here and GoDaddy’s hosting services here.

Still with me? Great! Let’s dive into the full Namecheap vs. GoDaddy review! Because you’re already the type of person who knows that your domain name is your name on the Internet – and that it matters who provides it – I’ll break the review down into 6 categories that actually matter – price, user experience, interface, extras, upsells, and principles based on my experience as a consultant & owner of (way too many) domains. [Read more…] about Namecheap or GoDaddy? Where To Get Your Website Domain Names

Network Solutions Review: Pros & Cons of Network Solutions As Domain Registrar

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Network Solutions is one of the oldest consumer Internet companies still operating. They are most well-known as a domain registrar, though they offer a full suite of business Internet solutions.

In fact, from 1993 to 1999, they were the only company authorized to register domains. If you wanted a domain in the ‘90s – you had to buy it from Network Solutions. Because of that, they’ve built a brand around being “the Internet’s domain provider.”

Network Solutions is not my primary domain registrar (which is NameCheap). But I’ve had enough clients purchase their domains with Network Solutions that I wanted to try them myself to see if there was something to their branding.

Here’s my experience and my Network Solutions review with a focus on their domain registration service. [Read more…] about Network Solutions Review: Pros & Cons of Network Solutions As Domain Registrar

How Many Domain Names Should I Buy? 10 Rules To Use When Starting Out

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So you’re wondering “how many domain names should I buy?” Well here’s a quick story before we dive into 10 rules I use.

Let’s say that a person – let’s call him Fred – decides to learn a little bit about websites and marketing online. He finds how easy it is to install WordPress and setup a website. He learns all about keywords. He installs Google Analytics. Fred writes some content and gets some traffic.

Oh wow! This deal is so easy, fun, and might make me money someday! And I’ve got a million other website ideas!

So Fred goes over to his domain registrar of choice, and see that most of his website ideas are available! And they’re only $10 per year! He buys several.

But what about misspellings? Buys a few of those too.

What about the .net and .co versions? Buys a couple of those too.

And so on and so forth. And before you know it – Fred has spent $600 on domain names…without building out a single website idea.

Here’s the deal – “Fred” is really Nate (me) back when I knew little about how websites and digital marketing worked. I had this idea that thinking of an idea and buying a domain counted for something.

It doesn’t. But your domain name is still important – but important relative to other factors.

So whether you’re a freelancer, DIY type, someone getting your feet wet, or a small business owner concerned about your online presence wondering “how many domain names should I buy?” – Here’s 10 lessons I’ve learned to use when researching and buying domain names. [Read more…] about How Many Domain Names Should I Buy? 10 Rules To Use When Starting Out

Google Domains Review: Pros & Cons of Google As Domain Registrar

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Google Domains is a domain name registrar owned and operated by Google. Google rolled out the product in 2014, and it’s still in “beta” as of 2018.

Google Domains is not my primary domain registrar (which is NameCheap). As a Googlephile and SEO consultant, I pretty much had to register a domain with Google Domains the day they started.

Here’s my my experience so far and my full Google Domains review with pros & cons…

Skip to the Conclusion & Next Steps

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Dynadot Review: Pros and Cons of Dynadot as Domain Registrar

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Dynadot is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar and web host headquartered in California. They were founded in 2002 by a software engineer and state their primary focus is engineering and designing excellence.

Dynadot’s main pitch is to help customers “register domains names and create websites simply and affordably”.

They are one of the myriad smaller domain registrars that have a dedicated but smaller following than the big brands like GoDaddy.

Do they hold up to their mission? Here’s our Dynadot review with pros and cons.

[Read more…] about Dynadot Review: Pros and Cons of Dynadot as Domain Registrar

Register.com Domain Registrar Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

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Register.com is a domain registrar owned by Web.com (one of the largest and oldest website hosting/builder brands in the industry). They were one of the first give companies chosen by ICANN to participate in the initial test phase of the new competitive shared registry system, making them one of the oldest and most established domain registrar companies in the game outside of Network Solutions.

Aside from domain purchasing and management, Register.com offers a range of products, from marketing to hosting to web design. Their main pitch is that their services and solutions cover all ranges of business sizes and especially help small businesses build their web presence without the need for technical experience.

Given Register.com has a certain level of brand recognition and clout, I decided to try them out as a domain registrar. Here’s my Register.com review – structured with pros & cons based on my recent experience as a customer.

Skip to the conclusion & next steps here.

[Read more…] about Register.com Domain Registrar Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Hover Domains Review: Pros & Cons of Hover Domains as Domain Registrar

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Hover Domains is a domain registrar founded in 2009 as an offshoot of Tucows Inc. (the second largest ICANN accredited domain registrar online). Hover’s M.O. is that they stick to what they know, and that’s domains.

But let’s be honest, you probably only know them from their podcast ads on shows like Hello Internet and 99% Invisible. While Grey and Roman might plug them – you want to know how they actually stack up.

Well – this domain registrar deals solely with buying, managing, and transferring domains on their platform. They do offer email services but they do not offer other complementary products such as hosting, website builders, etc.

Check out Hover’s products & pricing here.

It’s important to remember that a domain is not a website. It’s not an email, an app, or any other service. It’s simply your online address. It helps people locate where you are. If you want to set up a website, you’ll still need to get hosting or a website builder / eCommerce provider that provides hosting (which Hover does not provide).

I’ll dive deeper into this in the pros and cons, but it’s an important distinction to make up front because it helps us understand what Hover’s goal is. They’re not about being an all-in-one solution — quite the opposite, actually. Their focus is only on simplicity. They’re all about getting you your domain and letting you use it wherever you need it through app integrations.

How does Hover stack up against other domain registrars? Here’s our review of Hover Domains as a domain registrar with pros and cons.

[Read more…] about Hover Domains Review: Pros & Cons of Hover Domains as Domain Registrar

iwantmyname Review: Pros & Cons of iwantmyname as Domain Registrar

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iwantmyname is a New Zealand-based domain registrar company focused solely on domain registration and management. The company, which was founded by employees from several ICANN accredited domain registrars, has been around since 2008 and prides itself on its simplicity, transparency, and ethics.

iwantmyname believes in making the domain buying, managing, and transferring process transparent and simple. They’re big on company values (like transparency) and give off the “good guy” vibe when it comes to domain registrars.

Check out iwantmyname’s plans & pricing.

So, how does this domain registrar stack up against the rest? Here’s my experience so far and my full iwantmyname review with pros & cons…

[Read more…] about iwantmyname Review: Pros & Cons of iwantmyname as Domain Registrar

Name.com Review: Pros & Cons of Name.com as Domain Registrar

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Name.com is a Denver-based, ICANN-accredited domain registrar company that also offers web hosting, email, a website builder, and SSL certificates. It’s owned by Donuts Inc, a domain servicing company who specializes in serving premium & new top-level domains (TLDs), which go beyond generic .com/.net/.org domains website owners were previously limited to.

Name.com touts an all-in-one approach to getting you online — they have everything you need to get up and running quickly (AKA a domain name, hosting, website builder, security, and email).

Check out Name.com’s plans & pricing here.

So, how does Name.com stack up against other domain registrars? Here’s my Name.com review with pros and cons based on my experience with them so far…

[Read more…] about Name.com Review: Pros & Cons of Name.com as Domain Registrar

Google Domains vs. GoDaddy: Domain Name Providers Compared

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Google Domains and GoDaddy are two of the most well-known domain name registrars on the Internet. I’ve written about both Google Domains and compared GoDaddy to Namecheap (their other big competitor). But how do they compare to each other?

Visit GoDaddy’s Current Domain Pricing

Visit Google Domain’s Current Selection

Domain Registrars are a unique industry. Since ICANN issues all domain names, leaving Registrars mainly as bookkeepers, there is not a ton of scope to offer completely different products. At the end of the day, you simply need a domain name that you can associate with a server where your data lives.

And yet, not all domain registrars are the same (which is why you are reading this post, I’m guessing). I’ve tried dozens and have had every problem imaginable. There is no such thing as a “best” domain registrar. Everybody has tradeoffs. And Google and GoDaddy are actually a good example of very different approaches to domain registration.

I was a Day One customer of Google Domains back at their launch, and I’ve been a customer (and consultant to customers) of GoDaddy for 10+ years.

Here are my thoughts on Google Domains vs. GoDaddy based on company structure, pricing structure, domain selection, usability, customer support, and complementary products.

You can also Skip to Conclusion.

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