Travel Technology - Domain Registration - Who Should I Use?

I did a search here and the most recent advice on domain registrations was either godaddy or 1and1, but that was ~ 2 years ago.

The company where I have my domain registered has upped their prices - it is now about $60/yr for a simple registration and for email forwarding etc. I need both an incoming and outgoing email option.

Are godaddy and 1and1 still good options?

I will need to transfer my domain as well as get email services through them. I did check out register.com and network solutions but they seem pricey as well. This is a personal account, not business so I don't want to spend a ton of cash every year.

Any recommendations?

Merci,
MapleLeaf

1and1 is fairly reasonable. I *think* they have a $5.99 a year plan for simple domain, plus email, but I'd double check their website.

I used to use 1and1, but they got slow and started charging random amounts.

I'm now with Godaddy and love the. They are fast and very affordable.

If all you want is email, check Google for domains, they offer full domain hosting for just $10 a year with free email and basic web hosting AND the domain comes with free privacy protection.

After the registerfly debacle I've been using godaddy and I've been very happy.

godaddy. perhaps not cheapest, but you can talk with tech support, and they are not in india.

I'm happy with Ipowerweb.com for hosting and registration.
I don't know if they do registration only.

I've been using godaddy for several years. No complaints.

Ok I am now checking godaddy to sign up a second name I want. Exactly what do I want - it is way more complicated than the other domain company I used.

Ugh!

Another vote for GoDaddy!

If you want reliable webhosting with your domain, you should go with the GridServer package from MediaTemple. You'll get 100GB of storage, 1TB transfer and 24/7 customer support (that works!). You'll also get a lot of nice stuff such as Ruby on Rails, a kick-... administration interface and unlimited subdomains. I've had them for years and I strongly recommend them to everyone I know. :)

Ok I am trying to purchase at godaddy and the price cart has changed.

It is charging me for

Domain Name Registration
Business Registration
Private Registration Services

Do I want all of this?

...If all you want is email, check Google for domains, they offer full domain hosting for just $10 a year with free email...

How many email aliases do you get? I need a "family" account that allows me four or five email addresses that forward to folks' real email addresses.

I use DirectNIC, if only because they were able to keep their downtown New Orleans NOC online through Katrina and the subsequent events. They're very impressive guys.

I have some at namesecure, some at namecheap, and some at 1and1, no complaints at any of them.

I use joker.com $24 for 2 years. Then again, I don't need email forwarding as I just point the domain to my server.

/E

A vote against godaddy as one of the most customer-unfriendly providers around; if your content becomes controversial they will suspend your registration at the drop of a hat. By contrast, directNIC and gandi.net get good marks. For details see this article from February (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6155614.html).

I personally use gandi and have been extremely satisfied; they implement EU customer protections and their policies are very customer-friendly. As a Canadian, I assume the OP should have no problem with their bilingual French-English nature. :)

for many years i've been isung dr-url.com godaddy is also nice

I have domains at both godaddy and 1&1. Both have been fine.

I do prefer 1&1 because private domain registration is free.

I've been very happy with www.easydns.com in Toronto. No hosting, good prices, lots of DNS services etc, 100 email aliases, around CA$62/yr.

Ok I am trying to purchase at godaddy and the price cart has changed.

It is charging me for

Domain Name Registration
Business Registration
Private Registration Services

Do I want all of this?

Not really. If you're just looking to register a domain, nothing more. All you need is the Domain Name Registration. The rest is upsell.

Another for go daddy.com I have yet to have problems.

I vote GoDaddy. Three years and no problems so far...

I was using Dotster for over 5 years but their price is not competitive in today's market. Only after I have initiated transfer process did they offer reduced pricing to me. Too little too late...

I am with Moniker now after researching the registrars in Web Hosting Talk Forums. They have a customer-friendly service agreement and the price was right.

Some godaddy coupon codes are here...
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=132716&t=484550

A vote against godaddy as one of the most customer-unfriendly providers around; if your content becomes controversial they will suspend your registration at the drop of a hat. By contrast, directNIC and gandi.net get good marks. For details see this article from February (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6155614.html).



what is controversial content? I read the article. I think they erred(screwed up) on the side of caution. but if I walked from everybody that screwed up one time, I would not have much space to use. by the way, never mentioned, did the guy publish myspace data as claimed?

I register with godaddy, and use fastmail which is allso allmail.net for email service. they charge $40 for virtual domains, email sorting and a lot of bandwidth(2 or 3 gig). lot of fine print to read to see what all you get.

I have some at namesecure, some at namecheap, and some at 1and1, no complaints at any of them.

Another vote for Namecheap here. I've been with them for about 3 years (4 domains) and have had no problems.

Am I so fed up with DomainDirect that I decided to transfer my domain to GoDaddy. I wondered why I have been not receiving mail from my domain names email aliases/forwards, people are telling me my address bounces and/or is blacklisted, and now I read this on the DomainDirect website:

Date Posted: February 28th 2007
Time: 8:00am EST
Description: We are currently experiencing a block/ban on our Outgoing email servers by the SpamCOP blacklisting service. We have also confirmed that we are currently being blocked by AOL, MSN, Verizon, Yahoo.com, Road Runner, SBC Global, Juno and Cox.net, Prodigy.com systems as well. You may also see delays in forwarding/sending to some systems due to these blocks. The Tucows abuse and operations teams are working to resolve the issues with these providers.

**Alternative sending method**: You may change the SMTP server in your email client to your ISP's outgoing server settings (You may need to contact your ISP for this info if you do not know off-hand) - All inbound settings should *not* be modified.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Click here

Current Status:ON GOING
Updated Status on: April 10th 2007 @ 12:00pm EST

Good Gawd! A month and a half!?! So mail forwarded through them is getting tossed into spam folders and blacklists. Argh.

So I do the transfer process. GoDaddy is a wee bit confusing but I figure it out (and boy do they try to upsell you). I initiate the domain transfer and all is well -- except it needs to be authorized by DomainDirect. They don't answer email and they don't answer their "support" phone.

So I do the transfer process. GoDaddy is a wee bit confusing but I figure it out (and boy do they try to upsell you). I initiate the domain transfer and all is well -- except it needs to be authorized by DomainDirect. They don't answer email and they don't answer their "support" phone.

Maybe they DO answer email... but their emails are getting blocked in spam filters!

It's not that uncommon for Internet companies to not provide telephone support, nor is it that uncommon for Internet companies to publish phone numbers which don't get answered. Sign of modern times, I guess...

As for getting the transfer authorised - most registrars have an automated system for this, you just click on a "transfer out" link and you go through some (minor) hoops and you get an authorisation code at the end of it. Are you sure there isn't a "transfer out" link on DomainDirect's web site?

....

As for getting the transfer authorised - most registrars have an automated system for this, you just click on a "transfer out" link and you go through some (minor) hoops and you get an authorisation code at the end of it. Are you sure there isn't a "transfer out" link on DomainDirect's web site?

I've loooked everywhere (I think) and I sure can't find it.

And there is nothing in their FAQ that I've found about transferring out.

I've loooked everywhere (I think) and I sure can't find it.

And there is nothing in their FAQ that I've found about transferring out.

It's possible that they simply haven't caught up with recent changes yet (though those changes are now several months old, so they should have done).

Until late last year transfers did not require any active participation by the losing registrar. When a transfer request was received the losing registrar HAD TO release the domain within a certain number of days unless instructed otherwise by the registrant.

Because this system led to a number of domain name hijackings ICANN then decided to introduce an authorisation code system as a security measure - i.e., before a domain can be transferred the registrant must enter an authorisation code supplied by the losing registrar.

All registrars should now be fully compliant with the new system, but it looks like yours isn't. A few years ago (when I was young and naive) I might have suggested a complaint to ICANN, but I now know that complaining to ICANN won't get you anywhere.

...
Because this system led to a number of domain name hijackings ICANN then decided to introduce an authorisation code system as a security measure - i.e., before a domain can be transferred the registrant must enter an authorisation code supplied by the losing registrar.

All registrars should now be fully compliant with the new system, but it looks like yours isn't. A few years ago (when I was young and naive) I might have suggested a complaint to ICANN, but I now know that complaining to ICANN won't get you anywhere.

Actually, I did have to enter an authorization code that was generated on my DomainDirect site. But the message on godaddy still says "Recommended action: accept transfer at current registrar"

I've been using Net Wizards (https://domains.netwiz.net/domains.html) for years. No problems, excellent, fast and personal customer service, and they never spam me.

I manage 25 or 30 domain names with them. It's easy to manage them all through one web login/interface.

I have been using 1and1 for over three years now and have been perfectly happy with them. The customer service is great: quick and knowledgeable, and if you want to do private registration, it is free. ^

Been using 1and1 for a couple of years without any issues. I have 3 domain names listed with them. They have a promotion going right now for 2.99 for 1 and 3.74 for 2 domains.

Finally got the domain transferred to godaddy successfully, set up three email forwarding accounts, but those accounts have said for hours now "(Pending setup: validating MX record)" I have no clue what that means and the help file is written in martian.

And the forwarding isn't working, because when I send a test message to myname@mydomain.net I receive it -- but the headers show that it was still send via the old DomainDirect forwarding system (which I would have thought would have been dead with the domain transfer).

This is way harder than it needs to be and I realize now why I stayed with DomainDirect -- it's dead simple to use and godaddy is very confusing. So I hope I figure this out soon, because DomainDirect wouldn't still be an option anyway given its awful email problems and cruddy support.

I was impressed that right after the domain name transferred I got a voicemail call from godaddy support asking if everything was ok.

I also find GoDaddy to be exceedingly confusing, such as all this stuff with setting up SMTP forwarding or whatever.

Just give me a domain and mail system that just works.

OMG, I am so sorry that I ever attempted this domain transfer thing to godaddy. I am completely and utterly baffled.

The email accounts for forwarding that I set up still don't work (somethng about setting up an mx record ???) and support is still telling me that my nameservers are with domaindirect (but I transferred that domain to godaddy? Why would domaindirect have anything to do with this still??) and I need to change the records at domaindirect.

But I don't WANT to be with domaindirect anymore; I transferred my domain name to godaddy.

The ONLY thing I want a domain name for is to be able to do email forwarding. That's all. Why is this so difficult?

I'd be very grateful for anyone's help.

The latest support email. It makes no sense to me:

Thank you for contacting Online Support.

According to the public whois information the domain name mydomain.NET
is pointed to the following non-Go Daddy nameservers: NS1.DOMAINDIRECT.COM
and NS2.DOMAINDIRECT.COM. This indicates that this domain name is not
hosted with Go Daddy. Your hosting provider does not appear to have the MX
and CNAME entries setup correctly within their Zone file for your domain.
You will need to contact your hosting provider and have them add 4 records
to the zone file. The records to modify are:

MX modifications:

MX 0 smtp.secureserver.net
MX 20 mailstore1.secureserver.net

CNAME modifications:

mail.mydomainname.NET mapped to pop.secureserver.net
email.mydomainname mapped to email.secureserver.net

I have no idea what he's talking about. I don't understand what is meant by domain hosting. I don't understand any of this. I just want my email forwards to work.

You have contracted with GoDaddy to provide two separate services (this won't necessarily be clear from the blurb on their web site - but you have!). One is domain name registration. One is hosting. The two are unconnected.

It appears that you may have managed to transfer your registration to GoDaddy.

In order to transfer the hosting to GoDaddy you need to change the nameservers, which is usually done via a control panel. Once the nameservers have been changed to Godaddy's nameservers the rest should follow automatically (i.e., they - or their automated system - will automatically set up things like MX records and A records which are generally things that as an end user you don't have to worry about).

PM me if you need help - it's the sort of stuff I deal with all the time.

I may well PM you. Thank you.

You have contracted with GoDaddy to provide two separate services (this won't necessarily be clear from the blurb on their web site - but you have!). One is domain name registration. One is hosting. The two are unconnected.

But I don't have a website at my domain so I don't understand the "hosting" thing. I'm not having them host any website.

It appears that you may have managed to transfer your registration to GoDaddy.

In order to transfer the hosting to GoDaddy you need to change the nameservers, which is usually done via a control panel. Once the nameservers have been changed to Godaddy's nameservers the rest should follow automatically (i.e., they - or their automated system - will automatically set up things like MX records and A records which are generally things that as an end user you don't have to worry about).

OK. I'll see if somewhere there is a listing of godaddy's nameservers and see if I can figure out where I would add such. It's a VERY confusing interface.

PM me if you need help - it's the sort of stuff I deal with all the time.

Thank you!

I may well PM you. Thank you.



But I don't have a website at my domain so I don't understand the "hosting" thing. I'm not having them host any website.!

No, but they're hosting your email. Hosting is not just a website. "Hosting" means any services you get with a domain. Your hosting package just happens to be an email-only hosting package.

Thank you for your help. It's working now.

For those thinking of switching to godaddy, the user interface there is extraordinarily confusing and non-intuitive.

i've been using gandi.net for past 8-10+ years and its been great!..
i pay 12EUR per year and they forward emails, redirect URLs and pretty good
spam filtering and anti-spam features.


but i'll look into google and see if its any better.

My wife uses web.com, with few problems.

I'm now with Godaddy and love the. They are fast and very affordable.



Agree.

Also gotta agree that their web interface is not the cleanest. But their telephone support is quick and easy.

I have a couple of domains with www.dynadot.com - superb price at $7.99 and everything works like a charm. I highly recommend it.

Can't believe no one's mentioned this yet:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL

$1.99 / domain name for the first year (only one domain per Yahoo! account ;))

Standard $9.99 / year for renewal after that, but you could always transfer to your registrar of choice. Mine is namecheap.com. :)

Can't believe no one's mentioned this yet:

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL

$1.99 / domain name for the first year (only one domain per Yahoo! account ;))

Standard $9.99 / year for renewal after that, but you could always transfer to your registrar of choice.

Those accounts have been know to have a lot of problems to run them and also when you try to switch ou.

It is run for Yahoo by Melbourne IT, which ain the greatest registrar and frankly at that price you cant be surprised when you run into problems.

Those accounts have been know to have a lot of problems to run them and also when you try to switch ou.

It is run for Yahoo by Melbourne IT, which ain the greatest registrar and frankly at that price you cant be surprised when you run into problems.
I've registered no less than 7 domains via Yahoo and subsequently switched them to other registrars after the cheap first year.

Of course, YMMV.