Learn about which domain registrars are available in this article.
Your domain name is the web address that appears in the address bar of a web address (e.g. computerhelp4all.com is the domain name of this website). You can buy a domain from a domain registrar. There are thousands of domain registrars, so finding one shouldn't be too difficult, but they all have their own features, which is why you should properly research it and find out details about it before registering a domain name with them. However, you can always transfer your domain name to another registrar if you change your mind or find that the domain registrar no longer suits your needs. Below are 7 domain registrars that we recommend along with the features and limitations.
1. Google Domains
Google Domains is a domain registrar operated by Google. It was first launched in 2015 and the domain registration service is accredited by ICANN. Google became a domain name registrar as early as 2005. The benefit of registering your domain name with Google Domain is that most people already have a Google account, so you won't need to sign up for any additional accounts to register a domain name with them.
Features:
DNS hosting
Dynamic DNS
Domain forwarding
Email forwarding
Free WHOIS privacy protection for every domain registered with them.
Two-step authentication
Automatic verification with other Google products.
Support for 100+ domain name extensions.
Auto-renew
Custom email through Google Workspace for a yearly fee.
Domain sharing, giving clients permission to manage a domain name.
Steady pricing. You won't be charged any more for renewing your domain name.
Limitations:
Google Domains is an expensive option for .io domain names.
It doesn't support as many domain extensions as most other domain registrars. However, it still supports over 100 domain extensions, including the most common ones.
2. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a domain registrar that provides domain name registration services, web hosting, SSL certificates, and a website builder. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Parsons and is based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. As of now, GoDaddy has over 20 million customers, 84 million registered domains, and over 9000 employees. It is one of the ICANN-accredited domain registrars and in April 2005, it became the largest ICANN-accredited domain registrar on the internet.
Features:
Auto-renew
Free WHOIS privacy protection for every domain name registered with them.
If you have a problem, a reply to your support ticket isn't always fast. There may be a waiting time of up to 48 hours to receive a response.
Renewal costs greatly go up after registering a domain name with them, which will make it more expensive if you want to maintain a long-term registration with them.
3. Namecheap
Namecheap is a domain registrar that was founded in 2000 by Richard Kirkendall and is based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. As of now, Namecheap has over 11 million registered users and over 10 million domain names are registered with Namecheap. It is one of the ICANN-accredited domain registrars.
Features:
Simple management of domain names in the control panel with options to alter DNS records and change where the domain name points to.
SSL certificate to encrypt communications between browsers and web servers.
Email redirects for domain names.
Auto-renew feature for domain names, where the domain name automatically renews before its expiration date and charges the registrant.
Free WHOIS privacy protection for every domain name registered with them.
Options to create categories for domain names for easy navigation.
Export CSV file option. This allows a list of domain names to be downloaded from the Namecheap dashboard. It contains a list of information about the domain name that is shown in the domain list (domain name, domain privacy protection status, domain status in Namecheap database, domain auto-renew status, domain expiration date).
Transfer out and transfer in features. This allows domain names to be transferred from another domain registrar to Namecheap or from Namecheap to another domain registrar.
Verify contacts. This allows several domain contact details to be updated at the same time.
Support for 480 TLDs.
Limitations:
No email accounts.
Limited visits. Namecheap limits the number of visits that you can have each month when you buy their paid hosting plans.
4. NameSilo
NameSilo is an ICANN-accredited American domain registrar and web hosting company based in Phoenix, Arizona. NameSilo was founded in 2010 by Michael Goldfarb and Michael McCallister in Phoenix, Arizona. As of July 2021, the company reached 3 million active domains.
Features:
Paid web hosting services. NameSilo offers 2 paid web hosting services called 'Starter', 'Premium', and 'Turbo'.
Free SSL certificate with 'Turbo' hosting plan.
Email accounts
Website builder
Email forwarding
Domain defender protection
Free WHOIS privacy protection for every domain name registered with them.
Auto-renew
Support for 400+ TLDs.
Website owners keep 100% of revenue generated from parking their domain names.
Cheaper registration charges compared to other domain registrars.
Limitations:
Hosting options are quite limited. There are only shared hosting options and no VPS plans.
5. Name.com
Name.com is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar which offers most of the standard features that other domain registrars offer. Name.com was founded in 2003, by Bill Mushkin. Mushkin bought the company Spot Domain LLC (Domainsite.com) in 2002.
Features:
URL and email forwarding
30+ DNS templates
Bulk management tools
Paid SSL certificates
Email accounts
Auto-renew
99.9% uptime
Live chat support
24/7 support ticket system
Web hosting. Name.com comes with a personal, premium, and business plan.
Automatic backups every 48 hours.
Limitations:
No free WHOIS privacy protection. There is an extra yearly charge for WHOIS privacy protection.
Renewal costs greatly go up after registering a domain name with them, which will make it more expensive if you want to maintain a long-term registration with them.
6. Domain.com
Domain.com is a domain registrar and web hosting company based in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1999 by George DeCarlo. Domain.com currently powers more than 1.2 million websites worldwide. Domain.com does not only services to register a domain name. It contains everything you need to create and build a website.
Features:
Automatic renewal billing, which begins 15 days before the expiration date of a domain name.
Support for over 300 TLDs.
Three paid web hosting plans, called 'Basic', 'Deluxe', and 'Ultra'.
Website builder
Web design services, which are useful for people that don't have time to build their website or don't want to be involved in any of the development stages.
Email accounts
Simple management of domain names in the control panel.
Affiliate program, allowing affiliates to earn revenue from each custom they refer.
SiteLock security, which protects websites from malware, viruses, hackers, and spam for a yearly fee. Domain.com offers free plans, called 'Essentials', 'Prevent', and 'Prevent Plus'.
Marketing services. A dedicated expert will draw up a marketing strategy for your specific goals and carefully discuss package options.
Domain brokerage services, allowing you to find your desired domain name and get ownership of the domain name. The team of brokers will reach out to the current domain owner and negotiate on your behalf.
Premium domain names.
Limitations:
No free WHOIS privacy protection. There is an extra yearly charge for WHOIS privacy protection. When purchasing yearly WHOIS privacy protection, the fees for registering a domain name with a common extension, like .com or .net with them are nearly doubled. This would make it one of the more expensive domain registrars.
Renewal rates are higher than most other domain registrars.
There is not much information on how to use a domain name registered with them. This makes it harder for inexperienced users who haven't registered and managed a domain to use.
7. Bluehost
Bluehost is more of a web hosting provider, but it does also provide domain name registration services and you can transfer your domain name to Bluehost or host it elsewhere once you have registered it. It allows you to manage all your domain names, websites, and emails in one place. Bluehost was launched in 2003 and is owned by Endurance International Group. It was one of the 20 largest web hosts in 2015. In 2010, it was estimated that it was hosting over 2 million domain names.
Features:
Auto-renew
Secure domain lock to prevent unauthorised transfers
Good customer support from experts
Domain forwarding
Easy-to-use and user-friendly control panel that allows you to manage every aspect of your domains.
Huge selection of TLDs.
Email accounts
Limitations:
Renewal costs greatly go up after registering a domain name with them, which will make it more expensive if you want to maintain a long-term registration with them.
No free domain privacy protection. If you register a domain with them, you will have to separately purchase it for a monthly fee.
