The perfect domain provider?

[newbie]

Hello,

I'm looking for some feedback on which features / services you require from a domain provider. What would make the perfect domain provider for you as a "domainer"?

For instance:

Low registration prices
Low renewal prices
Instant domain registration
Email forwarding (unlimited aliases)
Web forwarding (choice of masked, 301 or 302 redirects)
Name server changes
DNS management (add/manage DNS A/CNAME/MX records)
No transfer away restrictions or unlock fee

I'd love to hear your requirements, please add to the list anything!

TIA!

 

[Adam H]

I used to be a namecheap fan until their revamp purely because it used to be a list of domains with no padding, not ascetically pleasing, it told me what needed renewing in the next 60 days.

It was quick, especially to jump into update nameservers and register nameservers , redirects and forwarders.

Its never been about price, but previously i had 400+ domains with godaddy and it was cheaper by a considerable mile to transfer to namecheap than it was to renew with Godaddy so over the space of a year I moved all of them.

As a result you get reasonable discounts for reasonably sized portfolios. Also helps that SSL certs are dirt cheap which i would prefer to keep domains and SSL's in one place ( god knows why )

Low registration prices - Not a big concern, but always nice......I wouldnt purposely move to an unknown registrar just because its cheaper.
Low renewal prices - As above
Instant domain registration - Thats a given isnt it ?
Email forwarding (unlimited aliases) - As above
Web forwarding (choice of masked, 301 or 302 redirects) - As above
Name server changes As above
DNS management (add/manage DNS A/CNAME/MX records) - Handle my own DNS so not a biggy for me
No transfer away restrictions or unlock fee - Easy transfers is a must.

So for me, speed and ease of use and customer services more important than price or additional perks so to speak................namecheap decided to mess that up with their revamp with everything taking 5x longer to do a simple task.

 

[diablo]

Also helps that SSL certs are dirt cheap which i would prefer to keep domains and SSL's in one place ( god knows why )

Do you use PositiveSSL certification? Or are they not worth having?

Back on topic, I really like a clear interface. Funnily enough, I've found Namecheap's not as intuitive as I'd like. The column headers are poorly spaced - and sorting names in date order doesn't always work perfectly. Things like that bug me.

I did the same as AdamH - moving 100s of domains from Go Daddy over the course of a year to Namecheap because of price and lots of recommendations.

 

[TallBloke]

Having recently transferred out a couple of domains from both 1and1 and godaddy (not easy at all) this needs to be fast, free and reliable.

 

[Adam H]

Do you use PositiveSSL certification? Or are they not worth having?

I use the Basic positiveSSL and the PositiveSSL wildcard, not used any others but they issue them pretty much instantly after a couple of confirmation emails so it makes it a 10 min Job to purchase and install on the server.

Back on topic, I really like a clear interface. Funnily enough, I've found Namecheap's not as intuitive as I'd like. The column headers are poorly spaced - and sorting names in date order doesn't always work perfectly. Things like that bug me.

On their new system nothing really works properly, especially when .uk TLD's are concerned, registering nameservers is a giant pain in the back side now as it never seems to go through unless you jump on live support and get them to make sure its done. ( Serves me right for not becoming a Nominet member yet i suppose lol )

 

[monaghan]

Assuming UK names, then I'd suggest joining Nominet as you are then not restricted by what the intermediate company do. For email / web, get a VPS or dedicated server with cPanel and something like WHMCS and you have complete control over the whole process on systems you manage.

If you want to handle other TLD's get yourself a reseller account with enom or other provider and bolt on the relevant WHMCS module and you can more or less process everything yourself.

 

[spiderspider]

Low registration prices - Yes, but as a perminant thing. Not like some did where they advertised £1 .co.uk domains, and it was just for 1 domain, then some crazy price after that.
Low renewal prices - Not low, but in line with the above purchase price. Really hate when companies charge little for the sign up, and triple for renewal.
Instant domain registration - Like AdamH said, thats expected.
Email forwarding (unlimited aliases) - As above
Web forwarding (choice of masked, 301 or 302 redirects) - As above
Name server changes - As Above
DNS management (add/manage DNS A/CNAME/MX records) - As Above
No transfer away restrictions or unlock fee -As Above

 

[martin-s]

Domain parking option?
Easy and fully functional online admin tools
Direct debit option for payment, as well as CC
Renewal monitoring reports
Display of some investment-led stats to help portfolio analysis?

 

[newbie]

There are some great features here, thanks for your input.

It's a very competitive game but there's always room for a little one. I'll ensure all these suggestions are incorporated!