Do you know What Makes a good Domain registrar?

There really isn’t much for a domain registrar to do except record who registered which domain name, so the only way to tell registrars apart is by the other services they offer. These services break down into two broad categories:

Domain management—How easy is it for you to manage your domains, update information, organize multiple domains, and so on?

Add-on functions—Does the registrar off er services such as auto renewal or free e-mail accounts?


If you have only one domain, the quality of a registrar’s domain management interface might not be all that important. But if you have more than one, you’ll appreciate being able to easily tell the status of all your domains, organize them into groups, sort them in various ways, quickly manage where the domains are pointing, and so on.

The other important part of a domain management system is the help function. You deal with domain names once and then maybe not again for another year or more. Without a good help system, it can be difficult to remember what you should be doing. Contextual popup help screens are good, but video tutorials are even better.


When you’re checking out domain registrars, look for a demo of the domain management interface on their websites: a live demo that you can try out or at the very least a video demo. If there’s nothing there, you can always call their sales department and request a tour. Remember, you can get good quality management tools and very low domain prices, so don’t just sett le for low prices.

It’s also useful for domain registrars to off er add-on functions that make your life easier. Here’s a checklist in order of what I think is most important:


Frequent renewal notices—Receive at least 60, 30, 15, and 7 days before a domain expires (e-mail gets lost, or you’re away, and so on).

Auto renewal—You can turn this on if you don’t want to worry about renewal notices at all. Just make sure your credit card is up to date.

Auto lock—This requires a special code if you want to transfer to another registrar, but it also means that someone can’t easily transfer the domain without your authorization.

Free e-mail—If you don’t have a website yet, you can still have e-mail service using the domain name.

301 redirects—If you want to use the domain name to point to an existing website, this is the proper way to do it.

important: Sometimes you’ll see offers of a free domain, but remember that you’re paying for the domain
somehow—usually by committing to a hosting contract for a period of time. Always read the fine print to understand the terms. For example, the domain might be free for only one year of registration, or you have to pay a high yearly rate for the domain name if you stop hosting with the registrar. The same can be true even for low‑priced domains, so check to see what’s involved with any special deal.


Registrars vs Hosts:

It’s easy to think these two are one and the same because so many registrars offer web hosting and so many
web hosting providers offer domain names. But there is absolutely no requirement that you have your domain names registered through the company that hosts your website, or vice versa. Registering domains and hosting websites are two distinct functions.

Tips: 


1. If you discover a domain better pricing or services, you can transfer your domain to that other registrar at any time. Your existing registrar should not charge any fee for this, but the new registrar will charge you for an additional year of registration (which you would have spent anyway).

2. Use one domain registrar Ending up with two or three or more registrars can be a nightmare of paperwork, and you can even end up missing notices for domains that need to be renewed.