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Ask HN: Which domain provider/registrar do you recommend?

7 points by monsterix ↗ HN
I've been using a domain registrar for the past five years. A friend recommended them to me back in the day.

Lately I'm sort of troubled by the poor quality of their service, poorly designed (and confusing) website and a series of issues that happened while managing the domains I own.

I wish to move my assets elsewhere so I'm wondering what other places are good to look at? What is recommended?

19 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 55.5 ms ] thread
lancehudson
I have used GoDaddy for years, I am looking at switching to Amazon or NameCheap for my domains.

Amazon because it's where most of my domains are hosted anyway and I trust them.

NameCheap for any domain's Amazon won't transfer.

smtddr
iwantmyname.com is what I use. Simple, minimal UI without having a million upsale ads all over the place.
27182818284
I've had pretty good luck with NameCheap, but I wish their UI would get a better makeover. Some parts have upfront, but a lot of times you're using this really old and annoying-to-navigate UI for things along with incompleteness in features for newer TLDs.
BorisMelnik
agree. the crazy part is they just redesigned their entire front end but left the backend alone!
kjksf
https://domains.google.com

I've used godaddy, namecheap in the past and they just can't help themselves and make a simple task (configuring DNS settings) a confusing mess (ui-wise).

Google Domains is a breath of fresh air in that respect. I've transferred all my domains there.

They are still invite-only (I think) but I got mine fairly quickly.

anmonteiro90
I still have some invites for Google Domains. I can invite HNers in need; email me at anmonteiro [at] gmail :)
tzz
Does Google provide support for this service? It is high risk if something goes wrong and you have no one to talk to.
Someone1234
I use NameCheap for registration along with Route53 (Amazon) for actual DNS hosting/management. Amazon is around $0.75/month/domain. Namecheap varies depending on type of domain and duration.

Namecheap's control panel could be a little better designed, but if you host elsewhere you spend very little time there.

Fastidious
Namecheap doesn't charge for the use of their DNS.
MalcolmDiggs
I use godaddy for registration (through their "Discount Domain Club") which reduces the cost to about 8 bucks per domain per year. I like their customer service and how quickly the nameserver changes seem to propogate. I usually use Route53 (aws) for the actual DNS.
minizatic
https://www.hover.com/ Their prices may not be the absolute lowest, but their website is refreshingly simple. Their control panel/UI is very straightforward as well.
jordsmi
I usually use name.com. Nice UI and decent prices/coupons available
fatbat
Check out NameSilo. Not too many fancy extensions but the free privacy is always nice and prices are reasonable.
PhantomGremlin
Do great minds think alike?

This almost exact question was just asked on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8541654

wanghq
Actually I am curious to know why two Asks were posted on the same day. Did OP do some research before asking the question? Is it a problem of HN such that the information is hard to be discovered?
zhte415
I use and like gandi.net for its sense of independence and professional service. Free SSL for a year and free basic email too.