Register a domain - where?

[Yannick Hagman]

Hi guys,

What is the cheapest and most reliable way to secure a domain?

Cheers,
Y.

 

[Ryan Patch]

check it out on www.whois.com to see if anyone has it.

After that, use www.godaddy.com to purchase the domain and use their hosting, if you're not already hosting elsewhere. Their site is a little loud and obnoxious, but their service is good, cheap, and reliable.

 

[spitfire44]

network solutions is safe, well known and have been around a while.

www.networksolutions.com

good luck,
Eric

 

[Brent J. Craig]

I have been hosting websites and registering domain names since 1992, mostly for associates in the film business.

Godaddy is definitely the cheapest, but be warned that they place advertising on your site if you choose to "park it" there while you wait to build your website. They have also been rumoured to delete or take control of a site if someone complains about it's content/politics.

Network Solutions is the priciest, but also has great security and real humans you can talk to on the phone.

Once you register a domain, you also need to 'host' it somewhere. Your webhost supplies a server that is connected to the Internet 24/7 by massive data lines and is where people land when they type in your domain name. Your webhost serves visitors your web pages and collects or forwards your incoming email.

I would recommend finding a web hosting company you can trust and having them register your domain for you. MAKE SURE that you are listed as the owner/registrant, or you don't actually own the name. Many less reputable companies register sites in their name, forcing you to stay with their service forever.

One great thing about having your own domain name is that you can use that as your email address and no matter how many times you change Internet service providers/employers/agents you won't have to change your email.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Networks solutions is good to work with. Although, I have all my stuff with GoDaddy as of late and I've been happy. They are cheap, very nice tools and interface and I can talk to a real person when needed. No complaints.

 

[Yannick Hagman]

Thank you, secured. I went with godaddy also.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Godaddy is definitely the cheapest, but be warned that they place advertising on your site if you choose to "park it" there while you wait to build your website. They have also been rumoured to delete or take control of a site if someone complains about it's content/politics.

Most domain services will place their own advertising, etc.. on a domain if it is simply parked. In fact, I can't think of too many that don't. As for Godaddy taking control of a site, they can and will lock a site down (as will any other hosting provider) when a site they host violates their terms and conditions.

GoDaddy is only marginal in terms of hosting. Much better hosting companies out there.

I would recommend finding a web hosting company you can trust and having them register your domain for you. MAKE SURE that you are listed as the owner/registrant, or you don't actually own the name. Many less reputable companies register sites in their name, forcing you to stay with their service forever.

I would strongly advise against registering a domain through your hosting provider. Yes, sound silly, but I've been in this business a long time and I have on occasion had to make changes at a moments notice from one hosting provider to another and having the domains controlled through a third party has made all the difference.