Nick CaristinosWhen dealing with domain names we primarily think of the domains and what we want to accomplish with them – eg. which one do I buy, how will I market it, should I register other variations, what extensions do I need, etc. – yet often times we give little thought to the registrar we intend to use for purchasing, managing, transferring and renewing our domains and services through. Many times we even use multiple registrars. Perhaps there was a special offer or we simply found them searching the internet, but do we spend enough time really making the decision about which registrar(s) to use?
When it comes down to it, what should a business be looking for in a registrar?
Recently I was sent a blog post by Jeff Behrendt from www.Domainbits.com in which he interviews “Peter Maxymych, the founder and President of Emall.ca – one of the largest and most successful dot ca domaining companies.” Emall.ca is a Webnames.ca customer and just happens to be an account that I personally help to manage. The interview got me thinking about the importance of a selecting a registrar for a Domainer and for that matter any domain name owner whether they are dealing with one or thousands of domains names.
Some of the key points to consider when choosing a registrar may very in importance from person to person but ultimately you want to find a registrar(s) that can offer you the best service, prices, and products. Domainers typically look at pricing, easy account management, fast and reliable systems and of course a great account manager or contact that can help with bulk domain requests and keep on top of their account.
These same criteria should matter to any domain name owner. If you don’t have a large volume of domains you probably won’t have access to a personal account manager, however you should still be able to pick up the phone and speak to a knowledgeable support representative when you need help or have questions.
Probably the first question people have is how much does the registrar charge? With so many people are simply choosing their registrar based on low pricing and flashy beer style commercials, it is easy to argue the pricing point. What you may not realize however is that these registrars are probably making their money in other ways which may not be apparent up front or they may even be working at a financial loss simply to establish a high domain name count. Either way it does not take long to do the math and see that these providers have the potential to fade as fast as they appeared. Worse yet, you might not be able to easily contact them or manage your domains once you have purchased them at that hard to believe low pricing.
What you really need to ask yourself is does my registrar have a long history of proven excellence? When I need to speak to someone is there a person standing by ready to take my call or answer my email? Also – find out if your registrar is willing to negotiate pricing or offer other incentives to choose them over a lower cost solution. It’s amazing what you can get if you only ask.
The next point to consider once your criteria for pricing, products and services have been met is does the registrar have quality systems to manage my domain names once they are registered? Does the registrar offer an online interface that allows me to view and edit my domain information, add services like hosting and email, or simply view my list of domains and their expiration dates? What standards does the registrar guarantee for their support times? How secure is their website?
And lastly, but certainly not least, how do I feel about the company in general? Do I get a sense of their mission? Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau? Have I heard anything good or bad about them? Can I trust that they will make my issues as important to them as they are to me? Have they been recommended by friends or colleagues?
There are certainly many criteria to consider when selecting a registrar and I could not hope to cover them all in one blog post, so be sure to do your research, ask others in the industry. Remember to always contact the registrar you are considering registering your domains with and ask them all of the questions you have before committing your hard earned money and reputation to their services.
Webnames.ca offers excellent domain management systems, superior customer support and competitive pricing for domain names and related services. We are always happy to hear from prospective and existing customers, whether you are registering your first domain name or your thousandth – call us today to speak to someone about what it takes to make you a happy customer
Webnames.ca Custmer Support can be reached by email at support@webnames.ca or toll free by calling 1-866-221-7878.