Ask HN: Best registrar only and why | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Best registrar only and why

8 pointsbiturd14 comments

I have read blogs, searched HN, and it seems it's time again to find a good registrar. Seems about once a year someone steps in and offers the same as everyone else plus more, and is regarded great for tech support.

I am in need to park 30 or so domains ( now, much more later ) all in various forms of expiration, some just renewed at places like the top 5 ( GoDaddy etc. ) and others are at obscure registrars as I inherited them that way from a client or other source.

I have about 6 that are up for 30 day renewal right now. One is the domains where I have domains@example.com so I want this to be as smooth as possible.

I have managed DNS/bind/named for years, though it has been years since I have. Now it is just troubleshooting with dig and other tools.

What is your favorite registrar only, or colo/shared/hosting/ISP and why?

How are they with SSL certs, changing, and keeping up on keeping TLS secure and doing it all right.

I do need good DNS on their end, though I can't say I have ever had issues with an SOA case, it's always at the DNS level on some remote server somewhere. Though these days I find managing DNS in most registrars browser control panels sufficient. GoDaddy is stupidly convoluted. I am not making mass changes of 1000 domain files at a time. Just one off, add an MX, add DKIM, etc.

If they make setting up any of the above simpler, note that too.

Which ones to stay away from and why.

Thanks for any pointers.

Oh, any that will take current registration time plus what you buy is going to work better for me. I just renewed a large batch with a terrible registrar, and want to move them, but don't want to lose out on those 11 months I just paid for. Some registrars offer "rollover" like that, where you get 11 months plus your year or more you just signed up for.

I have been using Namecheap since 2004 which is I beleive around the time they started and way before they were popular.

I was lucky enough to buy a ton of EMD's before the dot com bubble. Have let a lot of them go, held on to dome. My portfolio is huge, thousands of domains personally owned, clients, former clients, projects, etc (like you)

That said I do stand behind Namecheap. I've never had an issue with them and any issue that comes up are promptly squashed.

Thanks! This was the other name I was trying to remember, as I know a lot of people like them. Thanks again.

My company uses Gandi, and personally I use iwantmyname.com.

Gandi is a no-nonsense service:

* Seems very security-minded, and overall serious and professional. Nothing like GoDaddy.

* Their UI is conservative and well-organized; not as modern as iwantmyname.com, but not as antiquated as EasyDNS and Namecheap (and not a jumble of different, conflicting, confusing UI styles like the latter is).

* Supports (in fact, requires) zone versioning so you can always undo.

* Supports raw "BIND"-format zone files so you can quickly edit in your favourite text editor, rather than a cumbersome web form.

* Lets you share the same zone file across multiple domains. If you need more automation (eg., lots of very similar domains with a slight tweak here and there), just use the APIs.

* Great APIs.

* 2FA account security.

* Also provides SSL (cheap, toplevel CA) and very good, reasonably priced virtual hosting (US and Europe).

iwantmyname.com has a more minimalistic, modern UI, but lacks things like zone versioning, raw editing, and they're still working on an API. Also, their 2FA is apparently SMS-based, won't work with a standard authenticator app.

We previously used Namecheap and EasyDNS. No significant complaints, but their UIs are horrible.

Thank you so much. I will check it out, I have a feeling these are not going to be 7.99 each with all the above. I also hope they are giving away domain privacy, as charging for that in this day and age is insane.

FWIW about 13 years ago when I needed to register some domain names I chose inww.com which is really Melbourne IT.

Why them? Simple. Read the terms of service you are agreeing to. At the time a lot of them were very very biased against the consumer. Melbourne IT was different, they were one of the few who had a reasonable policy.

Note that these terms are different for each registrar. I'm not talking about the common ICANN rules which all registrars also require consumers to agree to.

I don't know the current situation, for all I know Melbourne IT now has the worst terms of service in the world! Simple inertia has kept my accounts from moving.

Just something to think about when picking a registrar.

I've been using iwantmyname.com for the past two years -- just take a look at the front page, that's the clear, uncluttered design you'll get for your control panel.

And yes, they let you keep your paid term for transfers.

I used to work for MarkMonitor so i have great insights into this. Google is becoming a registar and they will hands down be the best in the new gtld space. Use MarkMonitor if you can afford it- they are the industry gold but if you can't, google will absolutely crush it in the domain space.

Gandi.net. Their system is good to use. First year free SSL, renewal is $16. Free basic email hosting.

I've been using Namecheap for several years, following HN recommendations. No complaints.

I really like Google Domains. All domains come with free privacy guard which is nice. If anyone needs an invite let me know.

Would it be possible to get an invite?

Sure, what's your email? You can email it to me if you prefer. Email is in my profile.

Sent!

AWS/Route53 is the best registrar IMO. 2 clicks to buy, no ads or upsells, API access and advanced DNS features.

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