Every great website needs a snappy, memorable domain name and choosing the best domain registrar (or domain name registrar) is paramount to making your journey to building your online presence, as seamless as possible.
Coming up with something new is another challenge, but once inspiration strikes, you’ll need to register that name with a domain registrar before you can use it online (just make sure you’re choosing your domain name wisely as there’s no refund).
Registration isn’t difficult, but first you must choose from the hundreds of companies competing for your business, and there are several things for you to consider before signing the virtual dotted line.
So what does a domain registrar actually do? Well, it is an entity that registers domain names with an organization called ICANN which manages domain names globally. It therefore acts as a proxy and will make sure that you’re only, official recognized owner of that domain name.
Alongside domain registration, a domain registrar also offers other services like privacy protection, website builder and web hosting as it makes so much more sense to go for an all inclusive, one stop shop offer. Not surprisingly, all major domain name providers went this way.
PS: We’ve also rounded up the best web hosting services to go along your domain name.
The best domain registrar: How we choose them
- Pricing structures can be complicated. A low headline figure could become expensive on renewal, for instance. Prices vary between domain extensions, too, so a registrar that offers great value for a .com domain might give you a poor deal on when it comes to .org.
- There may be extra costs for tasks like transferring your domain to another registrar, too. Read the small print before you sign up.
- Look for any bundled or optional extras. A Whois privacy service prevents your address, phone number and email address appearing as public contact details for the domain, something which could otherwise get you a significant amount of spam email and phone calls. We’ve seen this cost as much as $11.20 a year, but several registrars provide it for free.
- Many domain registrars offer hosting as an extra, but keep in mind that web hosting companies can also register domains. If you have an idea of which web host you’d like to use, check the details of its plans: you may be able to register a domain for free when you buy hosting, and that’s often the cheapest option.
- Finally, take a look at the support a registrar offers. You may never need any help at all, but if anything critical crops up – maybe an issue which might cause a problem with renewal – it’s important that your provider is on hand to ably assist.
- Balancing all these priorities can be tricky, so that’s why we’ve created this list of top domain registrars to help point you in the right direction.
TechRadar exclusive domain name deals
1. Free domain name and site builder
Finding a domain registrar for your website can be difficult but if you sign up for Bluehost, you’ll get a free domain and site builder included with your plan. It has also cut the price of its Shared Plan (usually $8.99 p/m) down to just $2.95 per month for the first term, exclusive for TechRadar visitors.View Deal
2. Get 25% off sitewide with TECHRADAR discount code
Want to buy a domain name? Kickstart an online empire? Become a self-made millionaire with a web-based business? Then fill your cart at Domain.com and get 25% off your order by using the discount code TECHRADAR. T&C apply, see further down the page.View Deal
With a name like Domain.com, the brand, means business, focusing primarily on small and medium businesses. It offers most popular top level domains, over 25 country code top level domains, and sells premium domains as a broker.
With nearly two decades of online presence, the company – which is one of the world’s biggest domain name registrars – expanded in web hosting and now ranges a number of products including a full design service and web hosting.
Domain.com prices tend to be average but we have managed to blag a 25% discount off almost everything in your cart*. Non-premium TLD (.Life, .Men, .Live etc) start from $2.99 for the first year ($2.24 with our code). In line with the rest of the industry, they rise significantly after the second year).
You need to pay for privacy protection, a reasonable $8.99, plus you can add email, web hosting, SSL certificates and malware protection, none of which is compulsory. You can stick with its basic website builder which is free with every domain: you get a drag and drop website builder, tons of mobile-friendly templates, up to six pages, SEO tools, Paypal integration and even access to stock image library.
Support is more than adequate with 24/7 chat, email and phone support. Domain.com may not have the cheapest prices but it provides a very balanced offering.
*All renewals after the initial discounted period will be charged at the then current standard list price for the selected period. Coupon is not valid with sunrise registrations, landrush registrations, EAP registrations, pre-registrations, premium registrations, renewals, transfers, custom website design, other coupons, or special pricing.
Bluehost is one of the best choices out there if you’re looking for a reputable domain registrar which boasts very reasonable pricing. Bluehost sells .com domain at $12.99 per year and .org form $9.99, for example, but those looking for a hosting plan as well can really benefit from an excellent Bluehost offer.
Those buying a shared hosting plan from Bluehost get a free domain thrown in (plus website builder), and that shared plan is usually $8.99 per month, but TechRadar readers can get it for $2.75 monthly (for the initial term) with our exclusive offer. Obviously that’s a strong value proposition indeed (and we’re seriously impressed with Bluehost’s chops as a web host with fast performance and quality live chat support on offer).
When grabbing your preferred domain, Bluehost offers an easy-to-use search system which clearly presents your options (and alternatives if your first choice isn’t available). Furthermore, you can add domain privacy and protection with your purchase, meaning your personal details and profile are kept private, and aren’t publicly visible (via Whois).
Bluehost also gives you the option of auto-renewal, which saves you the trouble of manually renewing your website domain(s) and ensures that there are no accidental lapses which could lead to the name(s) being poached.
Those who are looking for web hosting as well as a domain purchase certainly get plenty of punch in the value for money department with the aforementioned offer, and note there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find yourself unsatisfied with the service.
IONOS is a very well-known company for its great various hosting plans, and their offering on domain registrars is the same.
IONOS offers amazing value for the first year, however after the initial pricing, the renewal price skyrockets. For instance, you can get .com, .org, .net, .biz, and several others for $1 for the first year. After that, the renewal price for .com is $15/year, and for .org, .net, and .biz it increases to $20/year. Some domains like .mobi are quite expensive, since the initial price is the same as renewal, at $20/year.
After you choose a domain, you’ll also get a professional email address connected to your domain with 2 GB of mailbox space. There’s also the Wildcard SSL certificate, domain lock, up to 10,000 subdomains, and of course the 24/7 customer support if you encounter any trouble.
There are cheaper solutions but IONOS still offers a very good deal with nice extras, and the initial price is quite the bargain. Just keep in mind the renewal price.
With a promise that they will provide web hosting and domain names ”for any business”, Network Solutions presents four different-sized, cloud-based plans, from starter to premium. The least expensive can be yours for $2.84 per month (for a year term) and will provide 15 GB of disk space, ability to host one website and up to five e-mail boxes.
To get a free domain name you’ll have to purchase one plan above, and to get a free SSL certificate you need to go for the “Premium” plan. Additionally, there are three different WordPress hosting packages, ranging from $5.99 to $14.24 per month.
Network Solutions accepts all major credit cards and PayPal, and for those sceptic about their services there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if you’ve registered a domain name it will not be included in the refund, but you are free to keep it.
Since it was founded at the end of the disco era, Network Solutions certainly knows how to get groovy with its hosting packages, offering a great deal of helpful tools to get your website down with a boogie in no time.
Web giant GoDaddy is the world’s biggest domain registrar, currently managing more than 75 million domains for 17 million customers around the globe.
The company is well-known for its low headline prices, and it’s the same story here, for instance, .org domain is available for $9.99 in year one. On the other hand .com and .co are less impressive (though still apparently cheap) starting at $11.99. Beware, though: these aren’t the bargains they initially seem.
The first catch is that GoDaddy’s starting prices only apply if you pay for two years upfront, and the second year is significantly more expensive (.com rises to $18.99, .co, .org and .mobi are ridiculously high, $34.99 for .co, $20.99 for .org and $31.99 for .mobi.
Godaddy now offers free basic Whois privacy, a previously optional service. In its simplest form, it redacts your name, address, phone number and email in Godaddy’s WHOIS directory and prevents domain-related spam.
There’s possibly better value to be had elsewhere, but GoDaddy may still appeal to web beginners looking for a bundled hosting and domain registration deal. The company has an array of products covering every possible requirement, with telephone support if you need it, and buying your domain and hosting from the same provider will make life a little easier.
Just keep in mind that other providers can also combine hosting and domain registration, and GoDaddy may not provide the best package for you. Check out our various hosting guides for possible alternatives.
Hover is a popular domain name registrar owned by Tucows, which also operates eNom and the domain reselling platform OpenSRS.
Hover’s website is clear and straightforward. A domain pricing page allows for checking registration costs before you start, or you can use the search box to immediately locate your preferred TLD (top-level domain).
By default the results page displays every domain you can register and their prices, giving you a lot to scroll through and read. But a handy sidebar allows filtering domains by categories including Personal, Businesses, Audio and Video, Food and Drink, and more. It’s a neat touch which could help you spot an appealing domain that you otherwise might have missed.
Prices are very reasonable, with .com domains costing $13.99 for year one, .co.uk priced at $10.99, .org costing $13.99 and .mobi reaching $19.99. Shop around and you’ll find slightly lower prices elsewhere, but Hover generally provides good value.
There’s a welcome bonus in Whois Privacy, which comes free for as long as the domain is managed by Hover.
The company keeps upselling to a minimum, even in the final shopping cart stage. You’re simply offered three email-related extras: email forwarding at $5 a year, a 10GB email account for $20, or you can opt for a 1TB inbox, file sharing, a calendar and more, for an annual $29.
If you have any questions, support is available via email and chat, although it’s not 24/7. Working hours are 8am to 8pm (Eastern Time) Monday to Friday, and 12pm to 5pm at the weekend.
Most domain name registrars offer a simple identikit service with little to separate them from the competition, but Dynadot is an interesting exception which has some unusual advantages.
This starts right at the beginning, with your initial search. You can use the website much like any other – type your preferred domain, press Enter, read the results – but you also get Bulk and IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) search tools, and advanced options allow defining which domain extensions to include in your searches, as well as setting those as defaults for all future…
Best domain registrar in 2021: Buy cheap domain names and exotic TLDs