What is your favorite domain name provider, and why?
Is it one that you just use and works just fine? Or one that has proven to be reliable and responsible if they do a mistake and only want to satisfy you as a customer?
I use Namecheap. They have a URL you can visit to update DNS records if you're doing it from the server that you need to point DNS at. They've been pretty much...non-eventful. I've never had to call them, everything online, they've been reliable enough to just say my whole experience has been pretty boring. Boring is good. I log into them once every 2 years to renew my domain and that's generally it.
Then on top of that I use Caddy for SSL Encryption/Reverse Proxy. All I need is the domain registrar, I don't use any other services.
I've been using namecheap for about a decade too. But, be careful with their free email forwarding service. They do not forward all emails. The ones that they consider spam, they proceed to drop silently. There is absolutely no way to access those emails. The service is essentially useless. I have lost several important emails like that.
Have heard that searching domains through the site can cause the domain to become unavailable or prices to go up briefly afterwards… kind of like how go daddy also has a reputation for doing that. Anecdotal and second stories for sure but something to be aware of if there is any credence to it…
I’ve experienced this and also read reports of it with GoDaddy. But I cannot say the same for Namecheap - I’ve searched for several domain names multiple times through Namecheap and never noticed a price increase (outside of a sale ending and/or the search being multiple weeks later, at which point it makes sense). I’ve also never seen any detailed reports of this happening with Namecheap, and if I’ve seen any at all, I can’t remember them. I have occasionally searched for a domain name that was later unavailable, but that happens infrequently enough that I doubt it’s due to Namecheap doing something nefarious.
I've seen it with GoDaddy but not namecheap.
Their customer support has been great. I needed help with some certs and they just walked me though everything.
I use them too, but have a few complaints and am thinking about switching.
Same pretty much. I use them too and non-eventful is the perfect way to put it. I can even update ddns records using my fritzbox directly and namecheap which is super handy.
I’m using PorkBun and I’m happy with them
I use them and they're inoffensive, which is really what you're looking for when you're using a basic service like this.
They also show you a picture of a piglet when they generate SSL certificates.
I second this. They're upfront about pricing and don't have many different products so the interface isn't overwhelming.
This is who I use as well. I’m happy w them
Porkbun's competitively priced, easy to use, and the name is a great reference for Sleeping Dogs to me. What's not to like?
Switched over from Google domains. No real complaints other than not supporting wildcards for emails for free. Mild inconvenience.
Cloudflare works really well and has a good UI. Namecheap also works well, but it takes more clicks to adjust DNS records.
+1 for Cloudflare.
That said, there are a number of folks rightfully concerned about the sheer mass of information Cliudflare has access to through their Content Delivery Network (their primary service). This raises potential privacy concerns, especially for self-hosters, who tend to prefer not to rely too heavily on any one large company. However, you don't actually have to use their CDN service to make use of their minimally-priced Registrar functionality, and personally I really appreciate the services they offer. Their free tier is really impressive, and incredibly useful.
For some reason every registrars dns panel has its own weird restrictions, bugs and interface quirks. Pointing the nameservers to Cloudflare at least makes for a consistent experience.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| CGNAT | Carrier-Grade NAT |
| DNS | Domain Name Service/System |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| NAS | Network-Attached Storage |
| NAT | Network Address Translation |
| SSL | Secure Sockets Layer, for transparent encryption |
6 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 7 acronyms.
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Cloudflare - largely because they don't add on extra fees.
Also just switched to Cloudflare (used to be google domains)… since they run half the internet, they probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon? Feels like every service gets sold/acquired and I have to change everything over every few years and I’m getting tired hahaha… also their DNS changes update basically instantly and are easy to do for this newbie!
Heh I was also on Google domains before they announced they were selling it. I don't know what the hell possessed me to register domains with Google. They have a very well documented history of killing off great services. https://killedbygoogle.com/
I personally think it's better to keep your domain registration separate from your hosting/cloud providers, including cloudflare. Basically not putting all your eggs in the same basket. Those giant cloud companies probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but their automated system are known to ban users with no recourse unless you're a big spender with dedicated account managers. Having your domain elsewhere means when something happen to your hosting/cloud account, at least you're not completely fucked.
Having recently setup an UnRaid server I used a walkthrough video on setting up SSL certs for them through Cloudflare and Google Domains. Was already using their DNS (1.1.1.1) and had an account so made that it an easy decision, then Google decided Domains would be sold off so I fully migrated to Cloudflare. I find the free tier to have more things included than I even understand and it does everything I need.
You have to use their name servers though, don’t you?
Pork bun
Porkbun has been my best experience by far
Namecheap has been good to me for a decade now, and I don't really have complaints at all
Looks like consensus is NameCheap or PorkBun
For the frugal sysadmin, Free DNS!
I've been with namecheap.com for over a decade and I have no complaints
I'm with namecheap, they are considerably better than my last registrar.
Not Gandi. They were very reliable since the beginning of the internet but they sold the company and went downhill since.
Aw man, I had no idea they sold
Porkbun, mostly for the cost, transparency, clean UI, and ease of use.
I've used GoDaddy, namecheap, and Google Domains in the past. GoDaddy is the only one I had a problem with, but Google sold to Squarespace recently, and I prefer porkbun to namecheap for the reasons listed above.
I recently switched to Porkbun from Namecheap specifically because I found Namecheap's "advanced DNS" settings to be somewhat excruciating to use, plus I also (finally, after doing it manually for a good few years) got around to setting up Certbot autorenewal, and there's not really a good way to do DNS challenges for autorenewal with Namecheap. Just generally I find Porkbun's UI to be very simple and streamlined without actually hiding anything from me. I also found that my domain renewal prices went down with the switch, something I didn't even consider when switching.
That being said, Porkbun and Namecheap are literally the only domain registrars I've used. For all I know there could be something out there I'd prefer way more.
I really want to say Gandi but they charge too much now and removed the free mailboxes.
Anyway, I'll vouch for Netim. Their prices are similar to (old) Gandi and they have a mailbox too. I'm looking into Spaceship for some other domains because they're really cheap.
gandi.net , didn't haven't to pay for any privacy bullshit like whois masking, and all that stuff is enabled by default. I like them as a company.
I currently renew my domains on namecheap and manage the records on cloudflare. Namecheap's web interface is trash (doesn't work in Firefox for no reason) and I dread every time I have to touch it. I'm currently considering just moving the registrations to cloudflare too.
I just moved my registrar from namecheap to cloudflare since they started supporting .dev domains and it's infinitely better. Was already using them for the dns challenges cuz I'm not paying for SSL certs.
Same. Their API is now too slow for LetsEncrypt DNS challenges. :(
Cloudflare is great though.
Leave the registration with NC and move the DNS to cloudflare. You should separate the two functions anyway so you have fallback ability for both. If the DNS is borked, you can go back to the registrar and change name servers, and if the registrar is down, it doesn't affect your DNS.
Switched to Cloudflare since they had spots, never been unhappy.
Am I the only one using iWantMyName.com?
Like some of the others described here, I like that their ui is dead simple and easy to navigate, once a year when I have to renew. And their prices seem to be middle tier.
I use them right now, but I’ve been disappointed lately and I’m considering moving away. They’re more expensive than other options and you have to contact customer service for some things, but their response times are pretty slow. E.g., they don’t have an interface to add glue records, so you have to ask them to do it… when I did this it took them a couple days to get back to me, and they forgot to add the IPv6 records too. My other domains are registered elsewhere (for cheaper) and they just had an interface to do this and it happened instantly. I keep running into problems like this with iwantmyname and it’s been kind of frustrating. I had problems with their name servers dying for a bit recently too… I was happy with them for years, but they’ve caused enough problems for me lately that I’m wondering why I’m paying extra for them.
I use porkbun because i can and do pay with crypto to renew my domain.
Does porkbun support dynamic DNS and subdomain? Looking to move from Google and that's a requirement for me.
Honestly, i am not sure
Porkbun have a ddclient plugin on GitHub. Subdomains are supported. They've got a full API, so if something isn't supported, someone can probably implement it relatively easily.
I've always used OVH. They are reputable, always been responsive to my questions and have an API to handle many things, including domain names, which is handy for DNS-01 challenges with Caddy and libdns.
I was using Gandi for years, but they’ve started charging for mailboxes now. I have a lot of mailboxes that are hardly used, but I need to keep.
Just moved to namecheap based on reviews and so far they seem fine
I think gandi are still good if you just need dns registration, and want anything remotely technical (in my case glue records) they're still good.
name.com usually because I’m too dumb to remember any other domain name.
I've been using NameSilo for years, but they're jacking the prices up significantly starting this month. I had already just renewed my domains, so I'll probably use suggestions from this post for a transfer next year ...
I use NameSilo too, after bailing on NameCheap. FYI, the .com increases are from ICANN and industry-wide, so switching providers just for that won’t save much.
With them too but I don't hold any com domains
Currently namecheap, but I was pretty mad to see that API access (for ACME DNS record auth, which I need to prevent downtime) was not available due to my yearly plan being too cheap (?!). You need to spend at least 50$ per months or have at least 20 domains for no good reason.
The best solution seems to acquire the domain using namecheap and then transfer name servers to a better service.
I purchase from the cheapest and use he.net for my nameservers.
I was wondering if somebody was going to mention the he nameservers :). I couldn’t figure out how to get them working, but it seems like a good option! I want to figure out if I can use them as backup nameservers in addition to my own at some point…
Not all domain providers will allow you to change the nameservers of a domain they sold to you as they want to sell you the rest of what you need for extra $$$
You can only have 2 name servers on a domain and it is not advisable to make them point to different DNS providers as they will both need to be authoritative and by having 2 different providers will mean you get 2 different SOA which will break fundamental DNS.
to change the nameservers will either be simple or hard, depending on the domain name provider it might take 24 hours for them to change the name servers or they may allow you to change them via web UI which could be just a 2 hour wait.
Been using namecheap for awhile, but thinking of migrating to Pork Bun.
I usually pick whoever has the best deal when I want to register a domain.
Name cheap for over a decade with afraid dns.
I used Namecheap for several years and was happy with it, but the numerous price increases finally pushed me to switch. I recently decided on Porkbun after the many positive reviews I read online. It is affordable and has a very clean interface that doesn’t constantly nag me about purchasing other services. I’m really liking it so far.
AWS Route53. Lets me keep all my domains in one place. If Cloudflare did .au I’d switch to that.
ClouDNS.net... I mean, it works.
AWS (Route53 specifically). Not common but my personal lab runs on AWS so it's nice to have a place for everything.
I've been using namesilo for years without issue
Feature rich and never had an issue with them. Prices are fine imho.
1984.hosting, because it's the only one I know that does not require you to run any propietary software.
a domain name and vps are two different things?
They have domains too, but very little choice. Still looking for proper domain registar in this style.
I’m new to this entire field, and only recently set up my NAS with DDNS and everything to get around my CGNAT. I decided to go with Cloudflare since it was a name I knew well, and reviews were good. It did feel a bit overwhelming at first, but it was pretty easy to figure out what I needed to do and what I didn’t, and I am pretty happy with it.
What all did you have to do in addition to DDNS to get around CGNAT? Are you using something like this? https://github.com/mochman/Bypass_CGNAT
Joker.com. I've been a happy customer for years and years.
I have only just recently started domain shopping. Before that I just used the registrar from my web hosting. I settled on trying NameCheap, although their records UI is a bit confusing sometimes.
OP also asked why your domain name provider is your favourite provider
This doesn't answer ops question just linking a website without explanation of why you like this domain name provider
Doteasy Web Hosting
Goddady. It's cheap they have my local currency.