Register a Domain

Where to go to register a domain

There are so many places to register a domain name, that it can get confusing. I've used probably 10 different "domain name registrars" for registering domain names.
 
The most amazing thing is that the pricing is all over the map. Everyone now knows about GoDaddy, which is an alright place to go. They're fairly cheap - currently $7.95 per year for a ".com" domain name.
 
But there is one even better called 1&1.
They're currently $5.99 per year for any domain name with a ".com", ".net", ".org", ".info", ".us", or ".name" extension.
And even if GoDaddy had the same price, I'd still choose 1&1.
 
For one, they include free "private domain registration", which means that spammers or scammers can't look you up and start sending you email solicitations. Wherever you get your domain, I'd say you pretty much have to get private domain registration. It tends to cost around $5 per year at other places to get that, but 1&1 includes it.
 
The other thing I like is that they don't try to "upsell" you on a lot of stuff. If you go through GoDaddy then you go through a lot of screens that try to sell you upgrades and add-ons. Of course you can skip it all, but I think it's really annoying myself - but then again I'm sure that's how they really make their money.
 
Though I shouldn't be talking so badly about GoDaddy, since they do have good prices and good service. They're in 3rd place in my book (2nd place is namecheap.com).

What's really bad are the sites that try to sell domain names for $15 and more per year and say those are "unbeatable prices". Especially if you get hosting and the hosting company tries to sell you a domain name. They're counting on you to go through them for the convenience.
In fact I'd say a general rule of thumb is to not get your hosting and domain name at the same place.