Where should you get a domain for your website? These days, there are a lot of choices to pick a domain for your website. There are plenty of reviews on domains (their pros and cons, and recommendations on which one is the best). So since there are so many of them to find on the internet, I'm going to narrow this article down to two of the most popular choices for domains: GoDaddy vs. Namecheap. I find these great choices to choose from, but there are some differences between them. So I will do a brief review for each one (pros and cons, pricing), and conclude by recommending which one is better.
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GoDaddy
You may be familiar with GoDaddy from some of their advertisements on TV or the internet. Speaking of, I noticed GoDaddy ads are prominently featured during the Super Bowl each year, so that's one reason why many people are familiar with the domain company. Also, some of their ads feature celebrities to help promote their products; for example, people such as Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick being featured in GoDaddy ads gives them a boost in presenting themselves at a bigger level nationally and internationally. You can tell their name recognition is well known, and one of the largest, professional domain and web hosting companies.
As far as pricing goes, it's great during the first year you have your website because they offer really great discounts. GoDaddy offers plenty of discounts, promos, and coupons when you start out with your website. For instance, a domain usually costs $14.99/year, but you can get a discount for as much as $2.99 during the first year. If your someone who wants to get a website going and willing to transfer domains later, GoDaddy would be a good choice. As a matter of fact, GoDaddy is offering a package deal (domain, website builder, and email) starting at $0.99/month for the first year. Three products for one year sounds like a great deal!
However, there are a few downsides I've noticed when using GoDaddy. As far as customer experience, email and chat support is OK because there can be long wait times to get a response. I waited about almost two hours to get a chat session going regarding my concerns, and get email responses in about two-three business days (That's quite a long time!). But phone support is actually better, you may need to wait a bit but you will get a response in a timely manner. So I recommend calling a customer service representative rather than emailing or getting in a chat session. In addition, I noticed that GoDaddy gives out a ton of upsells to purchase along with your domain. If you're someone on a budget like me, upsells can be so annoying that you wish they could be on a separate page for those who want them. I know they want to make some extra revenue, but then again, it doesn't hurt for people to buy some additional products that may help their website or business services. No wonder why GoDaddy is a well known company that is successful in selling their products.
NAMECHEAP
Namecheap is another great place to get a domain name, and has plenty of great features like GoDaddy. Namecheap offers domains for as low as $7.13/year; however, Namecheap seems to be a better choice if you are plan on using your domain for long-term use. If you're looking for low price, cheaper domains, Namecheap offers the best choices if you plan to use your domains for a long time. Also, Namecheap does a very good job giving you the basics and technical stuff to owning a domain. They want you to have a general understanding of how to manage a domain smoothly and getting the essentials. I say this because Namecheap doesn't seem to put out a bunch of unnecessary upsells like GoDaddy tends to do.
But that doesn't mean Namecheap isn't going to give some upsells if they think it's not necessary. They have some features that'll cost some money later on, but offer it for free when starting out. For example, Namecheap has a private email hosting service for the first two months free, then you'll go on to a billing cycle afterwords. The private email hosting starts at $7.84/year (which is a great deal), along with more plans as well. Also, they have a onepage website builder for those who want their website built quickly (within minutes). This costs $31.70/year to keep your website maintained. Similar to GoDaddy, Namecheap is a good search engine suggestion when it comes to providing these features, and why they are at the top with GoDaddy in professional domain services.
In addition, Namecheap has a very good checkout process, whereas GoDaddy's checkout can be quite confusing. Namecheap shows you the price you would pay for the option you intend to purchase, while GoDaddy will give you other price options (which I think can be distracting to sway away from your first option). But sometimes, Namecheap tends to have trouble getting their auto-renewal option to work. So I would recommend doing a one-time payment, or definitely keep track of when your billing cycle will expire. As far as customer support, chat and email support are great, but phone support is something they need to work on. One time, I spent around three-four hours waiting to speak with a representative, and that is the last time I'll be calling them. But their chat and email support is great; for instance, I was able to get in chat session with a representative in ten minutes, and they answered my questions accurately and quickly. Basically what I said is the opposite of GoDaddy (phone support good, chat/email OK). I loved the chat support with Namecheap because that's exactly what we all need in customer service experience.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
MY RECOMMENDATION: NAMECHEAP
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