I want to get some domains for selfhosted stuff, but I’d like to use a registrar that I won’t regret doing business with later, both in terms of ethics and potential customer service stuff. Who do y’all like most?

  • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
    712·
    6 days ago

    Top answers from the last 39580202 times this was asked:

    • Namecheap
    • Porkbun
    • Gandi
    • Cloudflare
    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      25·
      6 days ago

      I was with Namecheap for years, and they’re totally fine. I am now with Cloudflare because they’re a bit cheaper and their API is well supported in various tools, and they also seem fine.

      • 3dmvr@lemm.eeEnglish
        10·
        6 days ago

        I use porkbun and you get cloudflare through them, not sure to what extent, porkbuns just cheaper, I like their ui, straightforward, everything you need on one screen.

      • TedZanzibar@feddit.ukEnglish
        7·
        6 days ago

        Exactly this. Also it annoys me that Namecheap tries to automatically “top up funds” over a month before renewals are due. I think they’ve always done it but it wound me up enough this year to move to Cloudflare.

        • keckbug@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          6 days ago

          Counterpoint, I quite like this. I’m terrible at keeping payment details up to date, and I’ve got long renewal periods on my domains. The early renewal attempt allows me to get an email that my payment is expired or revoked (due to a stolen card number or something) and I have a month to go correct it.

    • vfsh@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      11·
      6 days ago

      Another +1 for name cheap, been using em for a decade now. Their deals are stellar and renewal prices are on par with any other competitors usually

      • scarilog@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        6 days ago

        Transferred all my domains from nanecheap to CloudFlare and I’m saving like 1/3 of price on renewals.

  • ouch@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 days ago

    As a side question, are there other free DNS providers besides Cloudflare? Ones that don’t require you to register your domain there.

      • killeronthecorner@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 hour ago

        I can only speak from personal experience but for me they jacked up the price significantly after year one and then sent my domain straight to auction after I decided not to pay. I respect that there are reseller-focused providers out there but they aren’t for me.

        On the other hand, I’ve had nothing but quality service from namecheap for the best part of a decade.

    • kitnaht@lemmy.worldEnglish
      28·
      7 days ago

      Been using Namecheap for a decade or more now. Great company, no muss, no fuss, just works. The greatest thing is that they’re boring as fuck. That’s one of the best qualities to have in a domain registrar.

    • harsh3466@lemmy.mlEnglish
      13·
      6 days ago

      Also been using namecheap for years with no complaints. Boring and dependable.

  • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    251·
    6 days ago

    In case anyone was wondering:

    • namecheap: US
    • porkbun: US
    • INWX: Germany
    • OVH: French
    • onlydomains: NZ

    I personally have been with onlydomains for a decade or so. No complaints.

    • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.socialEnglish
      5·
      6 days ago

      I’ve domains from both DomainMonger and NameCheap. If it were trivial, I’d probably move my domains to NameCheap. The web UX is a little better; aside from that, I’ve never had issues with either, not heard anything particularly bad about either.

      But, yeah: +1 on the NameCheap suggestion.

      • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        2·
        6 days ago

        Does UX really matter?
        I’d rather decouple DNS and domain.
        Feels like (no proof, just gut feeling) services like Cloudflare have better security and integration than the respective registrars.

          • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            2·
            6 days ago

            While yes, that’s true, you can point the domain to have 3rd party DNS servers.
            For example Cloudflare.
            You could register VMs with them or with another registrar. Same with DNS. Do it with your choice of registrar or use whatever else you maybe actually want.

  • lol_idk@lemmy.mlEnglish
    12·
    6 days ago

    I switched to Porkbun from Namecheap recently because Porkbun is somewhat local.

    Porkbun is decent but cheaper if you have a dozen domains too

    • madame_gaymes@programming.devEnglish
      10·
      6 days ago

      This. NameCheap actually responds to abuse reports, as well. Turns out they actually think it’s bad for business to allow grifters and con artists to use their services, unlike other major registrars.

  • Wrongdoer4094@lemmy.worldEnglish
    121·
    6 days ago

    I’m using Cloudflare, because it’s quite convenient since I always end up using them as DNS server.

    • bigDottee@geekroom.techEnglish
      5·
      6 days ago

      Also use Cloudflare as new domain registrar because I use them as DNS as well. I can’t say that I’ve had any problems with them at all.

      • cantankerous_cashew@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        6 days ago

        Same, I also use Cloudflare dns, tunnels, and pages. Having these all in the same place makes it easy to deploy/keep track of everything

  • lemonuri@lemmy.mlEnglish
    7·
    6 days ago

    I’ve been with 1984.is for a couple of years now. I think my domains cost around 12 Euros a year each. Their web GUI works fine and I’ve never needed to contact their customer service, so I cannot comment on that.

    • Zelaf@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      4 days ago

      I’ve been with 1984.is for some time as well. They’re international domain is 1984.hosting. I’ve also had contact with their support and they’re friendly, knowledgeable and straight on point.

      I had to transfer my domain and they wanted the domain key. Not wanting to send that over insecure email asked if they have a GPG key and told me they do, sent me a link to their site to get it and a specific mail to send it to which I then was able to send over. The process of contacting them and getting everything set was very speedy and I felt in good hands.

  • 42yeah@lemm.eeEnglish
    7·
    6 days ago

    Namesilo is quite good - cheap & been using it for 5 years now (coming from namecheap)

    • go $fsck yourself@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      6 days ago

      I find their website so awful and painful to use. Everything is difficult to find and just takes longer to accomplish than nearly anywhere else. I bought one domain from them once and will never use them again.