Hello all,

I need a registrar with the following:
- Whois where I am owner of the domain (not the thing where they are)
- 24/7 support that's great, reliable and knowledgeable
- ICANN registrar
- Secure
- Confidential
- Will allow me to have a customisable page where I can just upload my own index.html and possibly a CSS file.
- No major disasters
- Pop (even better would be IMAP email), if not, would let me forward to another address.

Now, I've been looking around and I think I'm right in believing that it's best to avoid a big host like Godaddy.

Netsol looks OK but I can't justify the price.
Is it true that it's best to avoid having the host and domain registrar separate? If yes, why?
I've seen Dynadot, but apparently there was a major security issue a while ago, also they don't have 24/7 support.
Moniker's site looks terrible, so that doesn't fill me with confidence.
Namecheap seems OK, but as I want fairly serious domains, namecheap doesn't sound professional if someone was to WHOIS...

I'm sure there are tons of registrars out there that I haven't even considered.

Also, being based in Europe, would I be better off getting a registrar here, as US ones may not have the same privacy? Can anyone advise a UK (or even Euro if they speak English) based registrar?

Please advise,

Thanks,

mr_netcat

Try http://www.123-reg.co.uk for a UK-based registrar.

Rob.

Moniker fulfills those requirements best, imho. But I agree their CP is a tad on the clunky side.

Thanks for the replies.

Now, 123-reg looks to be in the same league as Godaddy with trying to sell you a load of stuff, an overcrowded site and quite expensive!

I can't see where Moniker offers all I ask for, as the extra services seem to cost more.

Regarding Whois, I've reread my post and what I meant to say was that I wanted to hide my info, but still be the owner of the domain.

mr_netcat

What extra services cost more? If it's only the privacy. That's only an extra $1. Very reasonable price compared to everyone else. What else costs more? If it's the hosting you want for free then I'd say it's a gimmick and you should get a real (or free) hosting account. Anyone offering free hosting will not give you everything else on you list. Even half of them.

ResellerClub/Directi. I have been using them for an year now. I have used many registrars but they are the best out of all.

Wonderful panels, fast and functional everything, never ever faced a single problem with them.

i just got 2 domains from moniker and gkg.net

i got 2 .net domains from moniker because they were cheaper, and took 2 .com domains from gkg.net. i can say that i actually prefer gkg CP compared to moniker. moniker's cp is quite messy.

Thanks for the replies.

Dynadot doesn't look bad, but I can't find out a lot about them, I can't find if they offer 24/7 customer service and they seem to have had a major security problem.
As I'm not an expert in this, I'd appreciate some advice on whether they are reliable.

Resellerclub: Am I wrong or is it only for resellers? I'm a private customer who wants to buy one domain name.

Thanks for any advice,

mr_netcat

DynaDot are an OK registrar. Afaik support is by their forum, so I doubt if it's 24/7. What is their major security problem? For 1 domain I'd still recommend using Moniker because of your long shopping list of requirements, which they mostly fulfill (and nobody else does). You'll just have to get used to their cp. Besides, you won't need it much after you've initially got it set up.

I know the name is a bit offensive to some... however, for just one domain, I think you will be hardpressed to find a more "cost-effective" solution than www.NameCheap.com

Richard is constantly on the board here and he does his best to respond to customer situations in a timely manner.

No registrar is perfect... but business always seems to be a balancing act between paying way too much for ridiculous service promises (which you often never need or get) and paying too little for service that simply doesn't exist (a.k.a. - RegisterFly).

NameCheap is a company with REAL people trying their best, consistently, to make their customers happy. That's pretty good for $8.88!

I like NameCheap too 4solutions. Very good in fact. But if you read mr_netcat's long list of requirements, I think Moniker would be a better solution. I agree Namecheap's control panel is way better than Moniker's. But you know anybody can get used to any control panel if it's only 1 domain.

I like NameCheap too 4solutions. Very good in fact. But if you read mr_netcat's long list of requirements, I think Moniker would be a better solution. I agree Namecheap's control panel is way better than Moniker's. But you know anybody can get used to any control panel if it's only 1 domain.Then, I guess I have to defer to you, stu2.

I've never had the opportunity to do business with Moniker, so I really can't give a comparison of the two.

I just know, that I have always been happy with the value that NameCheap has given me. They seem to get the job done efficiently and for a good price...

;)

NameCheap, GoDaddy....

Note that the OP is looking for an ICANN registrar not a reseller. Although Namecheap is better than many registrars it is still 'just' a reseller.

DomainSite.com

Thanks for the replies guys. :stickout:
I'm still not any closer however...

I'd use namecheap, but as I require WHOIS privacy, I do not find the name 'namecheap' very professional if someone was to check the site's details.
I know it sounds stupid, but it concerns me.
Could someone give me an example of what a WHOIS protected domain with namecheap looks like?

There must be my perfect domain registrar out there...

mr_netcat

I keep telling you who fits your requirements best but you just don't want to listen.

I wouldnt recommend 123-reg... support has gone down hill in recent years to a point where I never got a response for some of my issues.

I use startlogic.com for my domain and hosting needs. Their online support is awesome. You'll get an answer within 15 minutes. Their phone support isn't the best.

Basically I ordered 200GB and 2000GB bandwidth for 5.95 a month but you have to pre-pay two years so the price is around $170.00. With that price, they include a free two year domain registration for you.

I was kind of scared pre paying two years because I wasn't sure if everything was going to go smoothly however I have no regrets right now.

I'd use namecheap, but as I require WHOIS privacy, I do not find the name 'namecheap' very professional if someone was to check the site's details.

Then namecheap is the one you want to use.
Namecheap gives out whois privacy with every new domain and transfer. Their privacy guard sets things up just fine and doesn't even show that it's them. In fact, all public information shows as user@whoisguard.com.

As well, all information will show enom as the register, not namecheap (through queries).

As far as professional, namecheap is QUITE so. I've yet to run into a more professional team of individuals in this business. Sure there are issues, but they're right here to help out (even on the forums) if it needs to be done. VERY few individuals can say that.