There is no perfect registrar – A look at Namecheap and GoDaddy
After reading through the 50 different sections of the GoDaddy Domain Name Registration Agreement and 21 sections of the Namecheap Registration Agreement, it’s clear there is no such thing as the perfect registrar.
If someone tells you otherwise, they are trying to sell you something.
The focus.
While, at first glance, GoDaddy’s contract looks intimidating, it’s really not that bad (ok, it is bad, but not impenetrable). A good chunk of the legalese has to do with protecting GoDaddy from everything including their own shadow. And, there are a lot of provisions for the different domain extensions (.biz, .eu, .name, .cn, etc.).
The Namecheap contract has 21 different sections, but it basically covers the same ground as GoDaddy, as far as I can tell. One big part is the coverage of their WhoisGuard domain privacy feature. From what I understand, GoDaddy applied for a patent for hiding WHOIS information. So, Namecheap probably is trying to cover themselves in case GoDaddy can successfully enforce this.
Differences between Namecheap and GoDaddy.
There are a couple of differences between the two agreements which stuck out to me. The first relates to lapse or unrenewed domain names. Both will register the domain name when you fail to renew and hold it for a period of time (a term of 30 days or so). After this period, it becomes available to everyone.
To retrieve the domain name during this extension period, you have to pay GoDaddy $80!!! But, it gets worse with Namecheap. They want $200!!! As much as I hated GoDaddy for this, they actually aren’t too bad.
The second thing I noticed was Namecheap will bill you 30 days in advance, without notice, when renewing a domain. By default, everything auto-renews. To me, this is a sleazy tactic. They think they are entitled to your money which is why they won’t even tell you when they are going to take it.
From their terms, I do not see that GoDaddy does this. It appears they bill you when the service is over and not before. But, again, auto-renew is set by default for domains and hosting.
SPAM.
If you are using a service that can be remotely connected to SPAM, GoDaddy is going to nail you hard. There are numerous places in their agreement where they mention SPAM and the consequences of being associated with it. GoDaddy mentions SPAM 4 times while Namecheap only mentions it once (1).
Tech Support.
Let me say this, I hate that GoDaddy doesn’t have a toll free number, but at least they have a number. Namecheap makes it almost impossible to contact them. So, if you have any trouble with your domains, you are going to have to use email or their new support website. When you can’t speak to a live person for your domain or hosting, it really cheapens the entire experience.
PRICE.
GoDaddy is okay when it comes to domain prices, and Namecheap is better. When you add privacy services, Namecheap is the superior choice. However, if you add GoDaddy web hosting, things even out again.
Personally, I use Namecheap for the registrar of some of the domains I host at GoDaddy. While GoDaddy domains are more expensive, they do have coupons to bring the cost down. But, Namecheap has coupons, too, which usually keeps the price lower.
To be honest, I don’t think price should be the sole reason to use a registrar. No matter how cheap the price, you never want to have all (let alone most) of your domains in one place. If one of these guys does something crazy, you don’t want all your web properties to go down with them.
Once it’s all said and done.
Namecheap and GoDaddy have intimidating legal agreements with gotchas you may want to know. Basically, there is nothing in these agreements to worry about if you are just trying to get a domain name.
The big WARNING for both of these guys is their desire to lock you into their services with auto-renew features. The other problem is what happens when you do not renew but later want to recover the domain. In both these cases, they can cost you a lot of money. GoDaddy seems to be a LOT better than Namecheap in this case. BUT, Namecheap has lower overall prices for the domain and privacy services. Then again, GoDaddy has a phone number.
There is no simple or best choice, which is why I use both!
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Comments
My opinion is they are doing exactly what they say you can not do — cybersquatting.
The only reason they are holding the domain is to extract more money from the original registrant.
To me, they appear to be hypocrites.
[...] “expired” status. For a short period of days, sometimes weeks (depending on the registrar), the domain sits in limbo. Often, this is called a grace period where all services are suspended. However, the [...]
[...] taken domains that were registered and sold them a month or two later for as much as $1700. That was back in the [...]
It amazes me that you think there’s a problem with charging for EXPIRED domain names. When you purchase a domain, you have a choice in registration, for .com’s 1-10 years. In your account, and on the whois, it will clearly state when the expiration date is. GoDaddy will email you starting 90 DAYS prior to the expiration. If you don’t renew, why shouldn’t you pay? Try not paying your mortgage or car payment for a month or two? Tell them, oops I forgot. I changed my email and address and forgot to tell you. Think they will say, well in that case, forget the late fees?
Also, when talking about customer service, don’t forget GoDaddy is there 24/7 365 (and leap days too) to help people. Plus they have fantastic information on http://help.godaddy.com.