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Jolt21 · Sep 12, 2007, 09:52 AM

Hey everyone

I'm trying to start a website, but I am just looking to register the domain name right now and and going to hire a professional to make and maintain the website. All of the domain registration sites I am running into bring up hosting on their servers, but I don't want to do that. I want to be able to use a different host.

Can i still register with most of these sites and used a different Web Hosting company all together? Is there any site that will just let me register the domain name and that is it?

Dork. · Sep 12, 2007, 10:17 AM

Yes, this is commonly done. In fact, I consider it ideal to have your domain registered with a different company than your hosting, because then if you're dissatisfied with the service of one of the companies and want to switch, it doesn't affect the other service. (Switching registrars is a pain in the butt.) Most (if not all) of the registrars will let you do this, you may just have to dig a little because sicne they want to sell you both services, they make those buttons big and shiny so you want to push them.

All you have to do is make sure that your DNS entry is pointing to the right place once you go live.

I use godaddy.com for my domains because they're cheap. I'm sure other registrars are just as good.

Jolt21 · Sep 12, 2007, 10:57 AM

Ok, i was gonna use godaddy.com, but everywhere i turned i saw hosting bundles. was just checking to make sure. now I must find a way not to have the hosting bundle. Thanks!

olePigeon · Sep 12, 2007, 11:27 AM

www.GKG.net

The absolute BEST registrar on the internet, hands down. Top notch technical and customer support. Best in the biz. They're also relatively cheap.

They have every single domain tool available online for you to configure your domain, including registering and managing DNSs for your own servers.

I recommend them to everyone for domain registration.

besson3c · Sep 12, 2007, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

GKG | Making Domain Registration Work For You

The absolute BEST registrar on the internet, hands down. Top notch technical and customer support. Best in the biz. They're also relatively cheap.

They have every single domain tool available online for you to configure your domain, including registering and managing DNSs for your own servers.

I recommend them to everyone for domain registration.

Not to mock what you have written here, but what makes a good registrar to you? All of my sites I've maintained on a variety of registrars have been quite easy to modify DNS entries. Beyond this and renewals, the level of service actually provided is so minimal that I don't really have a favorite. Have you had horror stories?

Faust · Sep 12, 2007, 12:02 PM

Namecheap.com is another registrar you could try. They're good. When I want a domain separate from my hosting account, I usually do it there.

Big Mac · Sep 12, 2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Have you had horror stories?

You were asking someone else, but yeah, there are registrar horror stories out there. Don't ever, ever, ever go with NetSol.

Having a registrar separate from your host isn't just popular, it's actually recommended by experts, Jolt21. And it makes sense for a number of reasons. Really, the only reason not to do it is the tiny bit of extra convenience you gain from having one provider.

As for registrars, for my essential domain names I go with Godaddy (I'm a fan, some aren't), and for the others I use 1and1, which surprisingly offers really good web serving as well as nearly the cheapest domain names. To my knowledge you really can't get that much cheaper than 1and1 unless you want to trust you domain name to some of the shadier looking registrars.

besson3c · Sep 12, 2007, 12:05 PM

The one thing I will offer in terms of advice is not to be too sucked in by that initial sticker price... One of the last registrars I was with charged around or under $10,00 for the first year, and then jacked it up to $16 or $18 for subsequent years. I ended up transferring this domain elsewhere. I'm more interested in a consistently low payment than shopping around like some people do with finding the lowest interest rates on credit cards.

besson3c · Sep 12, 2007, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

You were asking someone else, but yeah, there are registrar horror stories out there. Don't ever, ever, ever go with NetSol.

I do remember having problems transferring from NetSol, but that was so long ago I forget the details

I guess if you just want to configure your domain and forget about it, being an aggressive shopper isn't that vital. I would recommend just finding something fairly reasonable - say consistent payments of $12-14/year from a registrar that seems to have a decent website/registration web application. To me, shopping around to save a buck or two isn't worth it, but YMMV.

Big Mac · 12:32 PM

If you're thinking of picking a registrar that costs more than $10.00 a year, you should stop immediately because you're overpaying - godaddy is $9.95, and there's nothing better out there in terms of domain name service (IMO). Plus, if you have a number of domains, you get better rates.

Also, Jolt, if you have a good domain name idea that's currently unregistered, be sure to snap up its sister top level domain names (foo.com, foo.org, foo.org), and consider getting some variants of the name as well. Domain names are so cheap it's worth it - they really are the Internet's equivalent of real estate.

olePigeon · Sep 12, 2007, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Not to mock what you have written here, but what makes a good registrar to you? All of my sites I've maintained on a variety of registrars have been quite easy to modify DNS entries. Beyond this and renewals, the level of service actually provided is so minimal that I don't really have a favorite. Have you had horror stories?

Many places are about the same when it comes to the services they offer. It's the customer service that I look at and how easy the DNS tools are. GKG is second to none for me. I've gone with NetworkSolutions (wouldn't wish them on anyone) and Register.com. Both places you're on hold for 30 minutes before you get to talk to anyone. NetworkSolutions wouldn't even allow you to modify or register a DNS without submitting some sort of form plus a "setup fee."

GKG was the first registrar that I had experience with that I didn't have to wait on the phone to talk to anyone (it was nearly instant), they answer their emails within minutes, and their DNS registration form and management tools are really easy to use (and free.)

They also send you 60 day, 30 day, 15 day, 7 day, 3 day, and 1 day notice if your domain is about to expire (and you can turn off these notices if you don't want to be notified.) Also, if you have multiple domains like I do, you can easily manage all your domains at once.

If anything I recommend them because I've had a great exprience with them.

Big Mac · Sep 12, 2007, 01:44 PM

It's always good to have competition, whether we're talking registrars, servers, software, hardware. The free market is a great thing.

besson3c · Sep 12, 2007, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

It's always good to have competition, whether we're talking registrars, servers, software, hardware. The free market is a great thing.

Indeed, which is why it's frustrating that so many tech companies engage in the standard practice of concealed lock-in, but that's a topic for another thread.