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Is Name Com a Good Domain Registrar?

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7.5 Out Of 10

Name.com, a Denver-based domain registrar, is accredited by ICANN. It also offers web hosting and email. Donuts Inc is the domain servicing company behind it. They specialize in providing premium and new top-level domains (TLDs) that go beyond what website owners had previously been limited to.

Name.com offers an all-in-one approach to getting online — they offer everything you need (domain name, hosting, website builder and security), and you can get up and running quickly.

How does Name.com compare to other domain registrars, you ask? Based on my experiences with Name.com so far, here’s my Name.com review.

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Name.com Pros

Complementary Products

Remember that a domain does not mean a website. It is not email or another service. It is simply your online address. It allows people to find your property by telling browsers/email/etc which direction to go to obtain whatever they need (website files and emails, images, data, etc).

Setup a website requires hosting.

Name.com provides an all-in-one solution with complementary products. Your domain and website builder can be combined with website hosting and email. All this from one platform.

Although I prefer to keep my domains and hosting separate for added control and reliability, many website owners prefer them to be bundled together for ease of use.

A sophisticated search

It’s simple to search for a domain using Name.com’s interface. Although the search results can be difficult to read (more later), the best thing about this domain registrar’s bulk search is what it offers.

Name.com offers a bulk search function that allows you to search for and register multiple domains at once. Filtering by TLD or TLD type allows you to quickly search for the TLDs that you are interested in. To filter the results only those that are relevant to your business will be displayed, simply add root domains/keywords into the search bar.

TLD Selection

ICANN is the internet’s governing organization. Website owners no longer have to be restricted to basic domains such as.com or.net and a few generic and country-designated top level domains.

You can now find unique TLDs for everything, from.kitchen and.academy to just about anything else. Now The issue is to make sure that your domain registrar holds all the TLDs that you wish to register.

Name.com offers a wide range of TLDs. This makes it easy to search for unique options that will suit your business (and multiple endings) for the same root. As of 2020, they have 521.

You can also get country-specific domains from them (not all US-based providers do), which makes it an excellent choice for international domain types.

Simple Transfer Process

Despite the ICANN process being a standard process for transferring domains, there are some registrars that can make it difficult to move your domain. Although I haven’t yet transferred a domain to Name.com, it seems quite simple. You can access your domain in your profile (so long as it has been active for at least 60 days, per ICANN regulations).

After you have unlocked your domain, you will use your transfer authorization code for the transfer process to your new registrar.

Price Match Guarantee

Domain registrars usually have a few pricing models they follow.

• Low upfront prices with high renewals
• High upfront cost with low renewals
• Plus, you get a higher renewal rate
• Purchase an initial low-cost purchase and continue to renew your membership for free or cheap
• Cheap + zero services
• Services that are expensive and many

Name.com is in the first bucket. They offer discounted upfront pricing on traditional domains, as well as more exclusive/premium TLDs that can be more costly. These domains then have to be renewed annually at a higher price. The price of a.com domain registration was $7.99 at the time this article was written.

This model has a pro: you can buy a domain at a bargain price and then transfer it to a platform that offers cheaper renewals (like Namecheap) to avoid paying high renewal rates.

However, if your goal is to grab a domain for a low price and then transfer it to avoid renewals, I recommend GoDaddy as a registrar. They tend to be less expensive.

Cons of Name.com

Domain Search / Purchasing

Although it is easy to search for a domain on Name.com, there are many things going on once you get to the search results.

It may not be overwhelming if you know what you are looking for. If you are new to domain registration, the sheer number of options, breakdowns of premium domains and sales can be overwhelming. It can be confusing.

It is also quite time-consuming to purchase a domain name. I had to go through several steps in order to buy one domain name. This included a text confirmation, which was great for security but also a hassle for convenience.

You can add a domain to your cart and the price will automatically increase as it adds security measures. When you click on your cart to view your items, you’ll be served upsells before actually seeing what’s in your cart. (more details below).

There aren’t any clear next steps after checking out. The only thing you can do is to look at their domain forwarding tools.

A platform that prides itself on being all-in-one could provide more support for people who don’t have the technical knowledge but want to use complimentary products.

Pricing

Name.com’s low upfront cost is a plus, but it also comes with a downside. Name.com’s renewal cost is much higher than other competitors, especially specialty TLDs. The domain will automatically renew unless the option is unselected during checkout. Bulk purchasing is not possible. You will need to contact the team to discuss pricing.

The domain price does not include WHOIS privacy/security features. ICANN requires personal information, including your full name and address as well as phone number and email. This information is available via WHOIS search and can be accessed by the public unless privacy and security add ons are enabled.

This may be included by some domain registrars in the domain price. Name.com automatically adds this to your domain registration. This adds $4.99 to the total cost of your domain. After you have added your domain, click in to see your cart emails and go through the upsells.

The $4.99 additional pricing allows you to return to the standard pricing for domains, particularly for.com domains. Let’s take, for example, Name.com vs. Namecheap.

On Name.com, architechtureandbeauty.com is on “sale” for $8.99. The domain is $13.98 after you add WHOIS privacy.

Namecheap sells the domain for $10.98. It brings the total to $11.16. This includes WHOIS privacy.

The same applies for specialty TLDs (like architectureandbeauty.com, which would cost you a total of $34.98 on Name.com vs. $26.06 on Namecheap).

Name.com may be attractive to you because of its savings. However, there are likely better prices elsewhere.

Upsells / Cross Sells

A domain registrar offering complementary products can be a great option for some website owners. While I prefer to keep domains and hosting separate, additional security features such as SSL certificates can be a great addition.

If your goal is to only buy a domain and maybe an SSL certificate, the upsells or cross-sells offered by Name.com can be irritating. It is impossible to view your cart items without seeing any upsells/cross-sells. You will need to go through this information before you can buy your domain.

Name.com is not as pushy as some other registrars. So far, I have not received any emails encouraging me to purchase other products such as hosting or website builders.

As I have said, it all depends on your goals, needs, and expertise. You may be willing to negotiate the cross-sells and upsells if you have complementary products or want the convenience of having all your services in one package. If you are looking to buy a domain quickly, however, there are better registrars (like Iwantmyname.com).

Support

Name.com has a pretty poor reputation for support. The complaints range from the availability of support to the level of it.

Anecdotes can be shared in both directions. It can be difficult to tell if the website owner is not clear or the support team is making mistakes. Let’s look at how you get connected when you need it.

You will be prompted first to troubleshoot the issue using Name.com’s Knowledge Base. This Knowledge Base is broken down into categories.

You’ll be presented with a list of articles to meet your needs.

If you don’t see your question in the articles you will find contact information at the bottom of the page. There you will find three options for support: email support or call (Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 6PM MT). Denver), or you can chat live every day between 10 and 5 PM MT in Denver

It can be a tedious process, especially if you have an urgent matter. There are some support gaps in other timezones, or if you have an urgent matter that falls outside of normal hours.

The support articles are good for those who know their way around domain management or the back-end system of your website. If you are new to domain registration, hosting, or setting up a site, you might want to look for a registrar that offers more support and coverage.

Next steps

Name.com is a good choice as a domain registrar. Unless you have a compelling reason to choose Name.com (such as a great deal on a TLD you want upfront at a low price), you should consider a domain registrar such as Namecheap.

Register a Domain from Name.com

Namecheap has affordable upfront pricing and cheaper renewals. They also offer complementary products for website owners who wish to keep everything in one place. Here’s my review of Namecheap domain registrar.