Best Domain Providers

What is a Domain?

A domain name is a combination of letters and numbers that map to an IP address of a website using a DNS (Domain Name Server).

A perfect example would be a contact in your phone’s contact list. The individual’s name is seen as the domain, the phone number is the IP address, and the DNS is your phone which knows to call a specific phone number when you choose a contact.

Without a domain name, we would have to know the exact IP address of each website in order to be able to access it.

What is a TLD?

A TLD or a Top Level Domain is the section to the right of the last dot within your domain. This can be a .com, .org, .net and many more different options. Certain TLDs are only available to certain entities and not the general public, like .edu for schools, and, .gov or .us for government entities.

Most common TLDs are .com, .net, and .org. Over the years ICANN has approved and managed additional TLDs. As of June 2020, there are 1,514 TLDs available for domains.

How Much does a Domain Cost?

A domain is the least expensive part of owning a website. It is billed per year and can cost an average of $9.99 to $14.99. A lot of domain providers might provide discounts as well towards the first year. Some domains can also cost more than $14.99 due to their popularity or availability of them. Certain newer TLDs might also not be available with all providers.

What is a Premium Domain?

A premium domain is a domain that an individual or a business owns and has put up for sale. The owner of the domain decides on how much to sell that domain for either as a buy-now price or within an auction. The highest a domain was ever sold for was cars.com for $872 million.

What to consider when choosing a domain provider

Depending on your needs you might make different decisions when choosing the right domain provider. Here is a list of items we normally consider when making a decision by order of importance.

Domain TLD Availability

As we mentioned above not all domain providers might have the TLD you are looking for. Making sure which provider has the TLD will make you choose that provider automatically.

Domain Search Capabilities

Certain providers offer a basic search capability which is great if you know the domain you need and are not planning on bulk purchase. Others will have advanced search functionally to help you narrow down your decisions especially if the domain you want is not available. They will also provide the ability to do a bulk search and add a bulk amount to purchase instead of adding to the cart one by one.

Domain Provider Support

Advanced or beginner we look for support as a deciding factor as well. For a beginner having someone who can help you with DNS support, CNAME, TXT, and many more items are great. Even for some advanced users having a support team available 24/7 for unforeseen issues can be a lifesaver.

Bundled Services with Domain Purchase

If you plan on hosting your server, email, and other solutions, looking at a domain provider who offers bundle services can be helpful. In most instances, you will get a domain for free to use with your website.

Domain Price

This is the last thing we look at because the cost of a domain is so little that in most cases it really doesn’t outweigh our other needs from a domain provider. Domain pricing might only come into place if you are purchasing a large number of domains at once and the price difference adds up.