10 important facts to look for in a domain registrar

Every web site needs a domain name and it becomes identity of your organization. Domain registration business is growing fast with Godaddy on the top of the list. But sometimes you may run into serious problems or get surprised in the offering and end result. Technology professionals need a good, dependable registrar that offers the tools, services, and features required to properly research and resolve these issues. There may be various issues like complex DNS issues, dreaded SMTP errors, or confusing IP address troubles etc. which may give you nightmares. Following is a list of 10 important facts which everyone should look for in a domain registrar before purchasing

1: Validity

Always check if your domain registrar is an ICANN accredited, if not move to other registrar regardless of the prices or their offerings. An ICANN-accredited registrar can help and ensure that your organization receives professional, stable, reliable service from a reputable provider.

2: Knowledgeable technical support

There are times when you need support for transferring domains, delegating administrative permissions, or just renewing existing services. You should know that the customer support is supportive enough and capable enough (technically) to help you out. Almost all operate toll-free telephone numbers. That’s to be expected. You may review a domain registrar’s support policies. Some offer live technical chat as well as live telephone support.

3: Intelligent DNS configuration utilities

The frustration that comes with trying to make sense of unintuitive and/or confusing DNS configuration tools can quickly prove overwhelming, particularly when e-mail service or Web site access is down. Even if you have to test a domain registrar’s DNS tools using a practice domain you create only for testing purposes, getting familiar with a registrar’s DNS configuration tools and their usage before administering a live site or production e-mail can prove invaluable. Avoid selecting a registrar whose DNS tools prove difficult to access or understand or that are error-ridden.

4: Delegation tools

Often, organizations prefer to implement a separation of powers when managing domains. For example, senior staff might be the only ones able to transfer a domain, whereas network administrators might need permissions to occasionally update DNS records.

In such cases, delegation authority is required, in which specific permissions can be delegated to respective authorized users. If your organization is likely to find itself in such need, be sure to confirm the domain registrar selected supports such division of responsibilities.

5: SSL Certificates

You might have seen that for all the four services you recieve four different bills i.e.(domain registration, e-mail hosting, Web hosting, and SSL certificate) this becomes confusing, inefficient and costly. Choose a domain registrar that can collect all these services within a single pricing package. Doing so simplifies recordkeeping and administration and lowers costs.

6: Web hosting

Increasingly, many organizations are choosing not to invite port 80 public Internet traffic inside their corporate servers. File servers dedicated to user authentication and file and print sharing, while usually capable of hosting Web sites, are often configured specifically not to allow public Web traffic. Foregoing Web site hosting on an organization’s own local server helps secure the box and protect it from countless exploits.

However, most organizations require a Web presence. Just as with e-mail hosting, companies should look for a domain registrar that also offers competitive Web hosting services. For reasonable fees, organizations can keep such Web-related traffic off their main production servers by taking advantage of registrar Web-hosting packages instead.

7: E-mail hosting

Small organizations don’t want the hassle of managing and maitaining their own servers not they are willing to manage Exchange or SendMail. It’s comfortably easier that domain registrar should maintain e-mail services. Thus, organizations that don’t want to maintain e-mail server administration should look for a domain registrar that can wrap those services within a single, integrated package.

8: Site-building tools

If you aren’t a big organization then you may not need expensive web design firms to develop and maintain your small web site. In order to launch professional, informational Web sites that improve communications with clients and suppliers you can use registrar-provided tools to quickly launch a simple but professional-looking Web site.

9: Easily navigable Web site

Look for a domain registrar whose Web site is well organized. Look for registrars that have carefully designed their Web sites to group relevant tools by topic. Browse a potential registrar’s site to confirm it is easily navigable. Just because a domain registrar has purchased full-page advertisements in an electronics or tech magazine doesn’t mean its services or domain management tools are intuitive or readily accessible.

10: Competitive pricing

This is a very good time to consumer as the competition between domain registrars is fierce. Be sure to review a domain provider’s pricing policies before committing. Pay special attention to potentially hidden fees, such as for domain forwarding or e-mail services. While price shouldn’t be the chief priority, it’s become a buyer’s market, certainly.

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