nameDomain.com: Is it Any Good? (2023 Features, Cons, & Cost)
Do you want to buy a domain or hosting plan? Wondering if Domain.com is a reliable platform?
Domain.com is actually one of the oldest web hosting solutions that was founded way back in 1998. It hosts 1.2+ million websites all over the world.
But does oldest mean the best?
We’ve tried and tested what Domain.com has to offer to help you make the right decision. In this guide, we’ll review Domain.com’s features and pricing, and see how it fares against the competition.
Since this is an extensive review, here’s a table of contents to help you navigate the post. Feel free to skip ahead to the section that interest you the most:
- What is Domain.com?
- What Does Domain.com Offer?
- Customer Support and Documentation
- How Does Domain.com Stack Up Against the Competition?
- Domain.com Cons
- Domain.com Pricing: Is It Worth It?
What is Domain.com?
Domain.com is one of largest domain registrars and web hosting solutions in the market. You can register all top-level domain name extensions (TLDs) and even dozens of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).
Domain.com includes private and bulk registration, easy transfers, privacy protection, DNS management, and free WHOIS lookup.
Their hosting solutions are best suited for individuals, and small to medium-sized businesses. And when you sign up for a hosting plan, you’ll get a free domain and SSL certificate.
Domain.com also offer a complete suite of website tools and services. For instance, they offer a website builder to create your website. You can also set up business emails and avail other marketing services as well.
That’s just a brief of what this platform has to offer. Let’s take a look at it’s features in detail.
What Does Domain.com Offer?
To give you a fair and thorough review of the Domain.com platform, we took a look at all the aspects that matter when you want to get buy a domain and build a website. Here’s what we factored in:
- Ease of Use – Ideally, you want a platform that makes it easy to find, buy, and use their services, even if you have no prior experience.
- Security – Hackers are always on the prowl looking for sites they can break into and damage. A good web host will provide a robust infrastructure and plenty of security measures you can take to protect your domain and website.
- Website Services – When you set up a website, you’ll need a page builder, business email, and other services to help you along the way.
- Customer Support – Having reliable customer support that’s available 24/7 is important because there will come a time when you need help. The longer you have to wait, the worse things can get for your website.
- Affordability – We want you to be able to find affordable plans whether you’re just starting out, are a small business, or even a large organization.
Keeping these factors in mind, we’ve reviewed all that Domain.com has to offer.
Here’s a list of what we’ll be covering with quick links so you can jump ahead if you want.
1. Domain Name
If you’re looking to buy and register a domain name, Domain.com is one of the best registrars. It’s accredited by ICANN, the official governing authority over domain registrars and the internet.
On the Domain.com website, there’s a domain search engine to check the availability of domain names. And if the desired name is taken, it gives you name suggestions that are close to the one you chose.
Once you’ve picked your domain name, you can add it to your cart and checkout with ease.
You can get a .com domain starting at $9.99 and a .net domain starting at $12.99. If you buy a hosting plan, Domain.com will throw in a free domain name.
As a domain registrar, here’s what the platform has to offer:
- Premium domains – Identify and register premium domain names that are short and brandable.
These domains are easy to remember and can also attract more site traffic.
- New Domain Extensions – Aside from TLDs like .com and .net, you can find domains with over 300 new extensions.
This means you won’t be limited to picking from available .com and .net TLDs. You’ll have a much wider range to pick a good domain name.
- Domain transfers – If you own a domain name and want to transfer it to Domain.com, there’s a seamless migration process.
It can take up to 5-7 days to transfer your domain name over to Domain.com. That said, the transfer process is automated so your site won’t face any downtime while you migrate over.
Never transferred a domain before? No worries, Domain.com’s support team will guide you through the process.
- WHOIS Lookup – If you have your eye on a domain name that’s already taken, you can use the WHOIS Lookup tool to check who owns the domain.
The WHOIS database will show you the owner’s contact information, domain registration and expiry date. You can either get in touch with them to make an offer. Or you could wait to see if they don’t renew the domain, it will go back on the market and you can buy it then.
If you’re unable to find the domain name you want, you might want to try our Domain Name Generator. It will help you brainstorm ideas to find brandable domain names.
2. Website Hosting
Domain.com offers a solid hosting setup. In fact, it’s one of the most stable and secure platforms to host your website.
Domain.com has 99.9% uptime on all hosting plans. This means it’s very rare that your site will be unavailable or inaccessible by visitors due to an issue with your web host.
They also have the most affordable pricing plans for web hosting. Here’s a breakdown of the three hosting plans Domain.com has to offer:
- Web Hosting Plans
Domain.com’s web hosting plans are hosted on shared servers. This means it’s low cost and budget-friendly but your website will share the same server with other websites.
These web hosting plans cater to small and medium-sized businesses as well as individual bloggers, startups, and entrepreneurs. The three levels of web hosting plans include:
- Basic – Host 1 website, create 10 databases and add 5 FTP logins (that will grant users access the backend of your website). Plans start at $3.75 per month.
- Deluxe – Host unlimited websites, create 25 databases, and add 25 FTP logins. Plans start at $6.75 per month.
- Ultra – Host unlimited websites, create unlimited databases, and add unlimited FTP logins. Plans start at $13.75 per month.
The great thing about Domain.com’s web hosting plans is that they are scalable so you can grow your website without worrying about hosting limits.
The plans also include unlimited storage, unlimited subdomains, and a free SSL certificate.
Added to that, Domain.com offers a free domain name for one year with every web hosting plan. All you have to do is use the coupon code DOMFREE at checkout to get this offer.
- WordPress Hosting
This web hosting plan is designed specifically for WordPress sites. You’ll get access to pre-installed themes and plugins to optimize your site along with a customized control panel.
You can choose from two tiers:
- WP Starter – Unlimited storage and bandwidth starting at $3.75 per month.
- WP Essential – Includes professional site security, malware removal, and 24/7 support. Plans start at $6.95 per month.
Here too, Domain.com offers a free domain name for one year with every WordPress hosting plan. You’ll need to use the coupon code DOMFREE at checkout to get this offer.
- WP Live Hosting
Domain.com offers unique hosting plans called WP Live where WordPress experts will help you configure and build your site.
You’ll get email, chat, and phone support with trusted developers who will guide you in designing and optimizing your website the right way.
They also help you overcome hurdles, provide site traffic insights, and get started with social media marketing.
Depending on your needs, Domain.com offers 3 plan levels:
- WP Live Lite – Get design guidance, on-demand ticket support, and website backup assistance. Plans start at $29 per month.
- WP Live – Includes on-demand chat support and starts at $49 per month.
- WP Live Pro – Get assistance in landing page, mobile, and content optimization. You also get on-demand phone support. Plans start at $149 per month.
- Create any site you need from a simple blog to full-fledged eCommerce store
- Get free access to image library
- Easily customize website and layouts
- Built-in forms to capture leads and email subscribers
- Manage all your contacts from a single database
- Add SEO measures to get your site to rank on search engines
- Easily add social media icons
- Integrate your existing Facebook store
- SSL certificates – Website’s function by sending data between browsers and servers. SSL encrypts your site’s data while it’s in transit and keeps it safe from hackers.
When you use SSL, it adds a padlock to the address bar against your website’s name. This improves customer confidence and trust in your site.
If you don’t have an SSL certificate installed, Google will mark your site as ‘not secure’.
Now, there are different kinds of SSL certificates. Domain.com offers free SSL on all web hosting plans which provides basic data encryption.
If you want premium SSL certificates to protect eCommerce payments and multiple subdomains, you can buy them at affordable rates starting as low as $3 per month.
- Domain Privacy and Protection – When you register a domain, you need to add your personal information like a home address and contact number. These details are made be publicly available in the ‘WHOIS’ database.
Learn more about why this happens here: What is WHOIS and How Does it Work?
While there are plenty of legit reasons why your details are made public, it can lead to spam emails, phone calls, and other risks.
Domain.com helps you hide your information by replacing it with their company info.
Your details will be secure and you won’t have to worry about risks to your personal and professional life.
- SiteLock Security – Domain.com has partnered with SiteLock, one of the best security solutions in the market. You can choose to use this service to secure your website against malware and other vulnerabilities.
Sitelock puts up a web application firewall to block any bad bots from attacking your site. You’ll also get instant notifications in your control panel and email to alert you of suspicious activity or anything that doesn’t look right.
And in case your site gets infected, it will automatically detect and remove any malware.
Now, when your site gets infected, if search engines like Google detect it, they blacklist your site from their platform because you pose a threat to their users.
SiteLock will monitor your site and alert you if you are blacklisted so that you can take action immedaitely.
With SiteLock security, you’ll have a good security system to protect your site.
- All in One Solution – Domain.com has everything you need to set up and run a website. This includes domains, web hosting, SSL certificate, and site security all on a single platform. You can even get email and marketing services making website management easier.
- Affordable – Domain.com’s plans are affordable and you can get good deals with coupon codes. They make it possible for anyone to get their business online with budget-friendly plans. You also get the choose services a la carte or opt for a bundled deal.
- Beginner-friendly and User-friendly – Domain.com is by far the easiest platform for beginners to set up a website. Anyone can create a stunning professional-looking site in no time. Its built-in AI technology makes it easy to get started. And with tons of customization options, you don’t have to worry about ending up with a stock website.
- High Performance and Speed – Domain.com passes all speed and performance tests. The platform has tons of good reviews online about its speed. So it’s very rare that your site will face any downtime. Plus, you can trust that your site will load fast for visitors.
- Focus on Essentials – Most web hosts like GoDaddy are very pushy with selling other products when you’re checking out. We noticed that Domain.com doesn’t do this. They don’t try to sell you unnecessary products and addons that you simply don’t need. They pay attention to what really matters and make sure you have exactly what you need to setup, manage, and grow your website.
- Customer Support – Domain.com has a reliable support team that’s available through multiple channels. They are ever-ready to help you with just about anything you need.
- Web Hosting – You can get started for as low at $3.75 per month (or $45 for the year).
- Domain name – Domain names start as low as $2.99. You can also get a free domain name with your web hosting plan.
- Website builder – You can access the intuitive builder at just $1.99 for a month.
- Privacy and Protection – If you choose to hide your domain details, you can opt for domain privacy at $8.99 per year. You’ll also get a free SSL certificate.
- 19 Powerful Domain Name Generators for the Perfect Website Name
- 8 Best Domain Name Registrars (Compared)
- How to Start a Small Business Website (Step by Step)
With so many options from Domain.com, you can definitely find a plan that perfectly suits your needs.
3. Website Builder
If you want an easy way to create your website, Domain.com has a really cool website builder. You can get access to it starting at just $1.99 per month.
The builder uses AI technology which makes it incredibly simple to design a website. To get started, it asks you a couple of questions and tries to find a layout, images, and initial content for your site that match your preferences.
This speeds up the process of creating a website and you get a solid foundation to build on.
Inside the builder, there’s built-in design protection. This means you can make changes to the text, images, colors, and other styles. But the builder locks in the ratios and dimensions so your site looks great on all devices.
Here’s what we love about Domain.com’s website builder:
Domain.com even lets you set up full-fledged eCommerce stores with pretty much everything you need to sell online.
You can list both physical and digital products. You’ll also be able to coupons and discounts to boost sales and revenue.
The eCommerce builder costs $12.99 per month which is quite a steal.
You’ll get secure online payment options, integrated shipping, order and tax management, and inventory tracking.
You can even send out transactional emails to visitors for order confirmation and status updates.
And if you’re one who wants to hand over the reins, Domain.com offers web design and marketing services. Their experts will step in to build a custom site with a strategic marketing plan.
4. Business Email
Want an email address that matches your domain name? Domain.com lets you set up your business email with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
You’ll get an email that looks like [email protected] but with your own domain name.
To get a business email through Domain.com, you’ll need to sign up for an email plan. Google Workspace starts at $3.99 per month while Microsoft 365 starts at $2.99 per month.
5. Security
The virtual world is riddled with security threats on your website, server, and even your domain name. So we’re glad to see that Domain.com prioritizes security.
Now you may be thinking that hackers won’t prey on beginner and small sites. But that’s far from reality.
Hackers prefer to target brand new and small sites because they lack security measures and are easier to break into. Once they hack your site, they can misuse it for malicious purposes that will ruin your business and damage your brand.
So right from the start, you need to protect your website. Here’s how Domain.com does that for you:
Customer Support and Documentation
Right off the bat, what you need to know is that when you’re buying a domain, setting up, and managing a site, more often than not, you will need more information or you may run into problems.
There are so many things that can go wrong like human error, technical difficulties, server errors, and hackers, to name a few.
Without a doubt, you need a reliable support team that will help you solve your problem quickly.
So does Domain.com meet our high expectations with customer support?
Thankfully, it does! Domain.com has one of the best support teams and they’re really friendly and helpful.
They are available around the clock to help you resolve queries quickly.
You can access customer support through a ticket system, phone, chat, and email. This will, of course, depend on the plan or service you’ve selected.
Domain.com also has a helpful blog and YouTube channel that are both filled with resources to learn more about website building.
Plus, there’s an extensive knowledge base where you can find solutions on your own.
How Does Domain.com Stack Up Against the Competition?
To make this review completely fair and unbiased, we’ve compared it with other domain registrars and web hosting solutions to see how it performs.
There are plenty of competitors in the domain web hosting space. Our top recommendations include Bluehost, SiteGround, and HostGator.
All of them have unique offerings at great prices. So how does Domain.com fare against them?
After running our own tests on the platform, Domain.com definitely comes out in the top ranks. We found that’s it’s one of the best web hosting solution for small and medium businesses.
Aside from that, here’s where Domain.com really excels.
With that, Domain.com has proven to perform well against the competition. But every platform has its cons so let’s take a look at were Domain.com doesn’t really shine.
Domain.com Cons
Domain.com lacks cloud, VPS, dedicated, or reseller server options. All of their hosting plans are on shared servers.
Another thing to keep in mind is that its domain privacy plans are $8.99 per year. Many web hosts provide this free of cost.
On the plus side, the rest of its pricing plans are affordable. Let’s check out what their services would really cost you.
Domain.com Pricing: Is It Worth It?
Domain.com has a large portfolio of services so the pricing will depend on whether you choose a single service, create your own package, or opt for a bundled deal.
We’ll take you through a breakdown of the basic cost of each service:
By our calculations, on the low end, you can set up your website with an initial investment of only $65 with Domain.com.
Usually, website costs run into hundreds and thousands of dollars. So this is extremely low cost.
If you’re worried that this is still a sizeable investment, you can reduce costs by opting for bundled deals or by using coupons.
Now that we’ve taken a look at everything Domain.com has to offer, is it really worth it? We give you our verdict next.
Verdict: Is Domain.com the Best Domain Registrar and Web Host?
To wrap up this review, let’s recap what we know about Domain.com now.
From registering a domain to setting up a website, Domain.com makes it easy for beginners and at the same time, gives seasoned website creators access to advanced features.
Domain.com is also the best scalable platform. This means you can get started at the lower end and upgrade your plans as your website grows.
What we really loved is that Domain.com focuses on what you actually need without selling you things that are unnecessary. Their pricing and services are completely transparent.
So without a doubt, we can say Domain.com is hands down one of the best domain registrars and web hosting solutions. Not only is it one of the oldest but it’s also one of the largest hosting platforms in the world.
Get started with Domain.com today!
If you’re looking for cloud or dedicated hosting plans, our top recommendation is Bluehost.
We hope you found this review on Domain.com has helped you decide whether it’s a good platform. We’ve picked these resources to help you in your next steps:
These posts have all the info you need to get a great domain name registered and to set up your website the right way.
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