Is it one that you just use and works just fine? Or one that has proven to be reliable and responsible if they do a mistake and only want to satisfy you as a customer?
I use Namecheap. They have a URL you can visit to update DNS records if you’re doing it from the server that you need to point DNS at. They’ve been pretty much…non-eventful. I’ve never had to call them, everything online, they’ve been reliable enough to just say my whole experience has been pretty boring. Boring is good. I log into them once every 2 years to renew my domain and that’s generally it.
Then on top of that I use Caddy for SSL Encryption/Reverse Proxy. All I need is the domain registrar, I don’t use any other services.
I’ve been using namecheap for about a decade too. But, be careful with their free email forwarding service. They do not forward all emails. The ones that they consider spam, they proceed to drop silently. There is absolutely no way to access those emails. The service is essentially useless. I have lost several important emails like that.
Have heard that searching domains through the site can cause the domain to become unavailable or prices to go up briefly afterwards… kind of like how go daddy also has a reputation for doing that. Anecdotal and second stories for sure but something to be aware of if there is any credence to it…
I’ve experienced this and also read reports of it with GoDaddy. But I cannot say the same for Namecheap - I’ve searched for several domain names multiple times through Namecheap and never noticed a price increase (outside of a sale ending and/or the search being multiple weeks later, at which point it makes sense). I’ve also never seen any detailed reports of this happening with Namecheap, and if I’ve seen any at all, I can’t remember them. I have occasionally searched for a domain name that was later unavailable, but that happens infrequently enough that I doubt it’s due to Namecheap doing something nefarious.
I use them too, but have a few complaints and am thinking about switching.
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Dynamic DNS doesn’t support ipv6 addresses
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You have to have a $50 account balance to use DNS based dynamic dns
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Buggy DNS editing. (Try to create a SRV record then edit it later. It never works properly. Always have to delete and make a new one)
I’m using PorkBun and I’m happy with them
Cloudflare works really well and has a good UI. Namecheap also works well, but it takes more clicks to adjust DNS records.
+1 for Cloudflare.
That said, there are a number of folks rightfully concerned about the sheer mass of information Cliudflare has access to through their Content Delivery Network (their primary service). This raises potential privacy concerns, especially for self-hosters, who tend to prefer not to rely too heavily on any one large company. However, you don’t actually have to use their CDN service to make use of their minimally-priced Registrar functionality, and personally I really appreciate the services they offer. Their free tier is really impressive, and incredibly useful.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| CGNAT | Carrier-Grade NAT |
| DNS | Domain Name Service/System |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| NAS | Network-Attached Storage |
| NAT | Network Address Translation |
| SSL | Secure Sockets Layer, for transparent encryption |
6 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 7 acronyms.
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Cloudflare - largely because they don’t add on extra fees.
Also just switched to Cloudflare (used to be google domains)… since they run half the internet, they probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon? Feels like every service gets sold/acquired and I have to change everything over every few years and I’m getting tired hahaha… also their DNS changes update basically instantly and are easy to do for this newbie!
Heh I was also on Google domains before they announced they were selling it. I don’t know what the hell possessed me to register domains with Google. They have a very well documented history of killing off great services. https://killedbygoogle.com/
I personally think it’s better to keep your domain registration separate from your hosting/cloud providers, including cloudflare. Basically not putting all your eggs in the same basket. Those giant cloud companies probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, but their automated system are known to ban users with no recourse unless you’re a big spender with dedicated account managers. Having your domain elsewhere means when something happen to your hosting/cloud account, at least you’re not completely fucked.
Having recently setup an UnRaid server I used a walkthrough video on setting up SSL certs for them through Cloudflare and Google Domains. Was already using their DNS (1.1.1.1) and had an account so made that it an easy decision, then Google decided Domains would be sold off so I fully migrated to Cloudflare. I find the free tier to have more things included than I even understand and it does everything I need.
