Do You Really Want To Buy A Cheap Domain Name?
When buying their first domain people usually ask the same question - how much is this gonna cost me? What goes through most peoples minds is "What does a domain name cost and are there any cheap domain names?" These are valid questions and important considerations before you go reaching for your credit card. You'll be surprised at just how much the price of a domain name can vary from one domain registrar to the next.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $1.99 - $15 per domain per year. This price will depend entirely on which domain registrar you deal with and what type of domain you're actually registering. This is simply because some domains cost more than others. Some of the most inexpensive domains at the moment are .info and .us domains. These can be registered for as little as $1.99 per year and do have their uses. Realistically most people will be looking for .com or .net domains however.
Are there are any cheap domain registrars? Yes. Some are quite good and some are absolute rubbish. You can get a .com for as little as $4.95 per month but you need to watch the small print. Many of these small registrars offer cheap domains but charge $25 if you ever want to transfer the domain to another registrar or anywhere else for that matter. Some of them won't even allow you to transfer the domain full stop - yes that means you're stuck with the same registrar forever; including if they suddenly start increasing their fees for no apparent reason.
Worth Paying Extra
Paying the extra few dollars per year is more than worth it to make sure you don't get ripped off, get your domain blacklisted or lose control of your domain in the future. Remember all the hard work you put into finding that perfect domain name? Don't throw it all away for the sake of spending an extra $2 or $3!
Another major issue is that the cheap domain registrars are often used by search engine and email spammers. Your website could get blacklisted automatically for being registered through these particular domain registrars. Google can and do examine which registrar your domain was purchased from and this can then be used to "rate" your websites online presence. It's only a small factor but why put obstacles in your way from the very start?
The most important factor in choosing a domain name, cheap or not, is previous customer satisfaction. Do a Google search on the domain registrar. Any forums complaining about them? Any bad press? None? Ok well go ahead and register a single domain with them and see how their customer service is. Don't put all your eggs in one basket with any domain registrar.
Over the last few years I've used the following registrars and been very happy with their service and pricing.