Where should you register / transfer your domain name?
Registering a domain name is an exciting start of a new project but you need to make sure to register your domain name with a trustworthy domain name provider. Similarly, if you recently changed your hosting provider, you might be wondering where you should transfer your domain name to so you don’t have to worry about losing it.
While there are a lot of places to choose to register or transfer your domain names, we have two preferred registrars we recommend. In this post, we’ll explain what to look for when it comes to domain name registrars and share our recommendations for where to register or transfer your domain name to.
What to look for in a domain name registrar?
As mentioned earlier, there are tons of domain name registrars where you can register or transfer your domain name. Choosing the right domain name registrar is not easy, but it’s not impossible either. There are a few things to look for when it comes to choosing the right domain name registrar for you:
Privacy protection included
Privacy protection will protect your personal information and make sure nobody can see your email address or your home address when looking up the WHOIS information for a domain name. Most reputable registrars will include privacy protection at no extra cost.
Reasonable rate
Make sure your domain name registrar offers reasonable rates, especially if you plan on buying domain names frequently.
Easy to use interface
Choose a domain name registrar that has an easy to use interface. Once you buy a domain name, you’ll have to point it to your hosting server and the last thing you want is to waste time with a confusing interface where you can’t find DNS settings, billing information or domain expiration date.
Delegate access to others
If you want your web designer, assistant or IT department to handle domain registrations for you, consider using a registrar that allows you to delegate access to others. This will make it easy for them to register a domain name for you without needing your account information.
Good support
Another thing to look for when it comes to domain name registrars is support. Choose a registrar that offers good support in case you run into any problems with your domain name or the settings for your domain.
Minimal upsells
Finally, opt for a registrar that has minimal upsells. This will help avoid unnecessary costs due to accidentally purchasing a service you didn’t want.
Our domain name registrar recommendations
Now that we’ve covered what you have to look for in a domain name registrar, here are our top domain name registrar recommendations.
Name Cheap
Our first recommendation is NameCheap. NameCheap offers cheap domain name registrations that are cheaper than most other domain registrars. They also have an easy to use interface and offer a ton of domain name extensions. The checkout process is easy and straightforward.
We like that they support a large number of TLDs, provide a way to delegate access to your team members and support team, their first year and renewal prices are very competitive, and they offer free privacy protection. Their DNS propagates reasonably fast as well.
Hover.com
Hover.com is our second recommended option for registering domain names. Hover.com has a ton of domain name extensions that go beyond generic domains. Since they are broken down into different categories, you can easily find an extension that you like in case .com is taken. They specialize in domain registrations so you won’t find other services like hosting. They do offer email services and simple add on options such as email forwards for a small yearly fee.
Overall, Hover.com offers great support, competitive pricing, and transparent pricing. Their interface is also user-friendly and easy to navigate. As far as the checkout process goes, it takes four steps to purchase a domain name so if you want a simple and straightforward domain buying experience, Hover.com is the right choice.
What about GoDaddy?
We are not a fan of GoDaddy for domain registration or web hosting. A few reasons include:
- Confusing checkout process
- Constant upsells that attempt to pressure you into buying services you won’t need
- Clunky interface that’s hard to navigate
- Email, chat and phone support are subpar
Can I leave my DNS / domain name at my old web host?
We don’t recommend leaving your DNS at your old web host. We’ve had instances where various hosts who were not hosting a website anymore, just randomly turn off or delete the DNS entries.
If that happens to you, your website could disappear from the Internet which means countless business opportunities and customers lost, not to mention the fact that your brand image would be damaged.
As such, if you switch your hosting companies, we highly recommend you transfer your domain name to one of the domain name registrars mentioned in this article.
Which one is right for me?
Choosing the right domain name registrar is not an easy decision. Each registrar has its own set of features that you should consider before making the final choice.
If you’re using G-Suite/Google Apps then Google Domains probably makes the most sense.
But, if you need a few additional features, like email forwarding (because you’re using other emails for company email), then Hover is the way to go.
What’s next?
Need help with your domain or website? We’re here to help. Contact us today for a free quote and we’ll help you find the best domain name registrar for your domain and business website.
We focus on beautiful web design that delivers results for your organization. Our specialty is creating customized WordPress websites.
About Us
Johnny Flash Productions
Johnny Flash Productions is a creative agency based outside of Washington D.C. that focuses on digital strategy, web design and development, graphic design and event production that helps businesses get better results from their marketing.
I recommend Johnny Flash Productions because they respond promptly and with honesty when requesting their services, they are very professional and I am a satisfied client!
They fulfilled my expectations with the website and branding project. It has already been a success and helped us reach our goals for our business. Thanks Johnny Flash Productions.
Johnny Flash redesigned both our church website and our preschool website to align with our new branding, helped us switch web hosts and met some tight timelines as well. John and his team are always professional, have fresh ideas and are quick to respond to questions.
They also worked us to revamp both websites within our set budget while still providing a quality web design and custom look. If I could give them ten stars, I would!
Our organization couldn't be happier with the beautiful website Johnny Flash Productions created for us. They helped streamline thousands of components from our previous site into a site that portrays the mission of our organization and tells the story of our purpose while bringing in and engaging new and returning visitors.
We wouldn't hesitate to use them again and have already recommended them to several people who have seen the quality of our new site.
We have also seen a remarkable uptick in response in those who have gone to the site just in the first few weeks since launch in signing up for future communications. That is the sort of prolonged engagement we have been looking for, and Johnny Flash Productions delivered beyond our hopes.
They did excellent design work, were professional and responsive. They were an absolute pleasure to work with, and I plan on using them for future projects.
This process was so much easier than I expected. John listened carefully to what I was expecting to accomplish with our website and kept me focused on our objectives.
We are now able to register preschool students online (especially important during COVID). Parents are very happy that now they have the option to pay by credit card. I would highly recommend this company!
Such an amazing service. A beautiful website that has already gotten the practice new business. John kept us on track so that our website was up and running in the time allotted. Thanks so much. Highly recommend.
Johnny Flash Productions gets results building stand-out websites that are optimized for success! Their team of professionals worked quickly to get to know my business and developed a plan of action. Their designers developed an amazing design that exceeded our expectations. If your organization or business is looking to build or improve your presence online.
I highly recommend Johnny Flash Productions!
I was looking for a web designer who was not only talented, but could deliver - and keep delivering what I needed month after month. The team at Johnny Flash Productions brought ideas to the table that complemented what I wanted to do with my website and their design exceeded my expectations.
I was willing to pay more for their continuing monthly service than I had paid previously because they laid out what I could expect from their team. So far, they have under promised and over delivered.
Professional, knowledgeable, friendly! Everything you could ask for in a website development firm/SEO company. Johnny Flash Productions is the best website development firm and SEO firm in Northern Virginia!
Johnny Flash Productions was a joy to work with! They helped our church completely re-do our website. They also helped us refresh our look and logo. We have had many people comment on how much they love our new website and how much easier it is to navigate.
We had a great experience working with Joli and the team at Johnny Flash. Their whole process was very helpful to shaping and sharing our website message.
Johnny Flash Productions and their team were aces to work with. Their process was simple, and project schedule was on target.
More importantly, their Storybrand mindset opened us up to a whole new world for our website presence, business development and even our own client communication.
We have a fabulous website thanks to their excellent process.
Working with John and his team has been such a wonderful experience! They consistently go above and beyond to quickly complete our requests, and it's great working with a team of true experts.
I highly recommend them for anyone looking for WordPress developers.
Excellent WordPress Web Designer, we are so lucky to have them design our website we were very satisfied with the results!
Was a pleasure to work with Johnny Flash Productions to walk through the full life cycle of a complete redesign of several of our ministries websites. Working with people who are experts caused us to think outside the box in how we really tell our story through our website.
The entire team was great to work with and the value has been incredible! God is good!
It has been such a pleasure working with John and Nicole to develop our WordPress website. The team is very professional and worked closely with us during the entire process. We couldn't be happier with the result, we love our new website.
I definitely recommend Johnny Flash Productions!
Exceeded all expectations in their abilities to professionally evaluate and customize our company WordPress website. Above all else, their customer service is the best I've dealt with in a long time with any company I've worked with in the past. I definitely recommend Johnny Flash Productions to anyone looking for exceptional service, professional detail and customer support.
Johnny Flash Productions helped breathe new life into Immanuel’s online presence with their wonderful redesign of our website. Aside from their consummate professionalism, flexibility and keen attention to detail, they were an absolute pleasure to work with.
It had to be a daunting task to be presented with the enormous number of expectations , hopes and ideas generated from our church’s website committee throughout the course of the website re-design, but if anything, Johnny Flash's resulting work exceeded all expectations.
I’m sure I can speak for all of us on the committee when saying that we’d heartily recommend Johnny Flash to any church or organization in need of a skilled, knowledgeable, easy-to-work with design company.
John and his team at Johnny Flash Productions did an amazing job on our new company website! John was very patient and professional throughout the entire process and always responsive to any request we had.
I would definitely recommend their services to anyone looking to create a website!
I would like to thank Johnny Flash Productions for there great service my company has been able to get to get to the top of Google searches in half the time most companies take. I am now receiving 3 to 5 viable leads a day that all lead to service work for my company. And I can not thank them enough for all of there support with my site and maintaining it for me.
I must admit that I was not crazy about revamping our website, primarily due to the time commitment and cost. However, in looking through the updated content this morning, the new website looks terrific and was well worth the time and expense.
Thanks to you and your team for all of your hard work.
We found Johnny Flash Productions to be professional and a pleasure to work with. Their industry knowledge and creative approaches were incredibly helpful.
Our new website exceeds our expectations and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Johnny Flash Productions with their responsive and ongoing website upkeep, maintenance and SEO.
John has been managing my website SEO and Google Ads for only a few months now and his services have already generated profitable leads. I can’t say enough about his company’s professionalism, promptness and results oriented approach. Hiring his company has been an excellent business decision!!
We regularly get rave reviews about our website. Often other non-profits have asked us for a referral. Johnny Flash was easy to work with and has always been responsive to our needs. They provided several built in tools that help keep our website from becoming stale.
John, Joli and Team provided the path forward for us on how to take our desire to have a brand new website to getting it launched and live. We started at a high level of who we were and what we wanted to accomplish with our website.
John provided an up front schedule of what tasks would be completed by when from their team.
There were tweaks along the way that we would make and feedback given, and it was always well received with the changes being made in a timely manner. Thanks John and Joli.
Johnny Flash and team approached the project with as much passion as we had (we're a very passionate team) for the site and logo refresh. We worked through the logo and website designs and within a couple of weeks, it felt as if we were all one company.
The team was super responsive, understood our vision for the logo/website and communicated clearly every step of the way.
John Falke and Johnny Flash were incredible to work with and produced a very professional and progressive website for Covenant Park Consulting and were completely responsive to our vision and goals.
John and his team are great to work with. We have worked with them on a broad range of projects including logo development, campaign materials and website design. They are a great partner!
Efficient, effective and professional - Johnny Flash Productions did an awesome job of rebranding and migrating our WordPress website. We launched last week and there is positive feedback all around for the sleek, new, mobile friendly look.
When we all get a little too busy, sometimes we forget to say a heartfelt "Thank You"! I am so grateful that God led us to partner with you. I know good things will come from our hard work done together in His name. The website is terrific. Pure and simple.
Thanks for your expertise, guidance and always friendly attitude.
I cannot begin to speak highly enough of Johnny Flash Productions. I was first alerted to their company by doing a Google search & found only one company around with so many 5-star reviews, so was curious if they could all be real. I found through working with John & Eowyn & the Johnny Flash team that we were able to collaborate to create the perfect website for our organization.
As a team of designers, it was important for us to differentiate ourselves & express the nature of our organization & ourselves through this most valuable medium of the modern age. The team @ Jonny Flash absolutely nailed it & we could not be more pleased.
Thank you Johnny for facilitating such an first class experience & thank you Eowyn for being our guiding light & all of the hard work that you put into helping our company shine!
We used Johnny Flash Productions to help us recreate our website and to make it more visually appealing and more current. Working with them was very pleasant and easy. They really listened to what we were looking for and worked within that framework.
I would highly recommend them. I am happy to provide a reference or answer any questions that you may have.
We have been very pleased with our website design experience with Johnny Flash. We appreciated how their structured process enabled our website team to prioritize our goals for the project and develop a final product customized to meet our individual needs.
The Johnny Flash team is incredibly skilled, attentive and patient. We are very happy with our new WordPress website!
John and his team do top quality design work, website work, and just about anything you would need to have a dynamic presentation in both print and digital media. Incredibly talented and innovative, you can call him with a "thought" that comes back to you better than you ever imagined. Truly professional and talented, I could not recommend more highly.
Johnny Flash Productions is a company that truly cares about their clients, this is obvious by not only their work ethic but they also the way they put their heart into every project they complete.
Johnny Flash Productions was a pleasure to work with, we look forward to working with them again in the future.
We chose Johnny Flash Productions because I knew the person, John Falke. Relationships are important. Knowing character is important and relevant to business decisions. Knowing whether a person/business will stick by their word is important along with can they perform.
A company that can perform is good, but if they do not stick by their word, skill means nothing. You produced a great product, worked with us, gave a fair price and kept us on task.
I have worked with Johnny Flash Productions on 3 of my own websites and recommended Johnny Flash productions to two other family members who were also in need of new websites. We have all had an exceptional experience during the process.
The staff are very responsive, organized, on time and they follow through until the work is complete. We valued them so much that we use them for our monthly maintenance and they help with our advertising online.
Johnny Flash Productions has played an integral role in the growth of our business. From logo redesigns, website design and management, fliers, banners, signs and more, they have done an incredible job of taking our ideas and WOWing us with his visual designs.
John's knowledge base allows them to understand our ideas and concepts and bring it all together in a professional, well thought out deliverable. Their work has always exceeded our expectations in both quality and speed.
We look forward to continuing our long business relationship as he continues to stay on top and ahead of visual marketing trends without losing it’s classic appeal.
We are truly grateful for our time working with John and his team. They were able to manage a full redesign within a relatively tight timeline and delivered an impressive site that also worked well through mobile devices as well.
They kept us on schedule as well and were a pleasure to work with. The team continues to be incredibly responsive following the initial launch.
Johnny Flash did a great job on our new Wellesley Hills Congregational Church website. Delivered on time and on budget. They helped us shape good content as well.
We were so satisfied we had them redo our Wellesley Nursery School in the Hills website also.