Uzi Nissan is an Israeli who opened his own business in the United States in the early 80s. He first worked in a car workshop, then opened his own (named Nissan Foreign Car) and sold parts (named Nissan International), and then went into retail at a firm name Nissan Computer. For his own business, he registered a domain name and launched nissan.com in 1994. Over the next few years, he lost several million dollars in court with the car manufacturer of the same name.
When Uzi opened his first stores, Nissan Motor Company imported cars into the United States under the name Datsun. By the mid-eighties, the Japanese company decided to get rid of this name and sell models under the Nissan brand – there was even the Datsun by Nissan branding (according to rumors, its implementation cost the company something around 30 million dollars).
It is also important to note that the name Nissan and the brand Nissan are nothing more than a coincidence in languages. The word “Nissan” in Hebrew and Arabic denotes the name of one of the months of the year and is quite common as personal names and surnames. And the brand name is an abbreviation for Nihon Sangyo (which means “Japanese industry”). So the company was called after its foundation in the 30s of the last century.
Nissan’s life changed dramatically in October 1999, when Nissan’s North American office contacted him to discuss the use of the nissan.com domain.
Nissan vs Nissan
The authors of the Japolnik website, who interviewed Nissan, described him as a charismatic, principled, and stubborn person. For Uzi, that site was not just a site, but a reflection of his life’s work, which he built from scratch and was not going to give it away.
Representatives of the Japanese company offered Nissan a certain amount to buy the domain, but he refused. And in support of his words, he named the amount of 15 million dollars – only for that kind of money he was ready to consider the possibility of a sale.
Nissan, of course, refused. And soon they sent a lawsuit for $ 10 million, accusing the entrepreneur of trademark infringement, unfair competition, cybersquatting, and much more.
In 2002, the first victory remained with Nissan on the issue of cybersquatting – a fairly common practice in the modern world, which at the dawn of the Internet was a completely new threat to a business or an individual. This is the registration of domain names that contain a trademark owned by another person for the purpose of their further resale or unfair use.
By that time, Nissan had been using the site for its business for ten years, so the court dismissed Nissan Motor’s intellectual rights claims. But it also demanded to remove all advertisements for the sale of cars from the site and forbade him to leave negative statements in the direction of the Japanese company. Later, Uzi succeeded in court to reject Nissan’s requests to take control of his domain, and Nissan was also granted an appeal on “dilution of the brand name.”
The litigation had been going on for almost five years, but Nissan did not give up and tried to bring the case to the US Supreme Court. Every time Uzi won a part of the case, another part of it remained open. And Nissan had costly lawyers and all the resources to keep going through the courts.
In court, the parties were advised three times to meet and resolve the conflict. Each time, the money supply from Nissan increased, but Uzi refused – he had to pay legal costs and deal with the personal expenses that went into the process.
“Nissan had no problem with me using the name Nissan Computer. They even registered the site nissancomputer.com and offered to trade it for nissan.com – even if it would hurt them in the event of a “blur”. They had problems with the fact that I was using nissan.com. They passionately wanted this domain” Nissan told Jalopnik.
Uzi said that Nissan deliberately wanted to make the lawsuit showcase and as expensive as possible for himself. The company has spent many millions of dollars on lawyers, although back in 1999 it could have paid Uzi 15 million for a domain and not gotten involved in a lawsuit.
Won, but lost
In the end, Nissan decided not to demand $ 10 million from Uzi Nissan. Uzi said the company knew they would lose in a jury trial. Still, attempts to take over the nissan.com domain did not end.
The court made the final decision in 2007 – eight years after the start of the litigation. The court dismissed Nissan Motor’s allegations of trademark infringement by Nissan. And said that in this matter, the company has no exclusive rights to anything.
In terms of brand dilution, the court found that Nissan had known the Uzi site since 1995. However, the automaker realized the importance of the Internet only four years later and hesitated to contact the right domain name registrar and Uzi.
The lawsuit has cost him and his family nearly $ 3 million over the years, Uzi said. And despite the victory, he still feel like a loser.
“The question is not whether the big players can lose. And what will happen to you when you are sued. I didn’t win the case. Nissan Motor lost it. I haven’t won anything. I only have a domain name. In fact, I also lost.” said Nissan. He noted that the process took 99.9% of the time he could have spent on his business. And the trial took place every week.
“They never got what they wanted from me. There was no longer a question of whether I could get my way. The question was what would have to go through and how much would have to be lost before the end of the case. Companies can sue you, no matter what. What is $ 10 Million for Nissan? Nothing. This is a drop in the ocean. They can afford it. And what can they do with a little man like me? Destroy his life.”
According to court records, at that time about 500 thousand people visited nissan.com every month. And they visited until recently – for some reason, the site is not available now.
Uzi Nissan died in July 2020 from the effects of coronavirus infection. He is survived by a wife and two children. Now, enthusiasts are raising money to help his family.
The history of Nissan is studied in many law schools and is cited as an example of how a large corporation can be fought back.
What is intellectual property? The term is a very broad one, but in a general sense, it is the author’s personal right to the result of his own intellectual activity: a combination of words, ideas, schemes, algorithms, structures, decisions, naming, and so on.
It is possible to consolidate intellectual property at the legislative level so that subsequent use of invented or developed will be possible only with the permission of the authors themselves – this is called copyright. Let’s learn about domain name registration and copyright infringement.
In the web world, intellectual property rights have become more relevant than in everyday life: if you suppress the creation of various products that violate copyright is still somehow possible, then it’s very difficult to control the Internet space: plagiarism of various kinds takes place, creation of similar ideas, the use of sounds and melodies written by someone else, and the borrowing of existing solutions – in any field, including domain names.
When registering a domain name, if it does not violate the existing copyright of any company or individual, the registered domain becomes an object of copyright, legally similar in law to a trademark (TM).
The difference is that TM is registered in a certain country and acts on a certain group of goods, products, or services, and the domain works all over the world, since the website located by the link may include information about the company or individual and not just data about certain products.
The Difference Between Domain Registration & Copyright
What is the difference between domain registration & copyright? Can I copyright my domain name? What does copyright protect? Let’s start with understanding what copyright is. If you or your company have created a copyrighted work, other entities need your permission to use it. But, copyright covers the form of work be it in a form of hard copy or electronic (videos, music, computer software and etc) but not cover the title for books, movies, or domain names if you haven’t registered it yet.
So, you must register your domain name in order to be protected from a copyright perspective. Only by doing this, you will be able to obtain and protect domain names that you want to legally protect.
Domain Name As an Intellectual Property
Is a domain name subject to copyright law? A domain is a display of an individual or company to whom the name belongs. Creating a correct, concise, and successful domain can require a lot of imagination: to make a short, readable, memorable and at the same time reflect the essence of the name of the site. It is very important to create a name that will individualize the field of activity, represent the brand, and select it from the list of resources in a similar direction.
To prove your copyright ownership, and obtain and protect domain names, the domain name must meet the following points:
The domain name must be registered in the name of a real person who can confirm this with documents.
The combination of words and/or numbers in the domain is unique.
The owner has a corresponding agreement on the right to the address, as well as the possibility to confirm this if such a need arises.
No one other than the sole owner has transferred the right to use the domain.
The registered domain has a market value paid by the owner and has the appropriate checks/receipts for this.
The contract between the domain registrar and the company registering the domain can be further used by the owner to protect his rights.
Now, it’s important to say that the domain name is your property for a paid period. As you know, each domain name has a registration period of 1 year or more, some domains can be registered for 10 years (like the unique .inc domains). If after the expiration of the registration period the domain is not renewed, it will go into the Redemption Period status (recovery period), and after that – into free access. Without renewing the domain, you will lose all rights to it, both intellectual and legal, and the name will be available to anyone.
Knowing your rights, you can easily protect your domain name and your right to it, if necessary. The main thing is to register domains with trusted registrar service providers so that from a legal point of view, you can always get the necessary documents from your registrar confirming the ownership of the domain.
Protecting the Intellectual Rights of a Domain Name
Now, we need to remember that only 1% of website owners register a domain name as a trademark. This number leads to numerous violations, in particular, the illegal copying of domains with a slight change in name. Often, site owners are faced with copying and other violations, they can’t even make a complaint to the fraudster.
In a situation where an extremely small number of site and domain name owners register their verbal designation as a trademark, it becomes possible to illegally copy domains and other violations of the rights of their owners.
However, even if the domain name has not been separately registered as a trademark, the company will still be able to protect its rights. To date, there has already been some jurisprudence regarding the protection of the rights to a domain name (or a company name), therefore it is realistic to defend your right to personalization tools and prohibit their use in domain names in court.
It is important to consider a number of points that the court will pay attention to when making a decision:
Identity of the domain name and means of individualization (company name, commercial designation, trademark, that is, everything that defines a company in the market). They do not have to coincide completely, as a rule, a linguistic examination is carried out, on the basis of which a decision is made on graphic and phonetic similarities.
The types of activities of the domain owner and holder of exclusive rights to the means of individualization. If the site is used to advertise goods or services similar to those sold by the exclusive rights holder, this will be an important argument for prohibiting the use of a domain name.
What was previously registered – a domain name or a trademark (a legal entity with the corresponding company name)? The issue with a commercial designation is somewhat more difficult to prove in court, which is due to the peculiarities of its legal nature.
Does the domain owner have legal rights to use such a name (for example, a company with the same name)?
What to Do If a Domain Is Purchased That Matches a Trademark?
First of all, it should be noted that the domain name is not bought from an accredited registrar (this is a common misconception), the domain name is registered by the user with the registrar, provided that the word used as the domain name and coined by the user is not yet registered in the domain registry.
Placement of a trademark on the Internet is officially recognized as a way to use it. The fact of registration of a domain name similar to a trademark and registered for homogeneous goods and services is most often recognized as a violation of exclusive rights.
According to statistics, in legal disputes, priority is given to copyright holders – more than 80% of domain disputes are resolved in their favor. However, 20% of the disputes are still resolved in favor of domain administrators. For an interesting case, you can read about Uzi Nissan, the man who fought Nissan Motors for years, over a domain name, and won.
In accordance with the rules for registering domain names, the user (domain administrator) is solely responsible for choosing a domain name and for possible violations of the rights of third parties related to the selection and registration of a domain name, and also bears the risk of losses associated with such violations.
There are resources over the web, that allow the person who wants to register the domain to verify that there are no matches with protected trademarks before registering a domain name. So that’s what can help you to avoid trademark infringement when you choose a domain name.
If you want to increase your visibility as a business or personal brand, connect with your audience, and fight for your own space on the Internet, you must establish an online presence. In a study by GE Capital Retail Bank, between 70-80% of customers at first search for a company online before visiting its premises or committing to a purchase.
Whereas businesses can get online through social media, having a website is the recommended first step in establishing your brand and business online. The website will act as a hub from where the ‘spokes’ connecting to guest blogs, social networking sites, and other online spaces emanate.
The first decade of the 21st century has recorded an explosion of technologies that have taken about 1.5 billion websites online. Some of these are business websites while others are for individuals and non-profits. You must be a part of it if you want to succeed online so let’s learn how to buy a domain registration and even how to register a domain name for free.
Getting A Domain Name – Where It All Begins
While you can build a website on your local machine, you cannot take it online without a domain name. Think of your domain name as your online address where all your resources are located. Therefore, getting a domain name from the best domain name registrar is effectively the first step toward building a website.
Much like your personal name, the domain name is your website identity. While coming up with any name suffices, you’ll want one that truly reflects your activities and what you want your website to be known for. This guide discusses all you need to know about domain names, and how to find, register, and maintain them.
The Importance of a Domain
Name
Are you probably asking yourself how important is a domain name? Well, there are three critical aspects of domain names that you need to appreciate right from the onset.
First and lasting impression – Your domain name is the gateway to your website resources. It has the power to give your visitors a positive lasting impression about your brand or ruin the party.
Affects SEO Ratings – While exact match domains (EMDs) such as cleanyourroomflorida.com are no longer an outright ticket to the top of search engine result pages (SERPs) having well-placed keywords in your domain name can boost your ranking efforts.
An important tool for brand definition – Getting the domain name right makes it easier for your target audience to identify with your brand and for potential customers to quickly wrap their heads around what your business is all about.
How to Register a Domain
Name
To register a domain name, you must first identify an
ICANN-accredited domain name registrar. The Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit organization that plays a unique role
in defining how the domain names ecosystem works and evolves. Some of the top
domain registrars are:
NameCheap – A reliable and cheap Los Angeles-based registrar and web hosting provider. Currently home to 10 million domains.
Hover – Registrar with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. It’s a good option, but we suggest going with NameCheap or DreamHost.
To get a hang of what domain registration is all about,
we’ll cover three options one for each of the above registrars.
Register a Domain Name with NameCheap.com
Step 1: Go to NameCheap.com and type your domain name into the search box.
Step 2: When you see that your domain name is available, add it to your cart.
Buying a new domain name on NameCheap
Step 3: Note that WhoIsGuard, which is the domain privacy functionality is freeforever, while on other sites it can cost up to $9.99 per year. Great perk by NameCheap (and of course, if for some reason you’re not interested, you can simply un-check the box).
Step 4: You can change the term of the registration (number of years for domain registration). I’m suggesting at least a 3-year period, so you won’t have to worry about renewing after the first year.
If you’re absolutely committed to making your website work over the long term, perhaps you should even select the 5-year term domain registration period.
Now press on Confirm Order, insert your payment method information and you got it, your own domain name!
Confirming a domain order on NameCheap
Get a Free Domain with DreamHost
A neat trick that we highly recommend people to use is to get a web hosting and domain together. Because, later on, to make your website work, you’re going to need both of them anyway, so why enjoy a free domain if you can?
So why DreamHost? It’s a Los Angeles-based hosting provider, that is not from the EIG list and has been in the industry for close to 25 years, and offers free domain name registration for up to 1 year.
The free domain name and hosting will also help you save some time, money, and the need to migrate your domain name (name servers) to your web hosting service (when you buy them separately, you need to configure your host with your registrar name servers).
DreamHost.com: Currently offers register for FREE domain name (for 1 year) for whoever signs up with their web hosting services. Great deal and if you wandered on how to register a free domain name, you got it.
Register for a free domain name with DreamHost
Q & A: Registering A Domain
The domain registration process, especially for beginners, comes with lots of what, how, and why questions. In this section, we shall cover some of the basic questions that are frequently asked in forums, blogs, and emails to registrars.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name
is an address that points to the location of your website and web resources. It
is much like a stake on the ground that identifies where your business is on
the vast world of the internet. An example of a domain is Namecheap.com or
Cnn.com.
Domain names
were created to replace or stand in for Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The
internet is a massive network of computers each having a unique identity known
as an IP address. For instance, an IP address may read 154.70.55.159
As you can imagine, remembering this number every time you want to visit a website is rather difficult. To help ease the pain and simplify website location, domain names were created. A domain name can have a mixture of numbers and letters such as mysite123.com.
What are Domain Name
Extensions?
Domain name extensions also known as Top-Level Domains (TLDs) refer to the part of the domain that comes immediately after the dot. Examples include org, com, and net. There are two basic types of domain name extensions.
Generic Top-Level Domain – These domains are universal. They do not fall under any specific country or region. Examples are info, net, come, pro, tax, etc. They are regulated by ICANN policies.
Country – Code Top-Level Domains: These are domains associated with a geographical region or country. They have two instead of three letters. Examples are nl, dk, ke, de, and ir.
New general top-level domains have come up such as auction, attorney, associates, accountant, and many others. There are more than 300 such domain extensions. In terms of popularity, .com is the highest followed by .net and .org. They are familiar and easy to recall.
When Should you Register a
Domain Name?
As soon as you have an idea or a concept around a certain domain name, go ahead and register it. As of the latest number, the total number of domain names registered was around 350 million. Each day, more than 45,000 .com domain names are snapped up.
It is not a must that you have a business up and running before you can register a domain. The best approach is just to register the name for a year as you explore the possibilities of setting up a website. Most registrars give discounted pricing that you can leverage to ensure you don’t miss out on your favorite name.
What’s the Price of a Domain
Name
Domain name pricing varies based on the registrar and the extension. Registrars such as Namecheap are known for their affordable domain names. With 10-$11 per year, you can purchase and maintain a .com domain name. Specialized top-level domain names such as .service and .store and others often come at a higher price.
For the first
year, most domain registrars give offers to their customers. You can get a
domain for as low as $0.98 which then renews at the normal pricing after the
promotional year.
Do you Need to Have a Website to Register a Domain Name?
No, you don’t. There are several options available such as registering a domain and then building your website later on such as NameCheap we previously recommended. You could also register your domain name and put up a coming soon page or a temporary website. Lots of internet-based entrepreneurs are in the habit of buying domain names as part of their portfolio and then holding them with the intention of trading them at a profit.
How do I Pick the Best
Domain Name?
Choosing the best domain name begins with a research process. Although nothing is cast in stone, the following are some tips to help you get the best domain.
Get a domain name that is simple to spell and pronounce
preferably a short name.
Go for a .com TLD because of its familiarity with most
users
Incorporate your brand name and keywords in the domain.
For instance, lawnmowingtexas.com
Avoid numbers or hyphens and always stick to letters for
ease of recall
Which Domain Name Registrar is
the Best?
Best could mean many things to many people but in terms of pricing and domain management features, Namecheap, Inc. is one of the best. It always has ongoing coupons and deep discounts for beginners, consistent pricing on renewals, and an easy-to-use dashboard with great support in case you will need one.
If you want to try out a free domain, go for DreamHost. Remember that you can always transfer your domain to another registrar if you don’t feel comfortable with your current registrar.
Which TLD Should You Buy?
The best domain name extension is .com. It is not only easier to remember but also some keyboards and keypads come with a built-in .com extension to make typing easier for users.
How to Get a Domain Name for Free?
As we wrote previously in the article, you can get a free domain name in case you buy it together with a webhosting, from specific hosting providers that provide this service.
We recommend DreamHost, a reliable and SSD based hosting provider that hosts over 1.5 million websites for more than 400,000 users. That’s your solution on how to get a domain name free. Get a FREE domain (for 1 year) from DreamHost.
Do I Need To Register New
Domain Extensions?
You are probably familiar with the most common .com, .net, and .org extensions, but there are dozens of more potential extensions available. However, these new domain extensions are hard to remember and difficult to brand.
Whereas new domain name extensions are marketed as being brand targeted, some of them may be hard to remember therefore indirectly affecting your brand.
With that being said, You can have more than one domain extension to safeguard your business against destructive competition.
Can I Buy A Domain Name Permanently?
It is not possible to permanently own a domain name. Domain names are bought on yearly renewable contractual arrangements at the minimum. However, you can prepay for up to 10 years thereby getting the assurance of long-term ownership. So if you wondered how to buy a domain name permanently, that’s your best way to go.
What happens when my Domain
Name Expires?
Domain names
expire if there is no payment made on the renewal date. Some registrars give
you a grace period before taking the domain name back onto the market.
How is the Domain Name
Renewal Process?
When you purchase a domain name, you are given access to a dashboard by the registrar from where you can renew your domain. Instead of doing manual renewals each year, you can decide to turn on the auto-renew feature. Domain registrars normally send you renewal reminders to your registered email.
Can I Reserve A Domain Name
Without Buying It?
It is not
possible to reserve a domain name. The only option available is to register it
and then wait until you are ready to build our website.
How Do I Buy An Existing
Domain Name?
If you’ve come up with a perfect name for your website but upon checking the domain name with the registrars you realize that it is already taken up, you still have a chance to get it.
However, you may have to first find out when the domain name was registered, who currently owns it, and their contact details. Some sellers may decline your offer to purchase while others may give you an outrageous price. All that notwithstanding, it is worth a try.
Conclusion
Registering a domain is not difficult, you only need to have all your ducks in a row before you begin. Take a bold step, buy your domain and build your website. Some registrars have website builders to help you quickly come up with a fancy website.
As we stated in the beginning, our recommended domain registration options are NameCheap for a reliable and cheap domain registrar with great UI, fast support and great pricing and DreamHost for a FREE domain name registration together with web hosting solution that you would probably need for your site as well.
Let’s start by saying the main takeaway you should have from this article – it’s important that you keep your web host and domain registration separate. Before getting into why we’ll start by defining what the two terms mean and why they are the foundation of any successful website.
First, domain registration is a sort of redirection work, such as ebay.com – that directs people to the files of a particular website through an internet browser. As part of it, there are different domain extensions such as .com, .net, .org, .inc, and many more.
The web host is the account on a server that stores website files and serves them to users through the internet. It’s a kind of file storage. Think of Dropbox, but it’s connected to the network and serves files to internet users (site visitors).
Another way to describe it is that the domain of a website is its internet “address”, while the hosting is the “land” that the website is built. Now we’ll look at the reasons you should have separate domain and hosting providers.
Holding Your Hosting or Domain as a Hostage
Many hosting and domain registration
services offer the two tied together in confusing and obnoxious ways.
If you want to cancel just your hosting,
you may find that your domain has become more expensive. Or perhaps the domain
is canceled with the hosting
because everything was offered as a “bundle”.
Keeping your registrar and web host separate allows you to prevent this kind of thing from happening. It stops one company from having so much leverage against you.
Easier to Switch Web Host Provider Service
Having fewer service commitments makes it easier to change web hosting providers. Why is it important?
If you are getting downtimes from your current web hosting supplier, are disappointed with the lack of support, paying too much for renewal, or facing a similar problem, you’ll have an easier time changing hosts without impacting your domain. All you have to do is move the files across to the new host and redirect the DNS settings.
Separate Security from the File Management
Companies typically specialize in either hosting or domain registration, and not both. It’s hard to find a company that can excel at both at the same time.
The very best domain registrar services offer privacy, advanced DNS settings, sub-accounts, and other benefits. The best web hosting companies have great file management, backups, site-lock features, and more. It’s good to have separate accounts for domain and hosting to get the best of both worlds.
Hacking Your Account or Website
Let’s assume that you have your domain and web host handled by the same company. What happens if the hosting website gets hacked or something happens to your host or website? What if someone stole your files and your domain and injected malware, or your hosting company locked your account? That means you lose access to your web domain too.
By keeping domain and hosting separate, you have an easier time dealing with these problems without affecting your domain. You’ll still have access to your domain dashboard and are in control.
Several Domains Support and Control
So you’ve got multiple domains, each of which is hosted on a different service. This makes it easier to manage your domains all under one roof as you can manage several domains all from a single account.
Keep Problems and Concerns Separate
Will your host provider still be in business in five more years? Will your domain provider? By keeping your registrar and web host separate like this, you reduce the risk of a total and complete outage. Especially true if you went with EIG hosting.
Summary – Separate Hosting and Domain Registrar
If you are considering a website project, then it’s critical to understand the difference between domain registration and web hosting and the way they work together but also acts like different products.
A domain is critical to any website project — whether you go with a hosting company or bundled services so you must learn how to buy a domain name.
We also understood that it’s recommended to separate the web hosting solution and the domain registrar. But, what solution should we go with?
For a web hosting provider, we recommend DreamHost. They are a global, SSD-based, non-EIG hosting service and provide a free SSL (by Let’s Encrypt) with great support and uptimes. Check out our DreamHost review.
As for domain registrar, we are fans of NameCheap, which is an affordable domain service with constant pricing, quick support, features rich, and 14-day money-back guarantees. Look into our domain registrar’s review.
You know that buying a domain name is a must when you start a new site and you can’t dodge the need to register a domain name but where’s the right place to buy a domain name? Buying a domain name is normally the first thing you need to do when creating a website. It may sound simple enough – you should simply look for domain registrar services and you’ll be on your way.
Here’s the thing, with the sheer amount of domain registrars available (with much less known and reliable) and simply choosing the first that comes up is probably not a good idea. If you’re wondering, “what’s the difference between them, and is one selling you anything the other can’t?” – Glad you asked, because we’re going to answer those questions while giving a list of the best domain name registrars to get your domain name in a reliable name for an affordable, constant and without-surprises pricing.
So, let’s start.
Best Domain Registrars, Buying Domain Name
Namecheap
Often listed high within the registrar’s ranking list, Namecheap is one of the bigger names in the industry, and for good reasons. The company was founded in 2000 and was named the most popular domain name registrar in 2012.
Today, Namecheap is a leading ICANN-accredited domain name registrar. They combine a solid trifecta of affordable domain pricing, great customer support, and a huge selection of top-level domains (.com, .net, .uk, .inc, etc.) that you can choose from.
When it comes to pricing, Namecheap is hard to beat with some domain names going as low as $0.98 for the first year. Their pricing for a year after year renewals can range anywhere from over a dollar for less-common top-level domains (TLD) to around $9 for more favorable options.
They also offer a completely free WHOIS privacy protection (WhoisGuard) for everyone, forever, a guaranteed uptime with their PremiumDNS system at $5 per year, and the option for SSL certificates which starts at $9 per year.
Namecheap offers online support via its ticket and a live chat system. Their chat support system is responsive and customers have praised both its system and support staff. However, if you ever want to call someone for immediate help, you won’t be able to do so.
Namecheap is a solid choice for registering your domain name. Plus, their site is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, especially on their domain management pages, which can be incredibly helpful. They offer reasonably priced domains and have a free DNS service, and free WHOIS protection. They also offer SSL encryption, for those looking to beef up the security of their domains.
It’s one of the best domain name registrars today.
Founded in 2009, NameSilo advertises the lowest domain name prices in the industry. They focus strictly on domain registries and reselling domains. By utilizing in-house designed backend tools, NameSilo does not depend upon third-party tools to manage domain names.
An added benefit of using its own backend system is that domain transfers and registrations are not bungled- a rare problem throughout the industry of domain registries. NameSilo is truly an innovator in the field when it comes to keeping overhead operating costs low.
On the downside, NameSilo user interface is a bit dated and we prefer the UX of Namecheap.com.
A unique selling point that makes NameSilo competitive is that its annual fees do not increase after the first month. There are a lot of domain name companies that advertise for a lower price but lock in the customer at a higher price after the first-year renewal.
NameSilo is one of the few domain companies that offer an array of alternate convenient payment options in addition to all major credit cards. These include Paypal, Skrill, Dwolla, AllPay, and BitCoin. (Most companies offer credit card payment options only). This makes it much easier for the millions of app customers who can buy a domain using these popular apps.
NameSilo charges higher fees for alternate Top-Level Domain names like .org, .net, .co, .info and .biz, ranging from $2.89 for a .club extension to $22.69 for a .co extension. Those are the extreme pricing on both ends of the spectrum, with the most common TLDs being $9.89 to $9.99/year. Compared to most domain companies, these prices are low. Some alternate domains run for $13.99 and higher.
For the negative parts, NameSilo does not offer a mobile app that lets customers manage their domains from a smart device. This makes them inferior to the few companies that offer mobile apps for iOS and Android. NameSilo does, however, let customers link their domain name with Google Apps. This will allow for some mobile functionality.
Also, there is an issue with transfer domain policies. Customers that want to transfer their domains away from NameSilo will find information buried deep in the Support Home section. Most companies offer transfer instructions within their ‘knowledge base’ pages.
Registrars, in general, have a terrible reputation for holding names hostage, making it difficult to switch registrars if you become dissatisfied. Some charge exorbitant fees or create delays to avoid losing business. NameSilo does not do this, but by means of ‘omission’ of external transfer instructions, they “discourage” customers from moving their domains elsewhere.
Hover focuses purely on being a domain registrar site. Compared to others on this list, when you load up Hover, it’s clear what their strengths and focus are. They are a good domain provider, but we prefer the Namecheap one. In general, if you need more help in finding the best domain registrar today, check it out to learn how to register a domain name, with a more elaborate list of top domain registrar services.
They are also upfront when it comes to pricing. Domain names can cost about $5 per year and they also include the cost of renewals and transfers on the same page itself. If you’re buying more than 10 domains, they offer discounts for purchasing them all at once.
Hover offers a number of options for top-level domains (TLDs), ranging from popular TLDs such as .com to more trendy ones such as .io. Since they don’t offer any hosting options, they try to make it easy for users to set it up with other hosting companies.
For those who are privacy-conscious, Hover provides an additional benefit that most registrars don’t, which is to include a WHOIS privacy protection for all of its packages for free. They believe that you “shouldn’t have to opt-in to protect identity”, which shows that they take privacy a little more seriously than others.
Hover also offers other features such as the ability to forward emails to your domain name at $5 per year and creating a domain inbox for $20 per year. When it comes to customer support, you can contact them via phone call, email, or live chat, but it’s not available 24-hours a day.
To Wrap It up, the Best Place to Buy a Domain Name
Having the right domain name could be fundamental to the success of your business and website.
And, buying your domain name from the best domain registrar is the key to reaching successful domain integration and management. Ideally, you would only have to make this decision once and go back to your preferred registrar whenever you need a new domain name.
Now you know the features and differences between the best domain registrars, you can make a clear decision about the options.
Namecheap – One of the best domain name registrars today for its affordable domain extensions, tons of unique TLDs, and personal domains, plus free DNS and WHOIS privacy protection. Our #1 pick.
NameSilo – A decent domain name registrar that offers affordable pricing, along with a host of free services.
All of the domain registrars that we’ve presented in this list are the best, so to speak, and they’re more than capable of handling any of your needs through your website’s lifespan while providing you with your desired domain. Choosing which one works best for you will depend on the details.
Depending on whether you need additional services, such as hosting, adding SSL security, and so forth, one company might better suit your needs by offering these services compared to others while some might be more affordable. We recommend you take a good look at the companies on the list for the best domain name registrar which will fit your needs.
You have probably heard of .net, .com, .co.uk and many other common domain extensions but, there is a new one on the market now called .Inc (it is the shortened form of incorporated, but we don’t need to explain that to you).
Now, what is .Inc domain meaning? The .Inc extension is for real businesses. For those of you business owners who run an incorporated company, there is now an extension that is built solely for you. Buying this .Inc for your website will let new and returning customers know that you are a big deal in the United States market.
Don’t worry — the .Inc extension is also well recognized across the globe for being up there in the business world, so if you are trying to tackle the planet-wide market, you are on to a winner if you choose to go with this one.
Who Should Register .Inc Domain Extension?
As we have already mentioned, this extension is custom-made
for your brand — that is, if you truly want to be taken seriously!
If you are worried about being ‘too new’ on the market to warrant having this coveted domain, don’t be. Just like huge, well-established corporations, startups that are aiming for grand heights should invest in this as it will stand you in good stead for your future online success.
Basically, .Inc domain registration extension means business and maybe it’s that one you should consider in case you looking at how to get a domain name.
Why Choose .Inc Domain Registration?
There are many reasons why you should choose the .Inc domain name but, perhaps the most important one is that there are no reserved or premium .Inc domains. What does this mean? Well, it allows you to register a very short domain at the standard, universal price.
Plus, this particular extension supports IDNs which enables you to use characters that are not necessarily found in English — whatever your native language maybe, .Inc will work for you.
Furthermore, with over 5 million incorporated businesses in just the United States of America, this domain extension is guaranteed to see a rise in use as more CEOs start recognizing its benefits and its intellectual property perspective of it.
How Do You Register a .Inc Domain Name?
You can register during two ‘early bird’ periods throughout
the year before the extensions become available to the wider public.
The first one runs from the 27th of March to the 30th of
April and is for trademark holders to have first dibs on their online presence.
The second then runs from the 30th of April to the 7th of May and is for organizations to register different forms of trademarks.
During both of these times, the fees are higher so you may
want to sit back and wait for the general availability — just bear in mind that
you may miss out on your preferred choice if you do this.
For a specific domain registrar, you can look into our comparison of domain registrars, and specifically, we recommend Namecheap as your domain registration provider. Ok, I think we covered all the relevant information about .Inc domains and now you are well-appointed with all the benefits of registering your website with a .Inc domain extension. All you have to do is decide whether or not to go in at the early bird period or wait until they are widely available — the choice is yours!
What is .Inc Domain Cost?
You can get your .Inc today with $250 off the regular price at Namecheap! All you need to do is go to their website, and choose your perfect .Inc domain and apply this coupon code when you check out: GETDOTINC
Getting your .Inc with Namecheap gives you the whole business package of top-rated 24/7 customer support, a free personal data privacy system, and reliable DNS.
So, when you think about .Inc domain cost, consider investing today into a domain with huge strategic and business value to launch your A-list business in the direction of success.
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