It was a close one between GoDaddy & 1and1 for worst registrar. Personally I voted for 1and1 and am really surprised. After reading your comments I can see your concerns with GoDaddy.
The numbers are in, we received 152 total votes and 34 comments. GoDaddy received 46 votes, 1and1 received 42 votes and eNom came in a distant third with 16 votes. To view the blog post and complete results click here.
Before the end of the week I will be sending a letter and email directly to Bob Parsons, owner of GoDaddy with our results. I am sure everyone is curious to see what he has to say and what we can do to resolve some of the issues. Once I get a response I will post what Bob had to say.
In the mean time I will look into replacing GoDaddy banners/coupons with Name and Moniker which had the least votes for worst registrar. I briefly looked at their pricing for registering new domain names, Name is $8.99 and Moniker is $8.02. I will look into discounts for my readers.
UPDATE: After viewing some of the comments and my personal feelings I am going to leave GoDaddy on the site. To resolve the issue for people that do not like GoDaddy I will be adding either Name or Moniker. I hope this will provide a win-win situation for all my readers.
In addition to the GoDaddy letter I will also be sending a letter to 1and1, the voting was very close. When you take into consideration market share that Ross pointed out in one of the comments it really brings the results into a better perspective. GoDaddy has 27+ million registered domain names compared to only 4.5 million with 1and1. View this link to show the Registrar Market Share chart which was updated yesterday.
Good of you to change the ads on your site.
IMO Show your true support against rubbish registrars, and move your names out of Godaddy.
Good Luck
Thanks Tom.
Moving my domain names out of GoDaddy is easier said than done. I have about 700 domain names registered there, the fees to move would be about $5,600. Honestly I am a happy customer, no complaints with GoDaddy.
Wow, I’m surprised to hear that. I’ve never had a problem with GoDaddy. I voted for 1and1 in the poll. Moniker is a close second-worst for me.
I am surprised too Steve. What I might do is keep GoDaddy as a discount link and also add Monker and Name. This way everyone is happy. I really want to see what Bob Parsons has to say before I make any changes. I just updated my blog, I am also going to send a letter to 1and1.
Before you jump on the gun to quick look at this website:
http://www.registrarstats.com/Public/RegistrarMarketShareMain.aspx
Notice that the 3 “worst” registars are placed in the top 6 places to register a domain name. This is due to adverts and word of mouth to the world. Most people take on those 3 “worst” registars when regging a domain for the first time. Therefore more customers, more problems. You also get those people that have no idea how to work the CP and get frustrated and write a bad review ect…
Im sorry but the only registar that truly deserves to be on that list is 1and1.
Thanks Sou Chef Ross
After reading your comment I have updated my blog post. I completely agree with what your saying. It is something I have already pointed out but did not have the chart to back it up.
I love Godaddy. I have thousands of domains there for since they opened their doors for biz.
I can’t imagine how they could be the worst when there are tons of thieving registrars out there, tons of registrars with complex interfaces, etc…….
‘Worst’ is all subjective, I’ve never had a problem with GoDaddy registration or transferring in/out – and I have 100+ domains. Not the same as Chef Patrick with 700+, but I’m getting there
Totally respect your decision to change the ads, kudos for that – advertise what you believe in.
I see it this way..
GoDaddy has to be damn good at what they do to hold
27M + registered domains. More than 25% Market Share,
and STILL being the fastest growing registrar…
Sorry Chef Patrick, but 152 votes is too low a sample for any statistical analysis.
agree, but unfortunately i cannot get all 27 million to vote. believe me, if 27 million people voted that would mean i had a worlds top ten website and i would be even richer than i already am
I’m an amateur, but the only thing I don’t like is the recent redesign. It’s clunky and slow. I can’t believe a domain registrar has such a slow site.
How do you plan on emailing Bob Parson’s?
I have already contacted GoDaddy for Bob Parsons direct email address. I hope to have the time to get the email out tomorrow, Monday the latest.
Well I’m shocked, i cant believe godaddy is even close to 1and1, godaddy is my main registrar, there are several that i was not impressed with.
I know a lot of people don’t like all the extras on the godaddy site, but thats marketing and it obviously works.
And it doesn’t take long to work out how to fastrack past them!
well Bob, you still have my vote.
Great post Patrick, and as i said, it got the enom problem resolved for me.
I wonder what the results would be if you had a best registrar poll? I bet it would show different results.