Six things to consider before you register a domain name

The domain name industry is huge. How huge? 225 million domain names registered in 2011 alone huge. Verisign Domain name system (DNS) queries hitting 117 billion in a single day huge. 90 million ccTLDs (country code top level domain like .eu, .de, .uk etc) registered huge.

Whether you own a dozen domain names or you’re looking to register your first domain name, we have compiled a few handy tips that will help you pick the right registrar and avoid some of the most common pratfalls.

1. Hidden costs:

Hidden in the fine print of some registrars Terms of Service, transfer-out fee policies enable a registrar to charge you to transfer your domain to another company. It’s important to read the fine print when purchasing a domain name, so that you can truly understand what you’ll be charged for when transferring to another registrar.

2. Protect your privacy:

When you register your domain name, the details are published in WHOIS – a publicly accessible database. This could include information like your full name, email address and even home address. Protect your privacy by turning off WHOIS on your domain name… and beware of registrars who charge you extra to allow you to do so.

WHOIS privacy is part of domain name registration with Hover and it’s simple to enable or disable your WHOIS privacy settings. To find out how, check out this article in the Hover Help section.

3. If it sounds too good to be true….

Beware of registrars who offer free domain names. There’s a real cost to registering a domain name. No one gives them away without getting something in return.
At Hover, our promise is great services at honest prices. We don’t believe in tricks, heavy upsells at checkout or making margin with hidden fees. Our advertised prices are the prices you’ll pay, plain and simple.

4. Don’t lose your domain:

When picking a registrar for your domain names, make sure the renewal process is clear, transparent and easy. You don’t want to find and register the perfect domain name only to lose it because you forgot to renew. Work with a registrar that offers notification services so that you don’t run into the problem of losing your domain name.

If you’ve opted for renewal with Hover, we’ll renew your domain name for you without any intervention required on your part. If not, on your Hover domain management tools you can easily customize renewal notices. If you don’t set up your own alerts though, we’ll still email you a few times in plenty of time to renew your domain name.

5. Is anyone there?

We’ve all been there. Waiting on the phone for what seems like days, listening to an automated voice that cuts into the elevator music to insists that despite outward appearance, our call is “important.” Pick a domain registrar that is available when you need help.

Hover’s customer service team are smart, empowered and ready to help anytime between 8am and 8pm EST. Give us a call at 1-866-731-6556 and a real person will pick up the phone. You can also email us anytime at help@hover.com and we’ll get back to you quickly.

6. Make it easy:

You have better things to do with your time than to mess around with complicated tools to manage your domain names. Whether you’re renewing your services, changing a password or registering a new a domain name, look for a registrar with a simple, uncomplicated interface.

At Hover, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time developing a frictionless, uncluttered and easy to use interface. Our help section offers tutorials, instructional videos and customer forums to make your domain name experience that much more enjoyable.