Domain.com Web Hosting Review 2024
Our Research
Is Domain.com Worth Signing Up For?
Domain.com is one of the most popular domain name registrars. It offers attractive introductory prices starting at $11.99 per year for a top-level domain (i.e., .com) and has a massive library of unique domain name extensions available. In addition to its domain name registration service, it also has a variety of related services, such as web hosting, business email, SSL certificates and antivirus plans through SiteLock. Learn more about it and if it’s right for you with our Domain.com review.
Domain.com at a Glance 9.4 Editor Score
Simple Setup
9.5
Vast number of domain extensions available (including .io)
Security Features
9.2
SSL certificates starting at $2.75 per month (billed annually)
Technical Features
9.2
Website security through SiteLock starting at $3.99 per month (billed annually)
Servers
9.3
Customer Service
9.5
9.4 Editor Score
Domain.com Pros & Cons
PROS
- Low-cost introductory rates
- The price for a .org is just $9.99 per year
- Vast number of domain extensions available (including .io)
- Offers a range of other products and services, such as web hosting and a website builder
- Get business email with Google for $3 per month for your first year
CONS
- Domain name privacy costs an extra $8.99 per year
- Pricing nearly doubles upon renewal
- Lots of upsells during the checkout process
- Web hosting can be slow
- Does not offer VPS or dedicated web hosting
- Does not have one-click WordPress installation like most web hosts
How do I know I can trust this Domain.com review?
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Overview
What Is Domain.com?
Domain.com is first and foremost a domain name registrar. However, that’s not all it is. On top of its domain name registration services, it also offers a wide range of services relating to building, maintaining and securing your online presence.
Here’s what Domain.com offers:
- Over 300 domain extensions available
- Web hosting plans starting at $3.75 per month (billed annually)
- Domain.com is a partner of Web.com, a beginner-friendly website builder
- Hire expert web designers for custom web projects
- Professional marketing services
- SSL certificates starting at $2.75 per month (billed annually)
- Website security through SiteLock starting at $3.99 per month (billed annually)
How Domain.com Works
Domain.com is a domain name registrar that enables anyone to search for and purchase available domain names. It is an ICANN-accredited registrar, meaning that it has been verified by ICANN to sell domains. As with any domain name registrar, when you buy a domain name from Domain.com, you are buying it for a set period of time (usually one year). Domain names cannot be purchased for life, so instead, domain name registration is similar to an auto registration where it requires renewal.
Is Domain.com Right for Me?
While Domain.com offers affordable domain registration with a vast number of domain extensions, it’s not the only registrar available—nor is it the cheapest. Whether or not Domain.com is right for you will depend on your budget, needs and the features you are looking for, such as web hosting, domain name privacy or web design services.
Domain.com Is Best For:
- Those who are looking for a unique domain extension
- Those who plan to build a website with the Web.com site builder as it eliminates the need to manually connect your domain to your site
- Those who want to get a domain and low-cost web hosting for a large, content-heavy site as all of its plans include unlimited storage
- Those who need a domain and are interested in getting a hefty discount on professional email with Google
Domain.com Is Not Recommended For:
- Those who need help choosing a domain name as it does not offer a domain name generator tool like top competitors do (e.g., GoDaddy or Squarespace).
- Those who would prefer to pay a lower price in the long term as pricing increases greatly upon renewal
- Those who want to keep their personal information private with domain name privacy
What Sets Domain.com Apart
Where Domain.com stands out from its competitors is in its wide range of unique domain extensions and its low-cost web hosting plans that come with unlimited storage. So, for those who are in need of a new domain and are looking for something outside the ordinary (i.e., .com, .org, .net), it is a good registrar as not all offer such a large library of extensions.
Domain.com Features
Domain.com boasts a wide range of features in addition to its domain registration service and domain-related extras such as domain name privacy and a control panel. It also offers affordable web hosting services, a website builder through Web.com and web design services for those who do not want to build their site in-house. On top of that, it also offers business email through Google, and professional marketing services.
Core Features
Domain Registration
When it comes to domain registration, Domain.com stands out for its unique domain extensions (e.g., redcliff.brewery or lakeside.construction). This is because such domain extensions are not widely available from all registrars, so if you are looking for something outside of the standard .com, .org or .net, it is a good choice. However, for those who do want a domain with, say a .com extension, it costs $11.99 per year and increases to $21.99 per year, so it’s not the best long-term value as other top registrars offer lower renewal rates.
Additionally, Domain.com does not offer domain reselling services. That said, it’s not the best choice for those who are interested in buying and selling domains.
Web Hosting
One of Domain.com’s biggest selling points is its web hosting service. Plans start at $3.75 per month with annual billing. This includes unlimited storage, which is rare for a low-cost, entry-level web hosting plan, as well as a free SSL certificate and a free domain for your first year (renews at $21.99 per year).
A benefit of getting a free domain with web hosting is that it eliminates the need to manually connect your domain to your hosting service. This saves time (and aggravation) for those who are new to building websites as connecting domains isn’t always as simple as it should be.
Website Builder
Domain.com partnered with Web.com to offer its beginner-friendly website builder. While Web.com does offer a quality site builder that is very intuitive and easy to use, there is no special deal when signing up for a Web.com plan through Domain.com. That said, it is worth considering if you are looking for a quick and easy way of building a simple website.
Keep in mind that it costs $4.95 per month with annual billing for your first year. It then renews at $15.99 per month. For reference, this is in the same ballpark as the best website builders such as Wix, Weebly and Squarespace. Unlike those, it does not enable users to try it before buying it, so while the introductory pricing is low, it is fairly risky compared to other site builders that let you try it before purchasing an annual plan. For more information, check out our Web.com review.
Web Design Services
In addition to its partnership with Web.com, Domain.com also offers custom web design services for those who are not interested in building their own site. While it does not provide pricing information on its web design services, it does offer a free consultation so you can get more insight into costs for your specific project. Keep in mind that its web design services do not include web hosting, so you will also need to purchase web hosting.
Business Email
If you purchase a domain through Domain.com, you have the option to purchase professional business email that uses your custom domain from Google. The benefit of purchasing business email from Google through Domain.com is that Domain.com customers get a 50% discount for their first year. This means that your first year will cost $3 per month (or $36 per year) compared to the standard rate of $6 per month (or $72 per year).
Marketing Services
Domain.com offers professional marketing services in the following areas: search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and social media marketing. It offers users a free marketing consultation, which will provide a customized plan of action for your business and its online presence. While these services might be worthwhile for businesses that have just launched a new site and are looking to gain online visibility, you are likely better off going to a marketing agency that specializes in marketing services for your industry.
Security
SSL certificates come with all web hosting plans. However, for those who are purchasing a domain or already have hosting but do not have an SSL certificate, it’s possible to buy one from Domain.com. The cost for an SSL certificate starts at $2.75 per month with annual billing for a basic SSL certificate. The top-tier option is the Wildcard SSL which starts at $14.99 per month with annual billing.
Domain.com also offers website security plans through SiteLock. The entry-level SiteLock plan starts at $3.99 per month with annual billing and includes daily malware scans, blacklist monitoring, automatic malware removal and automated bot attack blocking.
Domain.com Web Hosting Plans and Pricing
| Basic | Deluxe | Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing (With Annual Billing) | $3.75 per month | $6.75 per month | $13.75 per month |
| Contract Lengths Available | 12, 24 and 36 months | 12, 24 and 36 months | 12, 24 and 36 months |
| Number of Sites | One | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Domain Name | Yes, for your first year | Yes, for your first year | Yes, for your first year |
| Free SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of MySQL Databases | 10 | 25 | Unlimited |
| Number of FTP Logins | Five | 25 | Unlimited |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days |
| Customer Support | 24/7 via live chat | 24/7 via live chat | 24/7 via live chat |
Basic Plan
The Basic plan costs $3.75 per month with a 12-, 24- or 36-month contract. It comes with unlimited storage and scalable bandwidth for one website. It also includes extras such as a free domain name for your first year and a free SSL certificate. This plan is geared toward a small business or blog that includes hosting for just one site, as opposed to Domain.com’s other hosting plans that offer hosting for unlimited sites.
Deluxe Plan
This mid-range plan costs $6.75 per month with a 12-, 24- or 36-month contract. It includes everything from the Basic plan, such as unlimited storage, a free domain for your first year and a free SSL certificate, but with the addition of unlimited websites and more MySQL databases and FTP logins. This plan is a good value for those with two or more sites.
Ultra Plan
The Ultra plan costs $13.75 per month with any contract length (12, 24 or 36 months) and it includes everything from the Deluxe plan, but with unlimited MySQL databases and FTP logins. This makes it a viable option for web design agencies and businesses managing a large volume of websites.
Domain.com Customer Service and Support
Customer support is available 24/7 via live chat. In order to start a chat with Domain.com’s support, you have to answer a brief questionnaire including your name and the topic of your query. In our experience, it typically warns you that there will be a wait (usually around three minutes). However, it rarely takes as long as the quoted time. Granted, while support has been quick to connect with, we have not found Domain.com’s support overly helpful.
Domain.com Alternatives & How They Compare
| Domain.com | Google Domains | Hover | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | ||||
| Starting Price for a .com Domain | $11.99 per year | $12 per year | $14.99 per year | $12.17 per year |
| Renewal Price for a .com Domain | $21.99 per year | $12 per year | $16.99 per year | $22.17 per year |
| Domain Name Privacy | $8.99 per year | Free | Free | Free |
| Web Hosting Starting Price | $3.75 per month (billed annually) | Not available | Not available | $5.99 per month (billed annually) |
| Storage Limit | Unlimited | N/A | N/A | 25GB |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | N/A | N/A | Unmetered |
| Website Builder | Via Web.com | Not available | Not available | Yes |
| Email Hosting | Through Google Workspace | Through Google Workspace | $20 per year for 10GB | $1.99 per month for 10GB |
| Customer Support | 24/7 via live chat | 24/7 via live chat phone and email | Monday–Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. via phone, email and live chat | 24/7 via live chat and phone |
Domain.com vs. Google Domains
Unlike Domain.com, Google Domains only offers domain name registration services—no website or web hosting services. In terms of domains, Domain.com is slightly more affordable for your first year given its introductory rate of $11.99. However, upon renewal, Domain.com becomes far more expensive than Google Domains at $21.99 per year compared to Google Domains at $12 per year. On top of that, Domain.com charges an additional $8.99 per year for domain name privacy, whereas this comes free with all Google Domains purchases.
Domain.com vs. Hover
The cost for a domain with Hover is slightly more for your first year compared to Domain.com at $14.99 per year. It’s also more affordable upon renewal at $16.99 per year compared to Domain.com which renews at $21.99 per year. Additionally, Hover includes domain name privacy for free, whereas it costs an extra $8.99 per year with Domain.com. Also, Hover offers email hosting for as little as $20 per year (or about $1.67 per month), whereas Domain.com offers email through Google Workspace, which costs over three times as much at $6 per month per user.
Bottom Line
Domain.com offers quality domain name registrations and web hosting services. However, it’s not the most feature-rich as it lacks many of the extras that top competitors include for free, such as domain name privacy. It also has high renewal rates, making it a low-cost option for your first year, but an expensive option for each year thereafter. While it doesn’t stand out for its domain registration services, its web hosting services are competitively priced and do include unlimited storage, making it a potentially good choice for those with content-heavy sites.
1 comment
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