Our aim is to offer a better deal than the best known domain name registrar in UK, 123REG.
123REG is a subsidiary of US based GoDaddy, we prefer to keep the fees you pay on this side of the Atlantic!
- Note that any prices quoted here are subject to change.
We aim to be competitive with 123REG prices- 123REG charge a premium for domain privacy, we regard that as a desirable feature and include it in our standard costs, that means at first look we charge more. 123REG will charge (at time of writing) £12 p.a. for a UK domain but an additional £6 for Domain Ownership Protection/WHOIS privacy. We include that in our standard fee but it can be removed and the price reduced.
- 123REG will also try to tempt you with cheap website hosting, it’s cheap because it’s a low specification loss leader. They’ll be wanting to up-sell you more web space, more bandwidth, databases, “easy to use” DIY website builder packages, SSL (secure) certificates, their own bespoke website building services, their own low specification but expensive email service, their questionable Search Optimisation service. That’s called “putting all your eggs in one basket”. Our approach is to use the best provider for each of those elements. That not only provides a more robust and higher quality service but usually costs less too.
- We used to use 123REG for several hundred domain names. We moved away when ownership changed and service levels declined. For example, unexplained items would appear on invoices and, on more than one occasion, they failed to renew a name despite us having paid.
- 20 years ago we briefly used 123REG for web hosting too but only because they had taken over our previous host. Service was poor and we migrated away.
- Since the mid 1990s we have been managing several hundred domains. Since we moved away from123REG we have had no problems maintaining better than 99.99% availability and fast response times.
- We make no charge for most changes to, for example, nameservers, DNS settings, Email settings, web-forwarding. Moving hundreds of domains away from 123REG was a big task, we absorbed the cost of doing that.
- There are numerous alternatives to 123REG, pricing is commonly very similar, the differences come with usability, features and support. If you do prefer to take full control yourself we recommend LCN.co.uk
We make a small transfer out admin charge per name (or you can do it yourself by paying a fee to Nominet: nominet.uk/transferring-your-domain-name/). Unlike Nominet we will advise of any additional settings such as DNS, email and web forwarding you might need, we can also change registrant contact details. - Our service is proactive, that’s to say, if we spot an issue we will address it and you may never even know there was a problem. Elsewhere it will be entirely up to you to be alert to any issues and address them (if you know how).
- Our support is personal and is handled by an expert.
- Elsewhere you will likely be served by a so called “help desk” with low paid, low skilled operatives with aggressive “calls per hour” targets and possibly with “challenging” accents or a poor grasp of English.
- We aim to address any issues by taking the task off your hands and simply fix the issue.
- When a “budget” help desk operative can’t fix a problem they may pass it to second level support so you need to describe the issue all over again.
- We won’t try to fob you off by blaming some other aspect of your service like “it’s a problem with your broadband supplier”. If we establish that the fault lies elsewhere then we’ll either work with the third party on your behalf or provide you the diagnostic details you need to get them to fix the issue.
- Our clients, however small, get access to our years of expertise, often at little or no cost.
- If you hold multiple domains (and other services) we will invoice once a year rather than as each name’s renewal date comes due. That has two benefits, firstly less admin overhead on your part, secondly it reduces the risk of a busy “accounts payable” clerk being tricked by a fake invoice (a problem that’s been with us long before the internet but is being very successfully exploited on-line too).
- We understand the DNS (domain name system) and can configure the name to match individual requirements, it can be a lot more flexible than just the common basic nameserver routing.
- When you call us (0114 299 8285) you will reach a voicemail system. We receive an alert that a message has been left and will respond as soon as practicable by looking at the problem immediately or by returning your call if we need more information. Surely that’s better than navigating a call queuing system only to end up listening to canned music for 20 minutes – and then the nightmare of explaining the issue to someone whose aim is to close the call as quickly as possible, regardless of whether they help address your issue.
- Names under our management are auto-renewed. Payment is set up with a secondary account in case of any difficulty with the primary payment method and is paid several weeks ahead of due date.
- It may sound “simpler” to have email, web-site design & maintenance, domains, web hosting all in the same place. Yes but… If your domain management is separate from your hosting then if your hosting provider has a problem then, in a matter of minutes, the domain name can be redirected to a different web server. That can show a page explaining the situation providing at least reassurance and contact details.
- You may have an IT literate employee with the knowledge and experience to take some internet tasks in-house. That can work but what happens when they move employer or are on holiday when their skills are required? Also bear in mind that you may have employed them for another role, this secondary task is competing for their time, outsourcing is more cost-effective.
- Security distressingly too often we’ve received a call or email from someone we’ve never heard from that goes like this “we’ve built a new website for … please transfer control of the domain to …”. There are a few problems with that:
- As a website owner, would you be happy for us to take instructions from a total stranger handing him total control over your website and email? What does that say about the security awareness of the web designer making the request?
- Often the caller is expecting immediate action, not familiar with the phrase “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on our part”. (That said we pride ourselves on handling emergencies for our clients if they do arise). Bear in mind that building a new website can take months, plenty of opportunity to give us advance notice of an upcoming need to make changes and agree timing.
- They are further annoyed when we say “we only act only on instruction from our client”.
- Still more so when they expect us to send them copies of all current settings and files but consider that requesting some recompense for the time and effort involved to be unreasonable.
- A new website doesn’t mean it’s necessary to transfer control of the domain, we simply need to change the nameservers or some DNS settings. Quick and easy, the domain renewal and management remains in safe hands. They should know that…
- Past experience has been that when a domain is transferred out the associated ownership information is not updated. We get several renewal reminders a year for domains we transferred out long ago. That means there’s a risk that the name renewal will be missed, especially with domains held purely on a defensive basis (with an active domain the issue is likely to be noticed as web and email services will be suspended).
- You may think this is scaremongering but we’ve been called on several times where a web designer who controls the domain name and provides hosting cannot be contacted. We can usually help recover the situation, often with considerable urgency but, surely, better not to get into that position…