The Great Debate: GoDaddy vs. Uniregistry
Uniregistry is increasingly competing with GoDaddy, and stronger competition is good for everybody.
The prior week Doron Vermaat, a domain investor who writes the blog DNGeek, wrote a post explaining why he was moving his 600 domain names from GoDaddy to Uniregistry.
His post sparked a lot of comments, counting from representatives of the two registrars.
That many of the “which registrar is best?” conversations now mention the relatively young Uniregistry instead of some of the more established registrars is a testament to the firm’s aggressive marketing in recent years. It is active at domain conferences and sponsors many domain blogs. (Both Uniregistry and GoDaddy are advertisers on this blog.)
Year following year, the Reglike survey reveals that security, price and client service are the most notable factors when choosing a registrar. Much of the conversation regarding which of these registrars is best has focused on this.
I use both GoDaddy and Uniregistry. Here are some of the things I think separate the two platforms from each other:
GoDaddy’s Edge
Afternic integration – This is a biggie for me. Being able to sell my domains across dozens of registrar storefronts is critical.
Brand name – Whenever I sell a domain, I usually ask the person to just send me their GoDaddy account number and email address. Rarely do they say “I won’t accept a transfer at GoDaddy.” This benefit of GoDaddy will be difficult for other registrars to replicate.
Added security for premier – Domain investors at GoDaddy’s Premier Services levels get added security for transfers-out.
Uniregistry’s Edge
International 2-factor authentication – I’ve heard lots of people frustrated with GoDaddy for not offering two-factor authentication worldwide. Uniregistry offers this. Its integration with Google Authenticator also provides a better user experience than a text message system (which can have frustrating network delays).
Simplicity – One of the benefits of being a fresh registrar is you get to build a great user interface based on the realities of today’s domain name business. Frank Schilling wants Uniregistry to be like the Apple of domain registrars. It’s definitely a good user experience.
Free privacy – This doesn’t matter much to me since I rarely use it. But if you prefer privacy, you can save a lot of money at Uniregistry.
Whether you prefer Uniregistry, GoDaddy or another registrar, it’s great that there are upstarts and increasing competition in the domain business. Competition leads to better service, features and pricing. All domain investors benefit from this.
