.COM QUESTION

Ace · February 08, 2007, 08:33:00 PM

My .com is about to expire in a couple of days and I usually renew it but watching the super bowl, I saw an ad for godaddy.com that is far cheaper than what I have been using. They say they can transfer your existing account to thiers and it looks as though they have more to offer than my existing account.

My question is has anyone out here had any experience with godaddy.com and is there anything you can tell me! I think I have 3-4 days left on mine so I need to do something pretty quick!

Thanks...
Ace

gumpy · February 08, 2007, 08:43:17 PM

I don't have experience with godaddy, but I can tell you I can no longer recommend Enom for registration. I used their email forwarding records to define various email addresses on my domain, such as the one I use on this site. All were forwarded to my top level address, which was forwarded to my pop3 account elsewhere. Last week, I tried to add another one and their system blew up, gave me an error on every address, and deleted them. I called them and they told me their system couldn't do circular address forwarding. When I explained that I had been doing it for 4 years, and it wasn't circular, and I'd really like to have my addresses restored, they told me they couldn't do that because they don't back up user data, and oh by the way, their system doesn't allow you to forward addresses to your own domain (again, been doing this for 4 years without a problem).

So they wouldn't help me and I had to try to recreate all my addresses. Of course I don't have a copy of them. That's what their site is for! So I added several back in, and forwarded them off to my pop3 address. This week, I added another one, and set it to my domain again, and voila, it works again.

They didn't bother to answer my question about it this week! I think I've been marked.

I'll be shopping for a new registrar soon.

craig

Dallas · February 08, 2007, 08:51:14 PM

Ace,

This website is on GoDaddy.

I think Phil has been trying to get them to make some server settings changes, so the BBS will work better.

You may want to ask him in a PM what he thinks.

I also am looking to change my webhosting, but haven't even started looking yet.

Dallas

ChuckMC9 · February 08, 2007, 08:56:13 PM

I use godaddy for web hosting, but I use namecheap for domain registration. If you ever want to have your own hosted server space, *do not* get the registration from the same company you have do the hosting.

Namecheap is outstanding, as is godaddy, but I use them for different things.

HighTechRedneck · February 09, 2007, 05:28:17 AM

I have domains at Godaddy and they have been very good. I also had a server there for a while but took it elsewhere because of their inflexibility on PHP installation and email operation.

So, the bottom line is I recommend them for domains and most other services. But on hosting, if your needs are simple they are fine (setup is fast, servers and connectivity are good and support is average). But if your hosting needs are PHP intensive or you want email sent directly from your server, you may want to look elsewhere for hosting.

BusCrazyTom · February 09, 2007, 11:22:22 AM

Ace,

I've used godaddy for registration and hosting for my sites for 4 years now and not one problem. Even had a rep call me one day who actually found a way to save me money. I highly reccommend them.

Tom Weeks
BusCrazyTom the Analog Dinosaur
Stupid Bus Newbie

airless · February 09, 2007, 05:00:22 PM

Godaddy is okay for the most part...

Their rates are about 130.00 per year.
You can get an account with www.1dollarhosting.com Their rates start at $12.00 per year and offer the same thing as Godaddy just cheaper.

Ace · February 09, 2007, 06:21:03 PM

airless forst off hello and hope all is well and second, I didn't see anywhere on thier site that it would run $130 a year! Heck I'm looking at a lot cheaper than that.

Heck maybe I'll just keep what I have for another year!

Ace

HighTechRedneck · February 09, 2007, 07:15:09 PM

Ace, Godaddy isn't $130/year unless you need a premium account. Their base level account is $3.59/mo. for a one year plan which comes to $43.08/year, not $130, and has no setup fee. 1dollarhosting.com is $1 per month but charges a $49 setup fee.

Having been on both sides of web hosting (I used to do web hosting as one of my businesses), there is a lot I could say about companies that state "unlimited" bandwidth at super low prices (i.e. dollar hosting). But this isn't a web hosting forum so I will refrain.

If you want to research web hosts, the WebHostingTalk forum is a good place to do some searches for the hosts name you are considering. There are many sites out there that "compare" or "review" hosts, but most of those sites get their revenues from the hosts they review.

oldmansax · February 10, 2007, 06:53:56 AM

HighTechRedneck- Thanks for the webhost forum site. That is a good resource!

TOM

HighTechRedneck · February 10, 2007, 08:03:30 AM

Quote from: oldmansax on February 10, 2007, 06:53:56 AM
HighTechRedneck- Thanks for the webhost forum site. That is a good resource!

TOM

You're welcome. Another tip for using that forum to research web hosts. Use the advanced search feature to select sections other than advertising. That will help avoid the search results filling up with advertising for that host.

John E. Smith · February 10, 2007, 08:52:46 PM

Quote from: Ace on February 08, 2007, 08:33:00 PM
My .com is about to expire in a couple of days and I usually renew it but watching the super bowl, I saw an ad for godaddy.com that is far cheaper than what I have been using. They say they can transfer your existing account to thiers and it looks as though they have more to offer than my existing account.

My question is has anyone out here had any experience with godaddy.com and is there anything you can tell me! I think I have 3-4 days left on mine so I need to do something pretty quick!

Thanks...
Ace

Ace, let me make a suggestion... this is what I am doing on my site.

Transfer your registration to GoDaddy if you want -- but don't use their DNS tools. Their site's user interface for domain management is confusing and not easy to set up if you aren't a "wiz kid". I use a service called ZoneEdit (http://www.zoneedit.com) for my nameservers and DNS management. You can also transfer your domain registration to ZoneEdit if you like, or if your current registrar will allow it, simply leave your domain name where it is and use the ZoneEdit nameservers. ZoneEdit is a full (and free for up to 5 zones, or domain names) DNS management set up that is VERY easy to use and set up. They also support "Round Robin" DNS -- which is the formal name for what Gumpy has been doing (even if it is technically "illegal" under the ICAAN dns rules). They are the ONLY dns management site that allows you to control ALL DNS POINTER RECORDS youself -- that way, if you screw it up it is your own fault, LOL!

I bought my domain name (http://www.jesmith8369.com/) through GoDaddy and hosted there for about two months until I had my site developed completely. I then moved my DNS off-site to ZoneEdit, and moved my actual site off onto my own server sitting on the end of my desk. It works fine -- and if you are forced to deal with a dynamic IP address due to your DSL provider, ZoneEdit has a utility that runs as a Windows service and will update your ZoneEdit nameserver's DNS records remotely and instantly when your IP address changes.

As far as domain name registration and renewal, I have to recommend GoDaddy -- they are the cheapest around; but I can't recommend their site management interface.

John E. Smith · February 10, 2007, 09:19:13 PM

Quote from: gumpy on February 08, 2007, 08:43:17 PM
I don't have experience with godaddy, but I can tell you I can no longer recommend Enom for registration. I used their email forwarding records to define various email addresses on my domain, such as the one I use on this site. All were forwarded to my top level address, which was forwarded to my pop3 account elsewhere. Last week, I tried to add another one and their system blew up, gave me an error on every address, and deleted them. I called them and they told me their system couldn't do circular address forwarding. When I explained that I had been doing it for 4 years, and it wasn't circular, and I'd really like to have my addresses restored, they told me they couldn't do that because they don't back up user data, and oh by the way, their system doesn't allow you to forward addresses to your own domain (again, been doing this for 4 years without a problem).

So they wouldn't help me and I had to try to recreate all my addresses. Of course I don't have a copy of them. That's what their site is for! So I added several back in, and forwarded them off to my pop3 address. This week, I added another one, and set it to my domain again, and voila, it works again.

They didn't bother to answer my question about it this week! I think I've been marked.

I'll be shopping for a new registrar soon.

craig

Craig, the reason that all of this happened -- I suspect -- is because what you have been doing with email forwards is technically "illegal" under the ICAAN dns rules. That is probably why they wouldn't help you to re-create them. Under the ICAAN dns rules, you may define only MX records to define your mail server, in order of failover priority. When you define "circular" dns references by using email forwarding, they tend to break the system and end up referring all of your smtp traffic to your top level domain. And, if you don't have a smtp server (with appropriate A record) defined in that top zone, they get bounced. Yes, you have them working again, but I suspect that they will break again at some point.

What I do is to define a dns "A" record for each of my servers -- top level, www, ftp, pop3, and smtp. Then I define my smtp server in my MX record with no email forwarding and no "CNAME" (or alias) dns record. This is the "legal" definition structure according to ICAAN regulations.

Here is a good explanation of this from the ZoneEdit FAQ that deals with CNAME records -- which are actually what your email forwards are in a round-about way:

"Do I need to use an Alias (CNAME) record?

Most people do not need to use CNAME records. They are complicated, and very often create e-mail related problems. In fact, we won't even support your e-mail related problems if you define the root of your domain with a CNAME or use a wildcard CNAME. So, why use it at all?

The main instance that a CNAME is useful is for those domain name owners who use a dynamic IP address service. These services will keep track of the IP address of your server, even if it changes many times a day, and assign a domain name inside their zone to that IP address -- and will change it when necessary. If you would like to use your domain name instead of their subdomain name for your server, just create a CNAME for "jesmith8369.com" and "www.jesmith8369.com" and all your traffic will get rerouted to your server at home.

Of course, if you choose to do this, you will probably not be able to set up an e-mail server, and, once again, we will not support your e-mail related problems"