None of Google Domain's features are novel. In fact the article spent most of its time talking about an up-sell. Which isn't to say Google Domain isn't a good product, just that we now should look at price because nothing else seems interesting...
~ Google Domains charges $12/year for .COM, .NET, .ORG.
~ NameCheap charges $10.69/year for .COM, $11.98/year for .NET, and $11.48/year for .ORG. Sometimes with an 18c/year fee tacked on.
~ GoDaddy charges $12.99-13.99 for a .COM but that might increase randomly because they're scumbags.
So my point is that this article claims that everyone is "rushing" to this new product, and while this product doesn't seem "bad" it also isn't exactly market changing. The prices are well within 10% of the market (sometimes higher, sometimes lower) and the features are pretty generic also.
Can someone explain why Google Domains is compelling and not a "me too!" product?
I've been a beta-tester of Google Domains for months, and it's just such a nicer experience than GoDaddy/Namecheap. Particularly with GoDaddy, I feel like there's always a chance I'm going to click on the wrong thing and then get subscribed to some ridiculous service. With Google, it's a clean, transparent, USABLE interface.
I'd encourage people to try it out with a domain and form your own views. As for me, I'm moving all of my domains over to Google (as they get close to renewal.)
Private registration usually costs extra, but not with Google domains. That is a compelling reason to me. I also like the clean interface, some of the other vendors have horrible interfaces.
they do include private whois, and X subdomains for your domain, X emails available... but game changing would include SSL for all, or free hosting from your google drive - even if it was just static content.
it's a classic google "me too" project. i always get the feeling a lot of google projects come up because someone somewhere is going to be in a high level meeting with execs, and one exec sees something interesting and asks "why aren't we doing this?" and then someone gets to chime in "we already are!" and then they check the box for DONE and never look back.
I think this product is about filling a hole in their lineup of products, more than it is supposed to be innovative itself. The other products are innovative, this supplements those products.
They no longer have to send people across the street for this critical part of hosting and can also easily integrate it with their other services, such as gmail forwarding.
I found the console way better than Gandi, that I was using before. A few other integrations are simpler and quicker, such as creating email forwards. It seems also really well integrated with Google Cloud, but that's only relatively useful :)
Edit: oh, and it's fast to update, especially if you use Google as DNS server as I do.
It doesn't have to be anything more than a "me to" product.
Noting that if you google "domains" they now come up as the 2nd organic link. Nice to be king, eh?
Edit: I own a registrar and we compete with them (if you want to call it that). Obviously I am just referring to the fact that they can instantly rank high with what amounts to a beta product hence the "king" comment. Of course they need to be more than "me to" but that ranking goes a long way in getting them business even if they do very little.
It's not compelling, it just fills the gap, as mentioned. It gives them more info to adjust their search algorithms and weed out bad apples imo. Now they know who has registered even private domains. Make an inadvertent "bad move" on one domain/site, and they will be killing traffic to everything you own.
Namecheap includes WhoisGuard with all their domains for those prices, so they're even LOWER than they seem.
It seems to me that Google is just trying to throw their enormous weight into every space now and it sickens me. This is how we end up with mediocre goods and services... No thanks Google.
They are much, much more than a monopoly at this point.
Not to mention, with Namecheap, GoDaddy or really any other company, you can probably get ahold of tech support 24/7. Good luck getting that from Google... Not that I've tried yet, but my experience with them in the past has been that it's mission impossible to talk to a human being in charge of something there, unless you're trying to hangout with the devs on Google+ or something for smalltalk, which seems to always be available.
I pay $8.19/.com with GoDaddy with the Domain Club - nobody can touch their prices, but GoDaddy doesn't have an API and according to their account executives I spoke to, they won't offer one anytime soon.
Because once they have the Credit Card number from a customer it is extremely easier to sell him other products.
That's quite the Google way, they are not looking for the one-time immediate profit, but for customers that will somehow generate income in the long term. It seems it's not working bad for them.
I believe when you add whois guard to NameCheap, it actually comes out a little more than Google Domains, which I think offers free private registration.
I started moving all of my domains back to NameCheap from Badger after they raised their prices to what Hover charges.
The domain renewal with whois privacy/guard at NameCheap ends up being a little more than Google Domains.
I keep hoping NameCheap will overhaul their control panel design like they did with their main site.
I will probably end up moving to AWS Route53 or Google Domains or to use their DNS and a clean/modern interface and simpler pricing (include whois privacy).
The last thing I trust Google with is my domains. They can outright ban or disable you just like with any of their products and not offer support or explanation.
So when somebody steals your domain, do you actually get to talk to a person at Google to help resolve the matter, or is it like every other customer service experience they offer?
I have no idea why this is US only other than Google just being extremely lazy. Previously I've always understood why companies couldn't release products internationally or at least in their own continent when it came to rights for content, however I really don't see any reason for this one.
If it's an issue of not wanting to deal with certain country top-levels then so be it and simply offer the ones you've implemented already and add in more top levels in the future.
Don't waste your time on this service. I registered for it years ago while it was still in beta, and it's been nothing but a trainwreck.
The latest debacle: I can't renew my domain. They started sending me notifications a few months ago that my domain was expiring because my credit card is out of date. I can't sign in because of a redirect bug. There's no support to reach out to, and requests for help on forums have gone unanswered.
Alternatively, dnsimple has been nothing but charming to work with.
I've been using Google Domains for several months now. I like the simplicity of their user interface and I trust Google to be good at DNS. My biggest complaint is that they don't support very many TLD's. I'd prefer to have all my domains in one place, but they don't support .co yet.
I was a beta tester as well. All the reasons you listed apply. Even before they opened for the masses I have moved all my domains in. Some extra reasons:
- Simple integration if you are on Google apps (I am grandfathered, using their, old, standard, free Gapps.
- Customer support was superb and instant, via chat, and it was great. The person knew what he was doing.
Easily buy a domain, have it automatically hooked into the Google Apps suite of products, and easily hook it up with a select number of third party vendors like Wix or Shopify.
That's what this is about. The ability to create something cool, run a business, without having to worry as much about the technical bullshit.
Great product, and for the ease of use it is well worth $12/year. And yea, I know, $2 more a year than namecheap... but $2/year is well worth the time it takes to setup a domain (even if it is only a 2 minute ordeal).
Soon enough you will store your website entirely on SERPs. Instant load times will mean better user experience. A to Z solution will ease up developers life.
I've been using this for a few months now and it's been great. The cool thing is that they allow you to solve the problem of having domain emails pointing to your personal emails so for example [email protected] -> [email protected]. The only challenge with this is that I use Cloudflare as my CDN and Google's email redirects work if you use Google's nameservers.
> The cool thing is that they allow you to solve the problem of having domain emails pointing to your personal emails so for example [email protected] -> [email protected]
Am I missing something...? I didn't realise this was a problem - I've never used a domain provider that doesn't let you do this. I currently use Namecheap, which certainly do.
The painful thing I've found with this is that it leaves [email protected] as a valid email address. So there I am signing up for other services with [email protected] and meanwhile some typo-ridden fool in the US keeps signing up [email protected] instead of [email protected] and I end up receiving their hotel receipts, iTunes receipts, etc.
Very few of those services have a good way of dealing with "No, that wasn't their email address they signed up with, it was an alias of mine". And while for some of these, I could presumably click the "forgot password" link and go into their account, I'm not sure that would be legitimate and wouldn't know what their correct email was to change it.
I wish I could somehow post this in really large fonts here that a domain name is a service where you actually need support, "real support". When your account (which is linked to dozens of other services and the reason can be an algorithmic false alert in context of any of those services) is disabled you again need support.
And customer support is something Google doesn't believe in.
I'd never in a lifetime want to depend for something as critical as domain registrations on a company that can't be bothered to answer its customers. Google has an absolutely horrible record when it comes to end user support and if there is one thing you want from your registrar then it is that they actually answer their phones and email.
The best feature is that it's not GoDaddy, or NameCheap. Having registered hundreds of domains, dealt with all kinds of customer service and had to perform numerous operations for my domains the user experience matters and though Google hasn't has the best track record with UX they certainly do invest in it more heavily than GoDaddy & NameCheap.
[+] [-] Someone1234|11 years ago|reply
~ Google Domains charges $12/year for .COM, .NET, .ORG.
~ NameCheap charges $10.69/year for .COM, $11.98/year for .NET, and $11.48/year for .ORG. Sometimes with an 18c/year fee tacked on.
~ GoDaddy charges $12.99-13.99 for a .COM but that might increase randomly because they're scumbags.
So my point is that this article claims that everyone is "rushing" to this new product, and while this product doesn't seem "bad" it also isn't exactly market changing. The prices are well within 10% of the market (sometimes higher, sometimes lower) and the features are pretty generic also.
Can someone explain why Google Domains is compelling and not a "me too!" product?
[+] [-] nostromo|11 years ago|reply
If you want privacy protection on your whois lookups, then Google would be cheaper than the other providers, as they sell it as an add-on.
I also trust Google to have speedy DNS servers, if you're leaving the defaults in place. GoDaddy's DNS can be quite slow.
Perhaps not a "mind-blowing" product, but one I'd consider using.
[+] [-] jedc|11 years ago|reply
I'd encourage people to try it out with a domain and form your own views. As for me, I'm moving all of my domains over to Google (as they get close to renewal.)
[+] [-] rpedela|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] foolfoolz|11 years ago|reply
it's a classic google "me too" project. i always get the feeling a lot of google projects come up because someone somewhere is going to be in a high level meeting with execs, and one exec sees something interesting and asks "why aren't we doing this?" and then someone gets to chime in "we already are!" and then they check the box for DONE and never look back.
[+] [-] MichaelApproved|11 years ago|reply
They no longer have to send people across the street for this critical part of hosting and can also easily integrate it with their other services, such as gmail forwarding.
[+] [-] ecesena|11 years ago|reply
Edit: oh, and it's fast to update, especially if you use Google as DNS server as I do.
[+] [-] larrys|11 years ago|reply
It doesn't have to be anything more than a "me to" product.
Noting that if you google "domains" they now come up as the 2nd organic link. Nice to be king, eh?
Edit: I own a registrar and we compete with them (if you want to call it that). Obviously I am just referring to the fact that they can instantly rank high with what amounts to a beta product hence the "king" comment. Of course they need to be more than "me to" but that ranking goes a long way in getting them business even if they do very little.
[+] [-] poopsintub|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] readme|11 years ago|reply
It seems to me that Google is just trying to throw their enormous weight into every space now and it sickens me. This is how we end up with mediocre goods and services... No thanks Google.
They are much, much more than a monopoly at this point.
Not to mention, with Namecheap, GoDaddy or really any other company, you can probably get ahold of tech support 24/7. Good luck getting that from Google... Not that I've tried yet, but my experience with them in the past has been that it's mission impossible to talk to a human being in charge of something there, unless you're trying to hangout with the devs on Google+ or something for smalltalk, which seems to always be available.
[+] [-] waylandsmithers|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kolev|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Thaxll|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 6t6t6|11 years ago|reply
That's quite the Google way, they are not looking for the one-time immediate profit, but for customers that will somehow generate income in the long term. It seems it's not working bad for them.
[+] [-] jaimeyap|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eunice|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arfliw|11 years ago|reply
$12 is really expensive...
[+] [-] blfr|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rictic|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shurcooL|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DonnyV|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] billconan|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] venomsnake|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] qeorge|11 years ago|reply
Namecheap takes great care of me at $10/year though, so I'm not very compelled to switch.
[+] [-] wise_young_man|11 years ago|reply
The domain renewal with whois privacy/guard at NameCheap ends up being a little more than Google Domains.
I keep hoping NameCheap will overhaul their control panel design like they did with their main site.
I will probably end up moving to AWS Route53 or Google Domains or to use their DNS and a clean/modern interface and simpler pricing (include whois privacy).
[+] [-] Log1x|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] torbit|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] justhw|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] uptown|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SG-|11 years ago|reply
If it's an issue of not wanting to deal with certain country top-levels then so be it and simply offer the ones you've implemented already and add in more top levels in the future.
[+] [-] m0th87|11 years ago|reply
The latest debacle: I can't renew my domain. They started sending me notifications a few months ago that my domain was expiring because my credit card is out of date. I can't sign in because of a redirect bug. There's no support to reach out to, and requests for help on forums have gone unanswered.
Alternatively, dnsimple has been nothing but charming to work with.
[+] [-] joshfraser|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] msoad|11 years ago|reply
- Unlike other domain sellers, Google Domains is NOT trying to sell me anything other than domains.
- Canceling is easy! I don't have to wait in calls with 1&1!
- Customer support was great. They get back to me after an hour if I email and if I call, responses are very fast.
- User interface is clean and clear.
[+] [-] Fastidious|11 years ago|reply
- Simple integration if you are on Google apps (I am grandfathered, using their, old, standard, free Gapps.
- Customer support was superb and instant, via chat, and it was great. The person knew what he was doing.
Definitely a keeper.
[+] [-] richardlblair|11 years ago|reply
Easily buy a domain, have it automatically hooked into the Google Apps suite of products, and easily hook it up with a select number of third party vendors like Wix or Shopify.
That's what this is about. The ability to create something cool, run a business, without having to worry as much about the technical bullshit.
Great product, and for the ease of use it is well worth $12/year. And yea, I know, $2 more a year than namecheap... but $2/year is well worth the time it takes to setup a domain (even if it is only a 2 minute ordeal).
[+] [-] nostromo|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gesman|11 years ago|reply
Agree though - clear instructions are missing.
[+] [-] dzhiurgis|11 years ago|reply
Soon enough you will store your website entirely on SERPs. Instant load times will mean better user experience. A to Z solution will ease up developers life.
[+] [-] grayfox|11 years ago|reply
No Canadian support yet.
Soon, eh!
[+] [-] throwaway34052|11 years ago|reply
The world needs to resist ceeding every last bit Internet governance to these people.
Centralization is death!
[+] [-] blissofbeing|11 years ago|reply
If so, buying your domain here could be worth it for the DNS alone, as they are anycast, DNSSEC enabled, and fairly fast[2].
1: https://cloud.google.com/dns/docs
2: http://www.solvedns.com/dns-comparison/2014/12
[+] [-] joeblau|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SEMW|11 years ago|reply
Am I missing something...? I didn't realise this was a problem - I've never used a domain provider that doesn't let you do this. I currently use Namecheap, which certainly do.
[+] [-] wbillingsley|11 years ago|reply
Very few of those services have a good way of dealing with "No, that wasn't their email address they signed up with, it was an alias of mine". And while for some of these, I could presumably click the "forgot password" link and go into their account, I'm not sure that would be legitimate and wouldn't know what their correct email was to change it.
[+] [-] balladeer|11 years ago|reply
And customer support is something Google doesn't believe in.
[+] [-] jacquesm|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arifulanam|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vld|11 years ago|reply
1: https://internetbs.net/domain_names_usd.html
[+] [-] jastanton|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tamar|11 years ago|reply