Is private domain registration worth it?

27 replies
When buying a domain name do you pay extra to get private registration?

I can see the point of it, like not exposing your email address to possible domain hijackers but from what I've seen it ends up costing over twice as much to do it this way. So far I've only looked at a few places but they all seem to be about the same price.

So, is it worth it to double the cost of buying a domain to get private registration?
#domain #private #registration #worth
  • Profile picture of the author John Alves
    I always get private domain registration. I don't think it's necessary. It just depends whether or not you feel like giving your address to the world. A lot of companies tend to stay away from it because people see it as a negative as if they are "hiding" something. You could use a PO Box if you want instead of your address and keep it public.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrbawb
      Originally Posted by John Alves View Post

      I always get private domain registration. I don't think it's necessary. It just depends whether or not you feel like giving your address to the world. A lot of companies tend to stay away from it because people see it as a negative as if they are "hiding" something. You could use a PO Box if you want instead of your address and keep it public.
      I second that John
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  • Profile picture of the author NeilC
    It's just down to personal choice and how easy you want to make it for people to be able to find what websites you have, so the additional cost can often be worth it with that in mind.

    If cost is an issue or your not bothered about that perhaps because you only want to have one or two sites, then don't worry about it because its not essential.
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  • Profile picture of the author auradev
    I think its cheaper to just get a PO box, so then you dont have to pay the extra $10 per year for every single domain you have. That would add up fast. PO Box is like $15/month.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by johnharvard View Post

    When buying a domain name do you pay extra to get private registration?
    No. I get it free because I buy most of my domain-names at Namecheap.

    I still buy some .info domains at GoDaddy and they give a year's free privacy protection too, as long as you buy 5+ in one transaction (they're only $1 each).

    Originally Posted by johnharvard View Post

    from what I've seen it ends up costing over twice as much to do it this way.
    It depends how you do it, John.

    Some registrars give free privacy for as long as you originally register the domain for. If you only register for 1 year, then yes, the second year's going to cost more. But there's no downside, even then, to taking the first year free?
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    • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      No. I get it free because I buy most of my domain-names at Namecheap.

      I still buy some .info domains at GoDaddy and they give a year's free privacy protection too, as long as you buy 5+ in one transaction (they're only $1 each).



      It depends how you do it, John.

      Some registrars give free privacy for as long as you originally register the domain for. If you only register for 1 year, then yes, the second year's going to cost more. But there's no downside, even then, to taking the first year free?

      Until it comes time to renew... then you end up paying face value for your .info domain PLUS your private registration.




      I personally have a business name, UPS Box, and admin email / (voip)telephone that I use for my contact details with almost all my domains. I don't use my personal info.

      Makes it a whole lot cheaper.
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  • Profile picture of the author davewebsmith
    Use a private mailbox or POBox that will not disclose your personal name / address / this info is all over the internet and can make id fraud very simple. The less you make public the better
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    • Profile picture of the author DanTheSeoGuy
      At Godaddy for example you'll be paying around $17 the second year (and from there on) in order to renew your .com domain and get private registration.

      I think $17 for an entire year just to have the peace of mind that no one's going to bother you (your personal email and stuff like that)... it's worth it .

      Dan.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by DanTheSeoGuy View Post

        I think $17 for an entire year just to have the peace of mind that no one's going to bother you (your personal email and stuff like that)... it's worth it.
        If you have 100 of them, Dan, would you think it worth $1,700, then? Or might it depend how many you have, and whether a PO Box works out at a fraction of the price? Personally, I've never renewed a domain at GoDaddy and never will (when they're coming up to a year old, I transfer them to Namecheap, getting another year's free privacy protection in the process), but I'm just wondering what you're comparing it with, to say that's "it's worth it"?
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  • Profile picture of the author DPWeb
    I own over 30 domains and I use a PO Box. You can create an email at a domain that is for WhoIS records. That way all the spam is directed to your PO Box or your Trash email. At the same time your customers can see who you are and you don't look like you have anything to hide.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scumlabs
    It comes free with Namecheap's services.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dahlia Valentine
    1and1 also has private registration included in the price of the domain. As I'm typing this, they're currently running a $4.99 special on .com registrations. That's for the first year, and then I think it's either $8 or $9 at renewal.
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  • Profile picture of the author ZXT
    Is it illegal to use pseudonym and create an email specially for domain registration?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ZXT View Post

      Is it illegal to use pseudonym and create an email specially for domain registration?
      I'm not a lawyer, but ...

      I believe that it's not "illegal" per se, in the sense that nobody can actually prosecute you for it. But using a pseudonym for this purpose will certainly be breaching the terms of service concerned in registering a domain-name, and you could lose the domain-name(s) over it.

      (I don't think the "creating an email" part is a problem in any way).
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  • Profile picture of the author MarketItAll
    I think it really depends on 2 things. What type of site you are working with and the goal and/or point of the site. And of course just if you care if people visiting the specific site can get your personal information. Personally it usually doesn't matter to me unless it's a high traffic site.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Originally Posted by johnharvard View Post

    When buying a domain name do you pay extra to get private registration?

    I can see the point of it, like not exposing your email address to possible domain hijackers but from what I've seen it ends up costing over twice as much to do it this way. So far I've only looked at a few places but they all seem to be about the same price.

    So, is it worth it to double the cost of buying a domain to get private registration?
    If you're that concerned over it, then go with a registrar that provides free privacy protection for the initial period of registration, like namecheap. This way you'd not have to pay double the cost, and after the initial registration period is over I'm sure you'd have made enough money on the domain to start paying for privacy protection.

    If you feel like privacy protection is something you must have, don't fuss over it and just select a registrar that offers it for free.
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    • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
      I prefer not to have privacy, in the past I've had a number of sites that I sold as it was easy to get hold of me and the buyers liked knowing who they were dealing with. I've also had people contact me and offer partnerships and deals which might not have happened if there is a problem

      One other thing if the is a trademark dispute or you are in breach of some guidelines with privacy in place the first port of call is often your host who can shut down your site.. without it there you often get notified first so can sort things out amicably without your site going down.

      I use a business address for all my registrations.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
    If your site deals with one of the following you’ll definitely want to have it or use a business address or P.O. Box.

    Sex
    Politics
    Religion

    Anything else where there are various opposing view points and people may take offense to the views that you express or the content of your site. Also, if you fear disgruntled customers who have bad experiences with affiliate products that you sell and may hold you accountable for it you may also want to get it or use something else other than your home address.
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  • Profile picture of the author christopher jon
    If you have 100 of them, Dan, would you think it worth $1,700, then?
    If you are making money, it's not that big of an issue, just a business expense. It's all relevant to where you are on the financial totem pole. I wouldn't think $1,700 would be an issue for all of the WF high rollers.

    These days, I have a PO Box and a specific email address that I use only for domain registration so having private registration isn't as much of a need for me as it used to be. I do still use it on several sites due to the nature of their content.

    Before getting my eggs in order, my mailbox was spammed, my email was spammed, my personal information was splattered all over the internet, it was a mess. Private registration was well worth it.

    A PO Box in the US runs around $60 a year. If money is tight, it's the cheaper way to go if you don't mind your name being associated with that domain. This at least keeps some of your private information out of the public domain. You can also pick up a prepaid phone or get a bottom of the line cell plan to cover phone contact info as well. A phone is optional since nobody is ever going to call that number for legitimate reasons anyway.

    These days, I think it's smart to do everything you can to protect your identity and personal information.
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    Where in the hell did the $1700 number come from for renewing 100 domain names who-is privacy protection? At Namecheap you can get privacy protection in sets of 5 for $7.88.

    We'll round up to $8 to make this easy. 100 domains means you would need to get 20 packages, at $8 big ones thats just $160 a year...

    If you pay more than that, simply move your domain over to Namecheap. You'll get a free year of who-is protection in the process.

    Also, I don't like getting junk mail. My PO Box is kind of small. I don't really care to see marketing materials addressed to my website name taking up that valuable space!
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  • Profile picture of the author prolink83
    most of the domain registars offer free private registration. If you go to godaddy and purchase 5 or more domains not only you get bulk pricing and you also get free private registration on all of them.

    Private registration also comes handy when you purchase expired domains with PR rankings, though it's not a guaranteed strategy but it could potentially be one of the factors in terms of reducing the possibilities of drop of PR on the next google update, though there are many other factors involved as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author TorontoCarol
    I use Netfirms partly because their privacy is included in the price.
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  • Profile picture of the author EconomicalDomains
    I don't pay for privacy protection with any domain registrations and my registrar in sig gives away free privacy protection with every domain purchase for every customer for only $8.88/year.

    You don't have to pay to protect your personal information being displayed at WHOIS to safeguard you from spammers, data harvesters etc. if you look hard enough.
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    • Profile picture of the author rts2271
      It amazes me so many businesses try to hide their identity. Kinda counter-intuitive isn't it?

      It's one of the first things I check if I am about to do business with someone. If I see its hidden I move on to a different vendor. It's also being taught to end users in security conferences and in trade magazines as a red flag for scam sites. If you do non-transactional email from that site you are violating CAN-SPAM. If you exchange money from that site you are violating your CC agreement, Paypal and the FTC.

      It's for end users who wish to hide their identity.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fazal Mayar
    its down to personal choice. If you plan on creating autoblogs maybe not but if you want to create big authority sites, it might be a good idea to hide your info.
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  • Profile picture of the author bheemboy
    Hi,
    here i would like to explain the importance of private registration.you can keep secure of your mail ID and its password.you can be safe when you done online money transactions ,Your new or existing domain is registered in the name of Domains By Proxy -- so their information is made public -- not yours.
    so it is always important to get the private registration after you got your domain registration.here i could say a provider called whoisxy.com who provides free privacy service after getting the domain registration.so better you can approach this provider for your needs.................
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Even if you don't have privacy protection, most of the whois data is bogus anyway. A lot of people just make up the contact details.
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