GoDaddy
About the Company
GoDaddy.com is the world's largest domain name registrar. Founded by Bob Parsons in 1997, The Go Daddy Group has grown to include more than 14.6 million domains under management. Bob Parsons is quite a character. A former Marine (served in Vietnam), he became a programmer and found success with a software company called Parsons Software. After he sold that company to Intuit, he started GoDaddy as a hobby. He's very vocal about keeping the customer first, and he's not shy about sharing his political views. Some find this offputting, but frankly the Insider could care less... if the service works, I'm all about using it.
Using the Site
Let's go through the process of registering a domain name with GoDaddy.
First, you need to come up with a decent domain name. This is highly subjective, and actually fairly hard, as domain names are getting registered at amazing rates. In fact, over 35 million domains were purchased in June of this year. Pretty staggering, right?
Once you've decided on a name that works for you - for this exercise let's try registering "onlineinsider.com". To start the process, simply use the input box in the middle of the homepage.
Note: I'm not going to delve into the design of the page. It's cluttered and pedestrian, but it's supposed to look like a service provider, not a store. They do pay attention to branding, though.
After entering the domain the site checks to see if it's available. Predictably, it's taken. GoDaddy then springs into action to help you find a domain name that might work for you, even if your first choice is taken. It shows you the following:
.com* is taken, but you can backorder it (more on backorders in a minute).
.net* is taken, but you can backorder it
.org* is available for 8.99/yr
.biz* is on sale for 6.99/yr
.info* is on sale for 6.99/yr
.us is available for 7.99/yr
.tv is available for 34.99/yr
.ws is available for 9.99/yr
.name* is available for 9.99/yr
.co.uk is available for 9.99/yr
To order any of these domains or services, you simply need to check the checkbox and click the button at the bottom of the screen. A backorder is a service that lets you indicate interest in a domain name that is currently registered. If the current owner lets their payment lapse, you can then grab the domain. It's like repossessing a car (kind of).
It also shows you variants of the name you entered to help you find something that is available that's close to what you wanted. For instance, although our onlineinsider.com is taken, ONLINEINSIDERS.COM, ONLINECONSPIRATOR.COM, ONLINECOLLEAGUE.COM, ONTHEINTERNETINSIDER.COM and ONTHEWEBINSIDER.COM (as well as some others) are available. GoDaddy does a tremendous job of cross selling and merchandising their services. As you'll see below, maybe they do TOO good a job.
Let's assume that ONLINEINSIDERS.COM works for our needs. Simply check the box and click the big orange Continue button. If you're registered and logged in, the site will take you right to the payment screen. If you're not, you'll need to create your account. This is an easy process (only one screen) and you can save it for additional purchases.
Depending on your needs you can click radio buttons on the next screen to add services. If you just want to buy and hold a domain name (and figure out about hosting later), navigate to the bottom of the page and find the following:
3. Select Checkout Preference:
> Show me exclusive offers that will help me get the most from my domain. Note: You may qualify for $1.99 domain pricing with each additional product you buy.
> Quick Checkout.
Make sure to select Quick Checkout to eliminate any more merchandising and cross sell interference. Click the continue button, click the boxes to indicate you've read and understand the Domain Registration Agreement and Universal Terms of Service, and then hit Check Out on the next page.
You can then put in your payment information and create the password to your new account. You can set your contact settings to mitigate the amount of email contact you'll get from GoDaddy (though they do have good deals), and finish your checkout.