4 ms·

Out of curiosity, what made many of you even use GoDaddy? I've always felt it was a bit sketch due to its: - Commercials - And it's shady ability to add $60 w

by suhail 15y ago

Out of curiosity, what made many of you even use GoDaddy? I've always felt it was a bit sketch due to its: - Commercials - And it's shady ability to add $60 worth of crap to your cart when you want to buy a $9 domain. I found Namecheap and never found anything simpler and less sketch. Even looking for domains on Namecheap 3-4 years ago was much simpler. Was it just the registrar you had heard of first?

drusenko 15y ago
I think there was a certain comfort in their size. You assumed that, because they were so prominent, nothing bad would happen because they were small. Also, there is definitely a momentum effect -- it was the first registrar many people heard about and just kept using them, because that was the path of least resistance.
- PStamatiou 15y ago
  Agreed. Not to mention I used to love Diggnation and it was supported by everyone there so I figured why not.
- eurleif 15y ago
  It wasn't the first registrar I heard about, but it was the first register I heard about besides Network Solutions, which used to be a monopoly, and charged (IIRC) $70 per domain. GoDaddy was pretty damn customer-friendly by comparison.
  - dangrossman 15y ago
    It was $70 for a minimum 2 year registration, $35/year, a price they still charge to this day.
  - cookiecaper 15y ago
    Yeah, GoDaddy made its name as one of the first registrars to offer domains around the $10 price point right after NS's monopoly was removed. They've basically just ridden that wave since then and have tried to capitalize on the brand recognition when the only thing a small business owner knows is that you have to use GoDaddy to get a website.
sp332 15y ago
Well it was the registrar I heard of first, and if their ads had been less offensive, I probably would have gone with them. As it was though, I just went with the second registrar I heard of, http://Domain.com/ http://Domain.com/ I had a coupon code from the Hak5 podcast, but I don't really know if it was cheaper than other registrars.
pacemkr 15y ago
They used to be quite good. A long time ago. Every year I would come back to renew and it was getting more and more difficult. Eventually, it became ridiculous. The checkout process was finding the "No I don't want this shit" link (yes, link), listing through five pages of "GoDaddy girl" and special offers. Speaking of the GoDaddy girl. That's how I knew they completely lost touch with their business. I remember their newsletters (were they newsletters?) about "seeing the GoDaddy girl in the shower" or something. I mean, wtf? I still have a couple of domains there, for complicated reasons, but all others, I've transfered out of there long ago, new business goes to Namecheap.
- rapind 15y ago
  Namecheap is great. Gandi (https://www.gandi.net/ https://www.gandi.net/) is another great option if you're ever looking. I use both.
  - pacemkr 15y ago
    Thanks for that. I actually remembered their color scheme/design, but couldn't find the website back when I was looking for a new registrar. It looks like they have a much larger selection of tld's compared to Namecheap. That will come in handy.
wpietri 15y ago
I think it's a common situation for non-experts. If you're in satisficer mode (versus the maximizer mode common to experts), you pick the first thing that's quick, convenient, and apparently safe. Lots of commercials means a recognizable brand, which feels safe to a lot of people when they are comparing a bunch of apparently equivalent choices. Personally, I wouldn't be sad if GoDaddy went bankrupt tomorrow. I recently had to deal with their latest scam: sending notifications that suggest your domain name is up for auction. Having seen people lose domains before due to missing a renewal and/or outright thievery, my blood pressure went through the roof. It's a marketing lie, of course, to get you to sign up for get more crap.
- barefoot 15y ago
  Can you recommend any books related to the different modes you mentioned?
  - wpietri 15y ago
    I learned about it in "The Paradox of Choice": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More_Is_Less http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More... Learning about it has definitely changed some of my behaviors. E.g., in restaurants I use to try to maximize by picking the very best item. Which made me kinda crazy, as there was never sufficient information to know. Now I take the satisficer approach and pick the first thing that looks good. Which is maximizing a different variable, so my nerdy side still approves.
s00pcan 15y ago
The first webhost/registrar I used closed down my site (that I had paid yearly for) and made it annoying to move my domain away because I was hosting videos (of myself and friends) on the website. Apparently there was a clause in their terms that I couldn't host any type of video file on there. This was back in 2003; youtube didn't exist yet. Anyway, I moved the domain to godaddy and the website to somewhere else and had no issues for years.
drumdance 15y ago
I signed up with them something like 12 years ago when they were a refreshing alternative to Network Solutions. Long before the Super Bowl ads and other nonsense.
asdf333 15y ago
it was cheap...

by suhail 15y ago

drusenko 15y ago

I think there was a certain comfort in their size. You assumed that, because they were so prominent, nothing bad would happen because they were small. Also, there is definitely a momentum effect -- it was the first registrar many people heard about and just kept using them, because that was the path of least resistance.

PStamatiou 15y ago
Agreed. Not to mention I used to love Diggnation and it was supported by everyone there so I figured why not.
eurleif 15y ago
It wasn't the first registrar I heard about, but it was the first register I heard about besides Network Solutions, which used to be a monopoly, and charged (IIRC) $70 per domain. GoDaddy was pretty damn customer-friendly by comparison.
- dangrossman 15y ago
  It was $70 for a minimum 2 year registration, $35/year, a price they still charge to this day.
- cookiecaper 15y ago
  Yeah, GoDaddy made its name as one of the first registrars to offer domains around the $10 price point right after NS's monopoly was removed. They've basically just ridden that wave since then and have tried to capitalize on the brand recognition when the only thing a small business owner knows is that you have to use GoDaddy to get a website.

sp332 15y ago

Well it was the registrar I heard of first, and if their ads had been less offensive, I probably would have gone with them. As it was though, I just went with the second registrar I heard of, http://Domain.com/ http://Domain.com/ I had a coupon code from the Hak5 podcast, but I don't really know if it was cheaper than other registrars.

pacemkr 15y ago

They used to be quite good. A long time ago. Every year I would come back to renew and it was getting more and more difficult. Eventually, it became ridiculous. The checkout process was finding the "No I don't want this shit" link (yes, link), listing through five pages of "GoDaddy girl" and special offers. Speaking of the GoDaddy girl. That's how I knew they completely lost touch with their business. I remember their newsletters (were they newsletters?) about "seeing the GoDaddy girl in the shower" or something. I mean, wtf? I still have a couple of domains there, for complicated reasons, but all others, I've transfered out of there long ago, new business goes to Namecheap.

rapind 15y ago
Namecheap is great. Gandi (https://www.gandi.net/ https://www.gandi.net/) is another great option if you're ever looking. I use both.
- pacemkr 15y ago
  Thanks for that. I actually remembered their color scheme/design, but couldn't find the website back when I was looking for a new registrar. It looks like they have a much larger selection of tld's compared to Namecheap. That will come in handy.

wpietri 15y ago

I think it's a common situation for non-experts. If you're in satisficer mode (versus the maximizer mode common to experts), you pick the first thing that's quick, convenient, and apparently safe. Lots of commercials means a recognizable brand, which feels safe to a lot of people when they are comparing a bunch of apparently equivalent choices. Personally, I wouldn't be sad if GoDaddy went bankrupt tomorrow. I recently had to deal with their latest scam: sending notifications that suggest your domain name is up for auction. Having seen people lose domains before due to missing a renewal and/or outright thievery, my blood pressure went through the roof. It's a marketing lie, of course, to get you to sign up for get more crap.

barefoot 15y ago
Can you recommend any books related to the different modes you mentioned?
- wpietri 15y ago
  I learned about it in "The Paradox of Choice": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More_Is_Less http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More... Learning about it has definitely changed some of my behaviors. E.g., in restaurants I use to try to maximize by picking the very best item. Which made me kinda crazy, as there was never sufficient information to know. Now I take the satisficer approach and pick the first thing that looks good. Which is maximizing a different variable, so my nerdy side still approves.

s00pcan 15y ago

The first webhost/registrar I used closed down my site (that I had paid yearly for) and made it annoying to move my domain away because I was hosting videos (of myself and friends) on the website. Apparently there was a clause in their terms that I couldn't host any type of video file on there. This was back in 2003; youtube didn't exist yet. Anyway, I moved the domain to godaddy and the website to somewhere else and had no issues for years.

drumdance 15y ago

I signed up with them something like 12 years ago when they were a refreshing alternative to Network Solutions. Long before the Super Bowl ads and other nonsense.

asdf333 15y ago

it was cheap...