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Name.com

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Author: Jenna Vasquez

LAST UPDATED: April 19th, 2022

Name.com was founded in 2003 and provides domain registration, reselling, transfer, web hosting, and email services. The company is extremely customer service oriented and makes it easy for clients to build a website suited for individuals or small businesses. 

Very philanthropy driven, Name.com supports causes such as the bike-to-work incentive program and offers a hosting initiative for the expansion of .org websites online. Name.com is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with over one million domains registered and almost as many websites. 

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The Good

  • Price
  • Number of TLDs Available
  • ICANN Accreditation
  • Advanced Security
  • Knowledge Base

Price

Name.com is extremely transparent when it comes to pricing. When visiting the website, consumers can easily view all the pricing information for the standard and premium domains. Currently, Name.com charges 12.99 per year for .com domains — unless you get it on sale, then it could be as low as $9.99 per year. 

Number of TLDs Available

Anyone searching for a large number of TLDs to purchase in bulk may want to look into Name.com. The domain provider offers a selection of over 500 domain names and extensions.

These names cover a broad spectrum of categories, from professional TLD extensions such as .attorney or .expert to more unique TLDs like .cafe, .deals, .boutique, and more. Name.com far surpasses the majority of domain name companies that only offer 100 domains.

ICANN Accreditation

Name.com is an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar. This means that Name.com met all technical, operational, and financial criteria necessary to qualify as a registrar business. This accreditation allows Name.com to offer domain name registration services under gTLDs with direct access to gTLD registries. 

ICANN charges a mandatory annual fee of $0.18 for each year of domain registration, renewal, or transfer. While you still have to pay this fee with Name.com, the company includes the ICANN fee in the total price. 

This means there is no additional fee that is added once you go to checkout. With Name.com, customers know how much their domain name will cost from start to finish. Although the fee is only 18 cents, it changes the advertised price and puts off some consumers.

Advanced Security

Name.com takes customer security very seriously. In 2019, the company increased its security measures to protect your domain and personal information. This included upgrading its former Whois Privacy product to Advanced Security. 

To understand why this is significant, you first must understand what information is accessible through the public Whois database. Whenever you register a domain name, ICANN requires that you provide some personal details. This includes your name, address, phone number, etc. This information is then automatically added to a publicly accessible database called Whois. The Advanced Security product offers Whois Privacy, a secure domain lock, and an SSL Certificate via Encryption Everywhere.

According to Name.com, the Domain Lock Plus provides the following protection: "The Domain Lock Plus adds a significant layer of security to your domains by restricting the ability to transfer them or make changes to their contact information when the lock is in place."

Name.com's SSL Certificate through the Encryption Everywhere program encrypts the information on your website to increase security. You have to pay an extra $4.99 for Advanced Security, but it's worth protecting your personal information. 

Knowledge Base

Name.com's Knowledge Base is an excellent resource for consumers. Those with questions on how Name.com works, how to set up an account, how to transfer a domain name, and more will be impressed with the variety of helpful articles. 

You can also find the contact information for all departments of Name.com. This is especially helpful as it can direct you to an article or a frequently asked question page that refers to your exact problem. If an article can't solve your issue, you can open a support ticket, request a callback, or start a live chat with an agent. 

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The Bad

  • Costs to Transfer a Domain
  • Convoluted Refund Policy

Costs to Transfer a Domain

One disadvantage of using Name.com is transferring domains. If you want to transfer a domain into Name.com's registry will have to pay a transfer fee. The fees range from $7.99 to $59.99 

Here are a few examples of Name.com's Transfer pricing:

  • .com — $8.25
  • .net — $10.99
  • .in — $7.99
  • .info — $21.99
  • .io — $59.99

This is not a complete list. If you're interested in seeing the full list, we recommend visiting the company website for further information. 

Many other domain registrars will cover the transfer fee's cost — so it's disadvantageous that Name.com does not. The transfer process itself is standard protocol, no more complicated than other domain companies, which the same rules apply. For example, your domain must be registered for at least 60 days for you to be eligible to transfer to Name.com.

Convoluted Refund Policy

When going through Name.com's refund policy, it can get pretty confusing. 

For example, Name.com states that most domain name purchases can be refunded within the first five days of purchase, provided Name.com can remove the domain from your possession and return it to the registry. 

However, there are a few exceptions to the five-day rule:

  • .CA — Refundable within 4 days of purchase.
  • .MX — Refundable within 45 days of purchase.
  • .COM.MX — Refundable within 45 days of purchase.
  • .UK — Refunds are permitted on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, refunds are not permitted with premium domain names. Name.com can't cancel nor refund pre-registrations. Domain name renewals are never refundable. Expiring domains are also never refundable. 

This list of exceptions and conditions goes on for quite a while. If you are thinking of purchasing a product from Name.com, we suggest carefully reviewing the Refund Policy, so you're not stuck trying to get your money back for a product that doesn't work for you. 

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The Bottom Line

This ICANN-accredited, popular domain provider is recommended for several reasons. Name.com is one of the most affordable choices when it comes to domain names. The price increases after the first year, but this is mentioned when signing up, so at least you know what to expect. We appreciate Name.com's dedication to customer security. The Advanced Security will cost you, but the protection level it provides is well worth the money. 

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Star Rating

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3.4

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99 Reviews

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5 grade

54%

4 grade

5%

3 grade

3%

2 grade

1%

1 grade

37%

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Review Source

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tfast78 Baton Rouge, LA

Very good prices and easy to navigate. The services offered are perfect for a new startup that doesn't want to over complicate things. Less than a month in and I have already used the tech support to help me correct an issue that I created. It was taken care of quickly and, for someone with the stresses of starting up a new business, that is priceless. I would suggest their services to anyone looking.

5 years ago

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Reply from Name.com

Hello Tfast78,

Congratulations on your new endeavors! We are so glad to hear that our team was able to quickly sort things out so you can continue focusing on your new business.

Thank you for your kind review!

Amy

Aug. 23rd, 2021

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Review Source

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Mike Nicastro Davenport, FL

Support seems to have always been helpful with name.com. But support is by email only and sometimes takes 2-3 days for a response. My site is up most of the time, but sometimes it goes offline and acts a bit flakey. But for the most part it works for me for a personal site and good value for the money.

6 years ago Edited February 24, 2022

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Reply from Name.com

Hello Mike,

Thank you so much for your feedback! We are so pleased to hear that we're providing you with the services and support that you need. That is our number one goal!

Best Regards,

Amy

Jun. 9th, 2020

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Arthur Stepanyan Marietta, GA

Easy to work with, well developed support FAQ and help documentation. Support tickets resolved quickly and to my satisfaction.

4 years ago Edited February 23, 2022

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Reply from Name.com

Hello Arthur, Music to our ears! Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to share.

Feb. 22nd, 2022

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Review Source

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gordon abernethy

Clear and easy site to use Perhaps you could allow two emails per domain name, one free and one paid

4 years ago

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Reply from Name.com

Hello Gordon, Thank you for your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. We are also glad to hear that our UI provides an enjoyable platform to manage your domains!

Jan. 10th, 2022

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Kamal Tirupur, TN

Good, we need you to respond much faster, to address our issues

5 years ago

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Reply from Name.com

Hello Kamal,

Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for any delay in resolution, we will continue to work to improve our response time for our customers.

Best Regards,

Amy

Apr. 27th, 2021