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Google's Domain Name Registrar is Out of Beta After Seven Years (engadget.com) 36

Seven long, long years ago, Google started offering users a way to buy a domain without having to deal with a host provider. Now, Google Domains is at last out of beta as a full-fledged product. Engadget: Google says, to date, millions of people have used the service to manage a domain. It has added more features and tools to Domains over the years. Folks in 26 countries can now use the full version of the service. [...] To mark the occasion of Domains becoming a fully formed entity, Google's offering new and returning users a discount until April 15th.
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Google's Domain Name Registrar is Out of Beta After Seven Years

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  • Now, Google Domains is at last out of beta as a full-fledged product

    Taking bets on how long it'll take before it ends up in the graveyard. [killedbygoogle.com]

  • by nocoiner ( 7891194 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2022 @03:47PM (#62360345)

    After hearing the constant stories of users mysteriously losing access to their Google-related accounts with no reasons given, and absolutely no recourse, a domains is absolutely the last thing I would register with Google - they're just not trustworthy (or reliable) enough for such an important thing.

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      Beware. Back in the old days, when I bought my domains, that service was offered by other outfits. Like Microsoft. So a friend of mine bought his business domain through them. Because Microsoft good.

      A few years later, he received a notice that all Microsoft managed domains would be converted to $business_name.msn.com. And the original names would be sold off to some squatters. He tried (unsuccessfully) to make an offer for his original domain. And in the end, gave up.

      Meanwhile, I get contacted weekly by p

      • For starters, make sure you actually own the domain (listed in whois). That means your domain is safe from such shenanigans even if the registrar goes out of business.
  • All seven years nobody noticed that a list of prices is missing?

    • It's right there - no bargain .com $12* .org $12* .net $12* .dev $12* .app $14* .info $12* .co $30* .me $20*
      *Starting price per year

      • And the other prices? All domains, prices after the first year, restore, etc?

        • This is what I'd like to know too. Starting year prices are a con.
        • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          Here's a comparison article [winningwp.com] showing a bunch of TLDs and how the prices compare.

          I've been using Google Domains for almost all of my domains for several years (except one domain that has co-owners, because it's too hard to deal with the transfer), because Google Domains was cheaper than my previous registrar (Gandi), which had raised prices (plus the exchange rate hasn't been as good since they switched from Francs to Euros).

          At least for me, the price for renewal has always been the same as the price for the

          • I just find it curious that Google thinks it can get away with not listing prices in a competitive market like that. Anyway, all my domains would be significantly more expensive at Google.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I think the popularity of some registrars such as GoDaddy paints a picture in some people's minds of one-stop shops where you get a domain plus hosting, as where Google has never really pushed web hosting as a package deal along with their domains. Of course, writers on a site like Engadget should really know better.

    • by glitch! ( 57276 )

      What do you mean a "host provider"? Hosting? Google certainly provides that. Or do you mean registrar?

      Yes, that is a good question. A domain registrar handles DNS. A hosting provider handles web traffic. There is NOTHING between the two. To make the obligatory car analogy, it is like a muffler shop also selling auto insurance.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The main advantage is that it automatically configures the domain to use all Google's services. You can do it manually but the procedure varies for every registrar. If you want an easy "just works" option, buy the domain from Google along side Google Workspace.

      I worked at a company that was using that and it was pretty good, better than Teams and MS Office.

  • Google will be surprised and disappointed to hear someone thinks they are not a hosting provider.

  • >a way to buy a domain without having to deal with a host provider.

    Oh, really? Doesn't Google know about NetSol, GoDaddy, NameCheap, and a host (pun intended) of other domain registrars?
  • Nobody addressed the elephant in the room...
    Namely:

    You appear to be in a country where Google Domains is not yet available, but you can still manage most aspects of domains you’ve purchased through other Google products here

    Also

    Today, we’re moving Google Domains out of beta and into general availability in 26 countries.

    Does that count as a "full-fledged product"? In who's rotten brain?

  • I switched to Google Domains in 2015 and have never looked back. They don't try to constantly up-sell you with services and features you don't want. They don't spam you. They just give you convenient tools to manage your domains, at a reasonable price. I'm sticking with Google Domains and recommend it to everyone I know.

  • Wait, is this the same Google that tells you "If you can't remember your password, try harder?" Yeah, sure, I'd love to throw lots of money into a company that tells customers, "If you can't remember the password to your Gmail account, just create a new Gmail account!"

    • Wait, is this the same Google that tells you "If you can't remember your password, try harder?" Yeah, sure, I'd love to throw lots of money into a company that tells customers, "If you can't remember the password to your Gmail account, just create a new Gmail account!"

      Google has lots of password recovery options, but if you chose not to set up any of them, what would you like them to do? Just do a password reset for any rando that asks? I certainly don't want that, especially not for my primary email. That email is the key to all of my other online accounts, including banks and brokerages. Security needs to be tight.

  • https://kinsta.com/blog/google... [kinsta.com]
    https://winningwp.com/google-d... [winningwp.com]

    Nothing ground breaking, but appears to be an OK option. I like how the price doesn't suddenly rise on renewal (GoDaddy), and they don't charge extra for privacy protection (hiding WhoIs information). The rest is kind of expected in my mind... good Google product integration, high reliability, etc.

    I don't have any web site registrations though, so I don't know the typical "gotchas" to look out for.

    • by cwatts ( 622605 )

      I found a 25% off ($10 maximum) coupon code so i decided to move a few parked domains from godaddy to google.

      They make you pay for the transfers one at a time and the code stops working after the first use, so its $3, not $10.

      Google Domains Support were every bit as condescending and unhelpful as one would expect.

      I guess I still saved a bit over godaddy.

      The code I used was FRIENDSOFDOMAINS. Maybe next I'll try OHTHEIRONY or perhaps FML

      csw

  • Jeez people, Google doesnâ(TM)t need anything more from us. Domain registrations, @gmail.com accounts ⦠using google.com as a search engine ⦠*publicity* even. For crying out loud, they arenâ(TM)t exactly helping your cause. Mining your secrets is not in your interest.
  • All that time in beta, and this isn't the most complicated product in the world. How can they NOT get DNS basics down. Trying to transfer a domain, they can't even FIND my website & associated DNS settings. (it's running on Name.com and working fine. )
  • I can't seem to find any information on the site about the features it provides. Does it do wildcard DNS? Hostname failover? URL forwarding? Limits on # of subdomains?

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