Buying a domain name.

Yeah, we don't do domain registrations due to that issue. We feel that people shouldn't be locked into their hosting company with their domain, or loose it should something happen(bankruptcy, death, etc..).
 
hokiethang said:
I highly do not recommend doing that. As is evidenced with troubles other members have been having, if you register the domain with the host, you'll likely have trouble recovering the domain if there's a problem with the host (such as their sudden disappearance).

If you want to setup a site, for your own sanity and to make your lives easier, register the domain with a reputable registrar (godaddy, network solutions, register.com, etc...) before getting your hosting, don't do it at the same time.
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Fair enough.

But, erm, why is a registration company less likely to fall bankrupt, or go out of business, compared to a hosting company, especially one with a record of relative longevity such as DreamHost?
 
minigolf said:
Fair enough.

But, erm, why is a registration company less likely to fall bankrupt, or go out of business, compared to a hosting company, especially one with a record of relative longevity such as DreamHost?
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DreamHost is a somewhat bad example as IIRC they are as old as the internet, but LOTS of hosting companies (especially those who offer "free" domains) don't have such a long track record, and typically don't last long.

Hosting is a cut-throat business, and hosting companies typically are run on razor thin margins, wherein registries operate with fairly high margins. For example, the wholesale rate for domains is typically ~$5 a domain (That is if you buy 1000+ domains from verisign or other TLD registries), and many registries charge $10 - $50 a domain.

There have been registry companies that have failed (i.e. Registerfly), but ICANN stepped in and transferred the ownership of those domains that were stuck at Registerfly, over to Godaddy, as a result of public outcry at the events. There were something like 800000 domain names that were transferred to Godaddy as a result of that incident. That same overseeing body doesn't typically exist when a hosting company goes under.
 
A good place to gauge domain and hosting companies reputations is http://www.webhostingtalk.com - 1and1 has bad reviews over there but godaddy is quite popular. I just registered mine with 123reg.co.uk, but I wanted a uk register as I wanted a .co.uk domain.
 
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