I retract any recommendation of domain registrar NameCheap
In the past, I have recommended domain registrar NameCheap.com. But after last weekend’s server move, I retract any such recommendation.
I have 20-some odd domains registered, all with NameCheap. When moving servers, it was necessary to change the DNS listings for all of them. There are three ways to do this in the NameCheap interface. For some domains, an option comes up to type or paste DNS entries directly. For some, there’s a different sidebar, but that sidebar gives a “Make Like Another Domain” option. (I have no idea why NameCheap’s UI is inconsistent in that regard.) And there’s also a mass update capability, for a page of results (about 9) on the Manage Domains listing.
I started by changing a single domain (DBMS2.com). Then I noticed the mass change option, and tried it. However, I was told it might take the changes up to an hour go through. (9 freaking transactional updates? An hour?? What are you thinking, NameCheap?) I also found that when I tried the DNS management option, on the sidebars that showed it, I frequently got busy server error messages. (C’mon, NameCheap — just how busy can your core servers be on the weekend? Or do you have such terrible backup practices that they are fatally slowed when being backed up?)
My websites broke right and left during the move, and nslookup indicated DNS problems. When I went back to look at NameCheap, and was able to ascertain the DNS settings, sometimes I found NO ENTRIES AT ALL. Even the first one I changed — DBMS2.com — eventually had its entries nulled out.
Eventually, with mutiple tries, I seem to have gotten all the DNS entries right. But I have to say that the NameCheap system is one of the most error-prone database applications it has even been my misfortune to contend with.
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14 Responses to “I retract any recommendation of domain registrar NameCheap”
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Is it possible that the one-hour delay has to do with DNS caching rather than the speed at which they can process transactions? Those DNS servers have caches with very long expiration times…
I highly recommend GoDaddy. I have had nothing but excellent experiences dealing with GoDaddy for everything. Their UI is a little clunky, but everything just works.
I would agree with Daniel. The “server error messages” should not have happened, however the “broke right and left websites” is definitly a DNS propagation issue with a TTL of 3600 and standard.
Actually, it seems as if the errors were in getting data from the Network Solutions database. Those are pass-through queries; NameCheap doesn’t host the information itself.
Basically, their UI had a couple of nasty screwups.
I wouldn’t trust my domain or website to NameCheap for anything in the world as they register and harbor spammers on their parking servers… ie http://www.park-your-domain.com dns servers. So if you’re reading this, go somewhere else where the service is better. Namecheap.com is doing what they do best… they’re cheap and non caring!
I have had nothing but problems with them for the last couple of months and they seem unable to fix a damn thing, even the most simple email redirects. They have someone, in charge apparently, although you wouldn’t believe it from his seeming inability even to want to solve the customer’s problems, who seems to show no initiative and once you confront him, asks you to take your business elsewhere. Their systems might seem poor, but their service and attitude to customers is far, far worse. I’d like to be able to document the trouble I have had with this business in great detail and let every one of the company’s investors, lenders and insurers know just how inept they are, in my experience.
GoDaddy will try to extort $199 out of you if they “think” you are doing something against their TOS. IMHO stay away from GoDaddy – they try to act as a web host even if you aren’t using them for that.
I have had very good experiences with NameCheap. At one point I had over 100 domains with them and never had any problems with any of them. I found the ui fairly easy to navigate (it’s much easier than GoDaddy in my opinion).
NameCheap is terrible. I really, really don’t recommend using them, especially if you use domains to mask your affiliate URLs or for example to grab the identical .net, .org, etc. domains in order to protect your main .com one.
Twice this year their nameservers were “under a ddos” attack which made redirection (URL redirection or CNAME) not work at all (once for ~4 days, other time for a day). All my affiliate links were down, and so were my blogs hosted on blogger and using a CNAME to park the domain.
I had same issue as Andrew – support keeps saying their DNS servers are under DDOS attack – come on!
Whether it’s an attack or not, aren’t they supposed to protect themselves and thier customers from that crap?
I’m looking for other options now!
We sent different marketing pieces with URL forwards, now they don’t work and we look like crap and are losing lots of money!
Namecheap is a domain thief. What you type in they steal. The company is linked to a huge criminal organization. Their goal is to acquire domains not to make money off of selling or hosting them. They like to host because they can see what you are doing. Being a registrar, they have access to change creation dates and so domains can be artificially aged for Google rankings. They don’t do it for customers. It is for their own huge network of sites. Namecheap is basically a loss leader for a huge criminal web enterprise.
What’s your evidence for these allegations?
Namecheap very decent and good dns host. Maybe it had problems in 2008 but my opinion is that from 2009 they are perfect. Never had a single problem with them.
I rather wouldn’t trust scammers like servage with my domain…
Namecheap is dangerous for your domain security. We loose one domain with them for a namecheap problem. Then they ask for a big amount of money to recover… our own domain! So we go out of namecheap. We do not recommend this service.