NameCheap.com: A Complete Review
By: Will Cf Ng
Tags: Web Hosting, Namecheap Review, Email Service Provider, Registrar, Namecheap

Thinking of starting an online business? Then one of the first things on your to-do list must be to register a domain name for your business. NameCheap.com is one of the most popular registrars (website companies that provide domain registration service) that offers low price for registering a domain name as well as offering other related service like hosting, Wordpress managed hosting, email, online security . . . etc. Here we will look closer into the key services NameCheap.com is offering if you want to build an online business or online presence.

1. Domain Registration

NameCheap.com’s domain registration fee for the first year is from US$0.99 for specific type of top level domain like .store, .link, .us, .biz and many more (see below).

For the most popular and widely used .com domain, its price is from 9.48. But from time to time they may have some promotion code offered so that you may get the registration fee a few dollar cheaper. Yet, most of the time you can register the domain within US$10.00 for the first year. Their second year renewal fee is from US$13.98.

I mention that the fee is for the first year because many registrars may offer a very low first year fee but on the second year and the years after, they will charge for the “normal price” or even a relatively high price. Also, you may required to buy for a bundled two-year plan in order to get the super low first year fee offered. That is why you may need to further consider the price for the future years so that in the long run, you are not over-charged.

2. Hosting

There are many different levels of hosting service NameCheap.com is offering. Their plan is relatively low among other service providers. Their starter plan for shared hosting, if billed annually, can be as low as US$1.88/month whereas you can have three websites hosted. If you go for a higher plan, it only costs US$2.98/month for unlimited websites. That is a really low requirement if you are launching a new online business. All plans also include these benefits: unmetered bandwidth, free website builder, domain name and privacy protection, free automatic SSL installation, free Supersonic CDN, 30-day money-back guarantee, free in <24 hours website migration. Also, you can easily upgrade your hosting plan if your business grows, for example, go for the dedicated hosting.

3. Wordpress Managed Hosting

Wordpress managed hosting is indeed one of the most popular service that people are using for building their online website. This service is best for non-tech-savvy who wants to build website using Wordpress without much IT and coding knowledge. With a few click and mostly drag and drop, one can make their website within hours. NameCheap.com ‘s price is pretty economical which is starting from US$11.88/year (billed yearly) but be noted that it cost a lot more (3-fold higher) for the renewal which is US$34.88/year.

4. Email

You certainly need a professional business email address if you have built a serious online business. You will need to create your own email box(es) say, cs@yourdomainname.com and yourinitial@yourdomainname.com. NameCheap.com offer an easy setup of your email if your domain is registered through them. The starter plan costs from US$1.24/month per email. And they are offering 2 month free trial.

5. NameCheap Pros and Cons

Let’s specifically look at NameCheap.com’s pros and cons in more details below.

Pros

- User-friendly Interface & Control

Namecheap has a pretty easy user interface and control system. One can directly purchase what is needed fast without confusing surfing hoops to jump through one after the other. And after the purchase, you can clearly see what is in your account and can alter the setting very easily. Simply put, Namecheap’s interface is clean, modern, and easy to navigate. If IT isn’t your area of strength, this is an important benefit.

- Free Domain Name Privacy

NameCheap offer forever free domain privacy if you purchase the domain name from them. Other registrars usually will charge for the domain privacy at an extra fee.

- Industry’s Cheap Price

From its name, Namecheap, you will know that what they want the customer to know about their branding. They are offering in general all of the available products and services in the cheap pricing range. It is a registrar that offers everything fundamental to a beginner, startup and SME perfectly.

- Helpful Customer Care

Although the price range is relatively cheap, their customer care is still quite sufficient for you. Namecheap does offer live chat and support ticket system if you run into site trouble and need someone to walk you through. Their customer care and support are always fast and friendly. Also, you can find their help center section with lots of information like videos, articles, FAQs, knowledge base . . . etc. that can troubleshoot most of your issues.

- Free Apps Available

There are a number of free apps offered by Namecheap, say, site-building apps that are both available in free and paid options. You can use the apps for your website which includes the logo building apps, site speed optimization apps, and even apps helping you with the formation of a proper company.

- Fast & Easy Domain Name Transfer

Want to transfer your domain to Namecheap? You can easily do it by submitting a ticket with all the necessary details. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to six business days.

Free & Fast Wordpress Website Migration

If you currently have a Wordpress website being hosted from other server or company, NameCheap can move the WordPress website to its hosting services for free and fast (within 24 hours). Just simply submit a request and they will get it done all for you.

Cons

- Domain Renewal rates

If you have purchased domain name before, you are very possibly experiencing the fact that most of them will charge a higher (sometimes the crazily higher rate can be a few folds more expensive than the initial period) renewal rate after your initial registration. NameCheap is indeed better than the most of the other registrars in this aspect, but they still apply this kind of initial period low-price bait to lure new buyers which we don’t think is very good practice after all.

- Domain Transfer Charge

Although it is very easy for one to transfer his or her domain registration from other registrars over to NameCheap, it does charge for a fee. Yet, if you can do it at the right period, from time to time, NameCheap will offer some discount or coupon code that can lower the fee for you.

Summary

Starting a online business or web presence? Firstly you need a cheap domain name. NameCheap.com is one of the best options in the industry. Their affordable domain names is offered from as low as $0.99 for a domain for your first year with various helpful add-ons and features (Be noted again the renewal fee will be higher and so, you must check it up before you go for the registration process).

NameCheap.com’s domain registration service will come with free privacy protection, domain name security, 24/7 support, full DNS access, and a detailed knowledge base in case there’s something you need further clarification on.

Namecheap is one of the top domain name registrars in the market providing the cheap and reliable domain and hosting options to fetch different levels of demand. With millions of domain names at very low prices, Namecheap, is a no-nonsense domain registrar that offers various additional site hosting and management services, provides reliable hosting for more than 1.5 million websites of all shapes and sizes.

After studying the key criteria spanning from registration renewal rates, number of domains, domain management, transfers, and extension options to put it together, we believe Namecheap does make itself on top of the list among other same service providers and registrars.

(See the original article at: https://www.income2liberty.com/post/namecheap-review-2022)