Domainmonster.com

Overview

Domainmonster.com is a UK-based domain registrar that has been serving well-known UK and global brands since 2006. It is one of 13 ICANN-accredited domain registrars in the UK and is one of the best choice for users looking to buy a .uk extension since their “unlimited support” is based in the UK where help is readily available (more on this later). The company, wholly-owned by Mesh Digital Ltd, serves small customers and multinational companies such as Axa Insurance and Manchester United.

Registration with Domain Monster includes free home page, Whois Privacy Service, complete live DNS control (including TXT and SPF records), and Name Server management including Glue records. Aside from the core service, the company provides personal and business email set-up, web hosting, and website-building services. Having a good reputation in the UK would seem like a good enough reason to use or switch to Domain Monster, but does it have anything of great value to offer non-UK customers?

Usability

The site is not the easiest to navigate but after registering and using the service a few times, you eventually ease into it. They do offer immediate customer service and support to members should there be serious usability issues. The site is really busy-looking which is an unfortunate, albeit a minor, downside as many other registrars have very neat-looking sales and backend pages. When proceeding to checkout, for example, there is no visible button to click when done with a transaction. Someone who is not used to the domain registration process might not be too delighted in having to look for pages to do simple tasks. It is not a major concern but it could turn some new users away.

On the other hand, the control panel is rather functional. Those who need a registrar with the best, user-friendly experience could try out the Members area or, better yet, create an account even without paying for a service, ie., registering a domain. Selecting domains to work on can easily be accessed on the right-hand side of the control panel. A user who gets lost should take note of the tiny orange “Members Area” button below all the menu buttons on the left side.

Domain Privacy

Avoiding unwanted email and getting defrauded, driving away stalkers, and keeping your own online affairs away from everyone’s attention are just some of the reasons why a registrant would want to register a domain privately. Although it is a legal requirement to have your personal details (name and contact info) published in the Whois Database, getting a service that lets you register and run your website with some privacy, is not.

Unlike most registrars, Domain Monster does not automatically suggest this as domain privacy is offered for free in new and existing domain names. While it’s great that it’s offered at no cost, it might help the registrant to know that he’s getting one; it also saves some time as it prevents having to make sure a privacy service is indeed provided. That said, it is absolutely wonderful that this service is offered for free. Some registrars have in-house privacy service and Domain Monster is one of those that provides their own private registration. Domain privacy protection is offered through their Privatemonster.com Privacy Service which allows the registrant to conceal said vital personal data and deflect spammers, fraudsters and other types of online wrongdoers. Even with a privacy plan, domains run as normal, and this can be turned on instantly on the control panel.

Features

Domain Monster also has a Website Builder feature which comes with a free trial period for both its Basic and Pro versions. Website builders are usually intended for customers who need a professional looking website but don’t have the technical know-how to develop, code or design one. Therefore it needs to be really easy to work with and manipulate, and Domain Monster’s website builder service is pretty convenient to use. It has all the requisite features: starter templates, drag and drop editing, and e-commerce functionality.

Its web hosting package are offered to three types of users: personal, business and ‘power users’. Domain monster web hosting can be done in WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and other systems, and comes with their own sets of added features such as access features, mailboxes, databases, scripting, security, and one-click installer.

Lastly, Domain Monster provides email mailbox account creation. It is ready to use and is compatible with desktop and mobile devices.

Bulk Registrations and Management

Registering domains in bulk is surprisingly easy on DomainMonster.com. Flip the search option to ‘Bulk Lookup’, type the domains you wish to search and register, and you will be directed to a results page that provides all the information you need for the domains you entered: availability, price, and name suggestions. There’s also an option to transfer and/or back order unavailable domains, and look up current owner of a domain. Premium domains availability can also be checked instantly using the bulk domain search bar.

It is inevitable that a user will have to explore the controls in a domain registrar and see how much free rein he has when doing bulk domain management. One great aspect of Domain Monsters’ is that changes on domain lists in the control panel updates in real time and with very rare instances of system updates and/or delays that plague other domain registration sites. Their control panel also lets the account owner to edit several domain names simultaneously. Domain Monster’s controls page could use a more vibrant interface with  bigger font (it is just too tiny) and easier to locate menu buttons, but for those who are unbothered by these matters, this will do just fine.

Access Level and Delegating

Domain Monster provides full DNS control for free with every registration which makes delegating both management and technical access a breeze. In addition, it makes bulk management easy. Unfortunately, they do not have a unique tool for bulk registrations but it is easy to register in bulk if you are registering similar keywords. There is also a discount for bulk registrations.

Updating, adding and editing ownership, as well as delegating technical access and billing info for domains can be done with relative ease – particularly useful to those with many domains registered under them.

Pricing and Coupons

Pricing at Domain Monster is fairly easy to understand. Single domains for a single year generally cost somewhere between 9.99 and 89.99 pounds depending upon the desired extension with the majority of extensions costing under 15 pounds per year. Registering a .co.uk extension is one of the best offers here, but watch out for renewal rates. They also offer big discounts for domain registrations totaling to 10+ and 25+ years. Note that this discount doesn’t have to be for a single domain; bulk discount applies to the total number of years for all your domains. To get a good idea of their pricing structure, it would be best to refer to their price list before making a purchase.

They do offer discounts and coupons that seem a bit random but if you are a member you will receive information about discounts via e-mail. Other means through which to get coupons and other promotional updates: through their Twitter and Facebook accounts and their blog page. Both social media and blog pages have only a few updates but they do occasionally have useful news on service and promos. The coupons are few and far between (sometimes in an interval of 2-3 months), but there are some good deals such as free domain on certain extensions, mailboxes, etc.

Customer Service

As previously mentioned, customer support is pretty decent most especially if you’re a UK user. That is not to say that it is less effective if you’re contacting them from other locations. Concerns from the most basic domain registration, bulk management, and domain transfers to the more complex questions on hosting and mailbox services, back orders, as well as billing and other admin management issues, are addressed by its support agents who are largely adept at providing resolutions to such concerns either by phone (by far the most efficient way to reach them) and email. Different hotlines for US, UK and the rest of Europe are provided in the support page.

Postal addresses for different service locations are also provided on their Contact page which also lists other ways to get technical or account management support. An Abuse Team takes care of concerns such as spam, hacking, IRC activity, phishing and web space abuse which users can report via an especially designated email. Resolution for such an issue vary on the complexity of the abuse and can either be swift or take a few months to resolve.

Like most domain registries, Domain Monster has a reference page for basic questions on their products and user preferences. Aside from that resource, their Website Forum page contains frequently encountered issues which may be answered by the company admin or other users. If all else fails, you may resort to contacting them through their social media pages.

Management Summary

There are thousands of registrars available on the internet and Domainmonster.com would hardly fit the criteria of Best Domain Registry. But where it counts, the company delivers. Their freebies are some of the most enticing out there and although a bit tricky to navigate, their control panel does allow key functions such as updating, modifying user access, which are not offered or are difficult to maneuver in other domain registrars. Its control panel could use a bit of an upgrade for ease of use but it shouldn’t be too problematic for some users.

When registering a domain, the competence and availability of support available is critical to user satisfaction and in this regard, the company also does quite well. Despite some minor shortcomings, Domain Monster offers some monstrous advantages that might win you over.

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