Moniker

Overview

Moniker.com is a fully accredited ICANN domain registrar founded in 2002 by web entrepreneur Monte Cahn. It was acquired by Seevast in 2005, and sold to Oversee.net for $35 million in 2008. In January of 2012, it was acquired by KeyDrive SA (SnapNames) for an undisclosed amount. Today, Moniker is one of the Top 15 largest domain name registrars in the world, with headquarters in Pompano Beach, Florida. As a domain name registrar, the company has been involved in some of the top sales in the industry. These include the first sale of a domain for more than $1 million (WallStreet.com), and the first sale over $2 million (Autos.com). Other high profile sales include Porn.com for $9.5 million, and Slots.com for $5.5 million.

Usability

With thousands of good domain names already being used, there is but a slim chance of getting the perfect domain, or a domain you really want, for a business or personal website. Helping users find domains that are already taken and/or expired is one of Moniker’s specialties. Its domain search tab is among the easiest to use and provides options for detailed search, offering categories (adult, commerce, education, lifestyle, sport, etc.), country/region (Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Generic, Oceania), IDN and extensions. Domain extensions that can be registered include: .net, .org, .asia, .biz, .info, .me, .travel, .us, and .xxx, among others.

Domain Privacy

Moniker provides an in-house domain privacy mechanism, Moniker Privacy Services, which is the name displayed in the WHOIS database, a protocol that is under an obligation to show the details of a domain’s owner, for Moniker domain registrants. As Moniker registrant, a user can keep from the following details – name, address, phone number and email address – from being publicly displayed. Moniker offers domain privacy protection for registered websites by safeguarding users from spam, fraud transfers, and identity theft. Not looking forward to receiving spammy messages from unknown sites and individuals? This option presents users with an invaluable tool to keep their name and other details from being exposed for $3 for 1 year.

Bulk Registrations and Management

A user can search 1,000 domains in one go via the Domain Bulk Search page which can be accessed by hovering over the ‘Domain’ menu and clicking on ‘Domain Bulk Search’; the same procedure applies to Bulk Domain Transfer. A bulk search and manage tool is one of the most attractive features of a domain registry and Moniker.com is one of those that has it, allowing users looking to register a number of domains with great ease. Ideally, a registry that allows for bulk search, registry and transfer would have a user interface that makes managing several domains hassle-free. Moniker offers just that with its management tool that is conducive to handling a large number of domains.

Access Level and Delegating

Adding users on the account can be done through the ‘Manage Account Users’ section under the USER PROFILE tab in the dashboard. Credentials that can be created will not have the same rights as the default account which is advantageous to the account holder as it allows him to retain full control to his account and profile.

Pricing and Coupons

Domain registration with a privacy protection plan costs $12.99 for a 1-year plan, but the price of a simple domain registration varies with the type of extension. When searching for a domain the results page will show all suggested domains’ corresponding price and availability. While it doesn’t regularly offer coupons, Moniker offers discounts for bulk registration. In addition to these domain registrar services Moniker also offers a domain brokerage allowing owners of high value domain names to receive the highest selling price for their valuable domains. The brokerage handles domain names ranging from $1,000 all the way up to several million dollars in value. For domains of lower value, domain name auctions are also available.

Customer Service

Contacting support can be done through email, phone (with toll-free numbers for US and Canada and an international number) and fax. There is no live chat function which can be frustrating but reaching out to their support team through other means yields fairly satisfying results. Customers not based in the US or Canada can call an international number which is the best way to reach sales or tech support. For lesser urgent concerns, an email can be sent through a form found on the website. The company operates Mondays through Fridays from 8:00am to 8:00pm US Eastern Standard Time and 5:00am to 5:00pm US Pacific Standard Time – note these times if contacting Support.

Management Summary

Moniker is a one-stop shop for domain and related web services. Aside from domain registration, it also offers SSL certificates and trust seals. These are proven to give credibility and confidence to website visitors. In fact, 85% of online shoppers feel more confident when they see a certificate and trust seal. Moniker is, however, most ideal for domain registrations: bulk search, transfer, privacy, security and domain parking are offered under one convenient location. It also offers services such as URL and email forwarding, domain and website escrow, and internationalized domain names. Although not the easiest to use, its control panel provides a good user experience and is expertly designed for both new and professional users alike. Moniker.com also has one of the best platforms to sell high value domain names. Albeit not being the best domain registry, Moniker.com does offer the convenience of having all the relevant services that a domain registry should be providing. It is also a great choice to those looking for the best offers on bulk domain registration.