I am trying to find permanent home for my domain names. I am moving to obble for hosting but they charge around ~$20 per year for .com.au.
My current hosting charges around $12-$13 per year.
Just wondering which hosting do you use for domain names and how much do you pay?
Trying to find permanent home. So, that i don't need to do transfers.
Ventraip are same price of $19.95 per year. I am currently with Rackservers.com.au which charge $12.49 per year. I guess makes sense to stick to them.
For hosting, i am planning to switch to obble.com.au.
If you are competent in IT, go with the cheapest. Ventra customer service and tech support is very good. They are worth the extra if you need help solving issues.
In my opinion the customer service has been eroded over the last few years even before the pandemic and prices are definitely getting higher. While they haven't reached trash status, there is definitely a lot of improvements that they need to make as there is still a lot of good providers here in Australia.
I use Namecheap.
Thanks. They are A$24.73 to register and A$27 to renew. Fairly expensive comparitively. Only be few dollars :)
$21.50 to renew for me. All my domains are .com only though. .com.au may be more expensive.
Yeah Namecheap is not really that cheap for anything these days other than the occasional good pricing on the occasional first year discount but they always get you on renewal and a lack of decent service in my opinion the product offering is also turned into a lot of junk and I'm in my opinion just as bad as GoDaddy is but a trading on their old reputation still.
@Kyle-K: I’ve also noticed a lot of scammers are registering domains through Namecheap and their abuse department does absolutely nothing when you report them to Namecheap. I’d generally avoid them for anything other than a first time registration at a discount before moving to Cloudflare.
I’ve also noticed a lot of scammers are registering domains through Namecheap and their abuse department does absolutely nothing when you report them to Namecheap.
Funny you mention that had "a let it go" conversation with a guy on Reddit it looks from what I can tell they apply a shotgun approach that doesn't really do much when it comes to fighting abuse.
I’d generally avoid them for anything other than a first time registration at a discount before moving to Cloudflare.
If you're doing that you're probably not using Namecheap these days rarely meet that criteria and you're probably using something like Porkbun, Sav or Dynadot.
AWS Route53
GoDaddy
That's $22 for .com.au
Surprising given this is ozbargain, people are paying premium and not switching to the cheapest :). Looks like my current one is the cheapest at $12.49
You get what you pay for - GoDaddy has superior customer support
Doubling down on the GoDaddy recommendation. Wow.
Quantum Core $9.20/year for com.au
They look good. THeir hosting plans are reasonable as well. What has been your experience with them?
Switched over to them last month based on others recommendations. No hiccups so far.
Any issues? How did you go about switching? Did you need to do anything? Do they have any support?
I moved my domains and hosting to Obble from VentraIP few months ago and had no issues so far. Their pricing is quite fair and also has a rep here who posts deals from time to time.
I use Cloudflare for everything other than .au. It's a pain in the ass.
Yeah it's also a pain in the arse that Cloudflare did announce they were looking to bring support for the registration of .au domain names but as of yet it has not eventuated the good news is extension support flow has finally started again late last year this year and they've added quite a few recently.
However, Cloudflare does come with restrictions like you need to rely on community support if you're not on a paid plan and while your domains are registered with them a requirement to use their name servers and manually control your DNS zone manually at Cloudflare.
Which does take skill and it's definitely not a recommendation for everyone we commonly see issues because of this on the Cloudflare community and around the Internet.
does it have to be specifically .com.au domains ? why not .com / .xyz / … ?
i do not understand the benefits of having a .com.au over others - are there any ?
are there any regulations which add additional red tape because it is a .com.au domain ?
genuine questions as i am looking to get a domain name for personal use soon ..
Depends for what it is. My target is Australian customers. One is ecommerce, another one is business website, etc.
.com.au gives you credibility as you be to specify ABN when registering domain. Also that is standard practice as you would notice others. Big companies always setup local domain as well when they setup Australian operations.
Not sure if helps in Google ranking of someone searching in Australia. Someone else might have comment about that.
depends on business
imo .com.au helps give credability thats well worth the extra $10-15 (assuming not expensive domain)
Yes for .com.au you need an ABN or ACN number to register those so you need to be running either a business or a company.
For personal use you can use either a id.au not as popular or just a stright .au domain. Or grab one of the new TLDs such as .melbourne or one of the special interest ones thousands to choose from too many to list.
Also I sell .com.au domains for $20 so nice to know some of my pricing is on par with the bigger players now a days.
Though I sell .com domains for quite a bit more just haven't got around to ajusting prices for those. Synergy wholesale is good if your running a web agency or a business that needs to buy a lot of domains. Not designed for if you only have one or two.
Though OpenSRS is better for if you want volume discounting. As synergy don't do any sort of volume discounts.
Title differs to what you ask in the post.
Title says Register … Yet in the actual post you discuss Hosting.
What i usually do …
Is register .com.au domains with whoever has special deals at the time (some businesses will advertise at a loss - to generate new customers).
Then after 60 days, transfer over to a good quality host (eg. VentraIP).
Title differs to what you ask in the post. Title says Register … Yet in the actual post you discuss Hosting.
Yeah but I think the preceding paragraph makes it clear they talking about the domain name registration.
What i usually do … Is register .com.au domains with whoever has special deals at the time (some businesses will advertise at a loss - to generate new customers). Then after 60 days, transfer over to a good quality host (eg. VentraIP).
Actually in .au there is no 60 day lockout that only applies to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and domains governed by ICANN policy. I'm not aware of anyone advertising the .au at a loss outside of a promotion also.
You can check tld-list.com if there is a coupon available a some registrar. They also have some reviews.
Not actually in this situation a good solution as most Australian registrars are not listed there and the registrars that are listed there tend to be the other type you would probably want to avoid. The best place to compare pricing is the OzBargain wiki on this subject matter which I keep up to date pretty regularly but like that comparison site there is some providers there that I wouldn't actually touch.
But a good resource for non- .au domains though.
Thanks, I didn't know this wiki page.
I'll make my recommendation below based on what I actually do.
All my .au domain names are with Synergy Wholesale, VentraIP's wholesale division all other extensions are with Porkbun.
Now as I actively edit this wiki on OzBargain about the cheapest .au pricing my recommendation for retail .au purchases ongoing is Clickhost, they have representatives here and on whirlpool and are selling at their wholesale cost. Not to be confused with the wholesale rate for .au domains.
New purchases I would also recommend Clickhost unless it's a direct .au registration for those Micron 21 or VentraIP. Read the wiki for more information on their cost pricing .au domains are easily transferred out.
Clickhost is a great provider it's made up of people that used to run and work at NetVirtue company acquired by VentraIP support is as good as it was at NetVirtue at Clickhost, unfortunately I can't say the same about VentraIP any more in my opinion the quality and support levels have been declining slightly before the pandemic and more during and things haven't improved in my opinion.
Thanks a lot. This is perfect. I might switch to Click Host.
Would be happy to have you onboard! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions :)
Cool. I have started the transfer process. Support has been fantastic. Only one domain remaining to transfer.
Just out of curiousity, how much money do you guys make from it given it is just $10
@yjun355: Hi Yoman55555,
Believe you've been in touch with our team already, but DNS settings not be affected when you perform a domain transfer.
Just out of curiousity, how much money do you guys make from it given it is just $10
We can't reveal margins, for.AU it's pretty slim, but some other TLDs make up for it.
@clickhostAU: Fair enough. Thanks a lot. Hopefully this is it and don't have to worry about finding new home for domains anymore :)
@yjun355: I can reveal though because I don't work for any of these companies as I said in my original post they're charging the wholesale rate that they get charged by their wholesaler but this is only on .au domains other extensions that they offer they are making reasonable money on but not unreasonable money for Australia anyway and not high volume low cost.
They're clearly making it up elsewhere which is perfectly fine in my opinion because the hosting and service is definitely good and reasonably priced as well.
This means this product is technically a loss leader, given processing payments staff cost money.
In my opinion this business model is sustainable and was sustainable under the previous company that the staff that founded this company used to work for.
Avoid .com.au TLD - make sure you carefully read the auDA license agreement. Your .com.au needs to align with a valid ACN or ABN. You don't own the domain - it's just licensed. .au TLD is just a cash grab. Avoid that rubbish too. To answer your question otherwise, I've got domains with Melbourne IT (historical) and GoDaddy. I messed around with assigning domains to new registrars last year (mainly to enable DNSSEC). In the end, I figured out most of the domains I didn't need - so cancelled them. Otherwise, all domain DNS hosting is on CloudFlare (delegated from GoDaddy). Free and resilient. Down to one .com.au which expires in about 12 months and is currently in use. Otherwise, everything else is low-cost .com or .net via GoDaddy. Will migrate to CloudFlare domain services as domains come up for renewal ($US9.15 per domain per year plus ICAAN). Note some TLDs don't support DNSSEC (e.g. .la). The cost of the annual domain registration is dwarfed by the cost of the SaaS services in use.
Thanks. However, didn't understand your comment about not having .com.au domain. Mine are aligned with valid ACN/ABN. I thought that was point in order to have aligned website with relevant business.
If you have a shoe store or say accounting business in australia, wouldn't you need to have relevant .com.au website for it?
It's entirely up to you. I have com.au, .com, .net, .me, .co, and .io domains for various AU-based businesses (some just sitting there unused). IMHO the domain reflects the business and audience rather than the locale. For transparency, I just have a personal issue with auDA and their domain licensing. You don't own the domain. If you have trademarks (via USPTO for example) - then that may exclude you from licensing .com.au domains. Further .com.au domain ownership or ABN changes are expensive. I had to change one recently with Melbourne IT - $A400 - just to change the ABN + legal fees. When I first started registering domains with Sydney University around 1992 .com.au was pretty much all you could get easily. IMHO the domain suffix (ccTLD) itself is superfluous today unless you actually want to say "Australian". And given this is OzB … .com.au is "expensive". Buy the equivalent .com (if possible) or look for more useful ccTLDs or vanity TLDs that represent the business type (e.g. wine.com.au vs wine.shop, etc.) or have fun with your domains (e.g. cr.yp.to). More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_dom….
Avoid .com.au TLD - make sure you carefully read the auDA license agreement.
+
You don't own the domain it's just licensed.
Don't want to break this to you but you technically don't own any domain names you're always leasing them and you're always governed by some policy rules that you have to follow by for country codes like the .au governed by auDA. Other countries have similar organisation set up for their ccTLDs.
gTLD and new gTLDs are the same you agree to ICANN policy and in the case of new gTLDs the registries themselves also may have policies that you need to abide by.
Your .com.au needs to align with a valid ACN or ABN.
Yep and that's always been the case for that third level. That's why other options have been introduced.
.au TLD is just a cash grab. Avoid that rubbish too
If you're talking about the recent introduction of direct .au registrations there's a lot of good reasoning about why it's getting done and it's not something that's just happened overnight it's been a full on process over many years and actually addresses some of your concerns above about needing a ACN or ABN.
Another man's trash, can be turned into treasure.
To answer your question otherwise, I've got domains with Melbourne IT (historical) and GoDaddy.
Some of the industries worst and it sounds like you've definitely been caught up in the way they choose to operate given your later reply that I've responded to below.
Down to one .com.au which expires in about 12 months and is currently in use. Otherwise, everything else is low-cost .com or .net via GoDaddy.
Firstly nothing is low cost when GoDaddy is involved, secondly the annual wholesale price and retail prices that you can receive for these domain names makes .au cheaper than .com .net and most others.
Will migrate to CloudFlare domain services as domains come up for renewal ($US9.15 per domain per year plus ICAAN).
The ICAAN $.18 fee is actually included in that price.
And given this is OzB … .com.au is "expensive".
.com - $9.15 USD = $13.22 AUD
.au - $6.57 USD or $9.50 AUD
com.au - $6.57 USD or $9.50 AUD
And I didn't even remove the 10% GST that's included on that Australian domain name pricing when converting it to USD or add the GST that you're technically supposed to pay on the .com.
However in the .au namespace per the contract with the registry operator and based on how many domains are now under management we've seen a wholesale decrease in price $8.67 AUD, now the wholesale registry cost is $8.56 AUD.
Same cannot be said about.com Verisign has been afforded the right to increase prices on going for the next several years and has been taking advantage of this annually per the contract.
These costs are always passed on to consumers because the registrars are not going to bear registry level price increases.
Same with .net price increases are allowed and do happen regularly, .org also still has the right even though they haven't increased pricing to do so but it's a matter of time now that all the opposition claims have now been heard and gone through their processes.
For transparency, I just have a personal issue with auDA and their domain licensing. You don't own the domain. If you have trademarks (via USPTO for example) - then that may exclude you from licensing .com.au domains.
My question to this always is are you an active member, because anyone can become a member of auDA and with count of your points like yours you definitely should be getting involved if you're not happy.
Further .com.au domain ownership or ABN changes are expensive. I had to change one recently with Melbourne IT - $A400 - just to change the ABN + legal fees.
That's not a problem with .au and auDA that's a well-known documented and discussed common occurrence with Melbourne IT. You can complete this minus legal fees don't know what that was about for well under what Melbourne IT charges for a Change of Registrant (CoR).
My guess? Would be your legal fees were related to the adjustments made in regards, eligibility to hold a domain name as a trademark holder based on some of your other comments in your other post.
Most registrars will allow you to complete a CoR using an automated system for the cost of a single year of registration.
But if one of your domains was caught up in the mess that is Melbourne IT and this was requested by the registry and, or need to be corrected you to data error it would be done for free under a different process.
IMHO the domain suffix (ccTLD) itself is superfluous today unless you actually want to say "Australian".
I say the same thing about why we should've introduced direct .au registration sooner and why I'm a big supporter because going forward that is the only important part of the domain name specially when we live in a new gTLD world and even more so when we're about to have a second round in the next few years.
Buy the equivalent .com (if possible)
Most organisations do not need to go down the brand protection route while I personally love all domain names and own many and many kinds.
Brand protection in my opinion has been oversold as an easy way to sell more product to consumers, now there is cases where it is and is something that should be recommended but it's on a per case basis.
The average mum and pop does not need to worry about this.
look for more useful ccTLDs or vanity TLDs that represent the business type (e.g. wine.com.au vs wine.shop, etc.) or have fun with your domains (e.g. cr.yp.to).
But I would agree with you here it's not always something you need to pay attention to other options to exist and are good in my opinion specially in the new gTLD.
Telling everyone that they need to get a .com.au or a .com is fastly becoming outdated advice in my opinion. I love using new gTLDs and have lots of brands/communities that I run that don't own anything else but a new gTLD.
@Kyle-K: Bloody tell me about it, the amount of Non Profits that I have come across where the local IT providers gone and registered every available name for them and charged them for it, its just overkill especially for NFPs when they make bugger all money. Its different if your a commercial entity with billions of dollars wanting to go global.
Pointless for most local businesses and Non profits though.
@Kyle-K: Good advice and feedback - thank you. I'm just bitter and twisted from 30+ years of domain regos and migrations … :O
@Kyle-K: The truth is it's no different to living on a St, or Rd, except now we're adding in Pl & Ave.
All a domain really is, is an address, and if it's something memorable then that's that really matters.
I had an AuDA rep yell at me over the phone once. I registered a domain that I wasn't entitled to.
We live in strange times.
.com.au is not recommended, do your research
😂
Tried Rackservers.com.au, order went into pending for a day and was cancelled with no notice. Support ticket been closed with no answer. 1300 phone number can not get through to their support. Not a good business.
Tried Quantum Core and their service and support are both very good.
Yikes that's no good.
Most of the modern wholesale providers for domains have an automated system that will tell you if the domain registration went through or not.
So you should of got an email instantly once the order went through even we at CPK Web Services send automated emails once the registration goes through its just we do the registration manually.
Didn't even realise Rackservers were still around as a business.
So many have been purchased by larger providers.
Didn't even realise Rackservers were still around as a business.
They're not anymore:
"On 11 December 2023, Clickhost announced that it had acquired the customers and assets of RackServers Pty Ltd."
Yeah I was aware of that its been a busy couple of weeks.
Though you would think clickhost would of redirected both the ticket system and the 1300 number for rackservers. to their own services for a few months to make the move for customers easier.
@Chaddy: We did both of these things. Not sure what happened, but looked at all the tickets and they all had replies to them.
Customer can reach out to our support anytime and we'll sort it out.
I used Google Domains, simply I trust their infrastructure and the level of security.
They've sold to GoDaddy.
But Cloudflare look to soon be entering the Australian market.
They've sold to GoDaddy.
The Google Domain business was not sold to GoDaddy it's been sold to Squarespace.
But Cloudflare look to soon be entering the Australian market.
They're already in the Australian market if you mean they're going to support .au, domain names I'll believe it when it finally happens. They briefly mentioned in a blog post over three years ago.
And the Cloudflare registrar product has its own issues.
I think the Registrar part of Cloudflare is really only an add on product for their main business which is security and CDN offerings.
They appear to be going for the top end of town enterprise and government customers for the most part as all their sales appear to be aimed that way.
@Chaddy: You're pretty much saying exactly what I've been trying to convince people of that blindly recommend them over the last year and a half.
I think the Registrar part of Cloudflare is really only an add on product for their main business which is security and CDN offerings.
Yeah pretty much been saying this for ages and they even confirmed it in a blog post when Google Domain's shutdown.
They appear to be going for the top end of town enterprise and government customers for the most part as all their sales appear to be aimed that way.
For their other products yes but they don't compete in the space for domains. If you are one of those organisations, you're most likely going to use a corporate IP management platform tailored towards digital IP and domains.
They in the really early days when they initially launched the registrar component tried to push that this was the market they were going for even though they didn't even allow new registrations only transfers in. But they haven't marketed directly the registrar component to this market since the initial launch.
Unfortunately, the people that should know better due to their blind recommendations to people that probably should not even go anywhere near the product are going to end up having this product significantly be modified and probably cost more or them to exit altogether.
@Kyle-K: Yeah wouldn't surprise me if that happens at all. The same as the rest of the cloud industry, get everyone in cheap and jack up the price once investors get involved.
For clarity I was actually talking about the security and CDN offerings which they are definitely targeting at enterprise customers.
They also have a business version of the DNS offering as well but that is another thing for another thread.
Another vote for VentraIP here, however the other comments are all accurate - prices have been rising.
Thanks ended up going with clickhost..,they have been good so far and helpful!
I would say that's probably a very good choice.
VentraIP for domain registration.
To give a hosting recommendation you need to give more info.