GoDaddy vs. Hover Review - A Domain Name Registration Service Comparison

Aug 17
10:58

2010

Jasmine Jennings

Jasmine Jennings

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

A Hover vs. GoDaddy Review. What are the primary, immediately noticeable differences between GoDaddy and Hover? Which is cheaper? Information regarding these two domain name registration services, detailed in a brief, easy to understand manner.

mediaimage
Everyone's heard of Go Daddy. I mean,GoDaddy vs. Hover Review - A Domain Name Registration Service Comparison Articles they were founded in 1997 and started advertising in the Super Bowl in 2005 for crying out loud. In fact, "Go Daddy" is to many synonymous with "domain names" for they know of no other domain name registration service provider. For those of you who aren't aware, there are plenty of GoDaddy alternatives. In fact, the domain name registration business is one of the most competitive industries on the Internet, so finding an alternative to Go Daddy isn't at all hard.
There are thousands of places from which one can buy a domain name. Shopping around is very important because prices and offers change regularly. You want an affordable, reliable domain registrar who you can count on to be there for you and help you whenever you need it. For the purposes of this article, some key Hover vs. GoDaddy points will be examined.
Go Daddy became popular when the Network Solutions monopoly was collapsing a decade ago. Network Solutions was the first domain name registrar and at one point they had a monopoly that allowed them to price gouge horrendously. Today, their prices are cheaper than they once were, but they're still super expensive. Go Daddy entered the scene boasting affordable domain names, far cheaper than those of Network Solutions. To this day, they still are.
Since Go Daddy's launch, they've branched off into a wide variety of sectors and sub-sectors concerning web design and webmastering. GoDaddy.com pretty much offers everything and anything under the sun that a webmaster may want, need, or think that they need because GoDaddy recommends such. However, this is one of the things that have led to some starting to leave Go Daddy for other horizons.
While Go Daddy's prices are cheap, customers must endure a constant slew of in-your-face style advertising when navigating its web site. This has led some to call GoDaddy.com "one big advertisement" because it can at times lead to a very intrusive and unpleasant user experience. Additionally, customer service is that of a big call center and a tier-based support structure. That means when you call Go Daddy, whoever answers the phone might not be able to help you and might have to transfer you. Cheap in price is good, but cheap in quality is not and Go Daddy has lessened dramatically in quality over the years, at least in the opinion of this author.
Hover was launched in 2009, though it is in fact not an inexperienced service. Tucows Inc., which is the parent company of Hover, was launched in 1994. Tucows' first domain name service, Domain Direct, was launched in 1997 and Tucows became an ICANN-accredited registrar in 1999. Tucows acquired NetIdentity in 2006 and It's Your Domain (IYD) in 2007. The successful combination of these three successful services under one roof resulted in the birth of Hover in 2009.
Hover is a domain name registration service provider focused entirely on the customer experience. Customer service and intuitive, simple usability, and reliability are at the top of the priority lists, first and foremost. Customer satisfaction is something that each and every employee must take seriously as a condition of remaining employed. Hover's services are, therefore, easy to use and backed by excellent service.
Hover's web site is the exact opposite of Go Daddy's. It's clean and free of advertisements and other spam. The interface is to the point and easy to navigate. It has everything you may need, and nothing that you don't. This clean, minimalistic style has led Hover to be considered by many one of the most usable, pleasant domain services available.
When a person calls or emails Hover for help, they can rest assured that they won't be pinged back and forth between representatives and that a person will always answer the phone when they call. Every Hover employee has the same training and technical expertise. This means that whether you're calling about billing or a technical issue, whoever answers the phone is equally able to help you. No transfers, no nonsense.
Hover's prices are a little more than Go Daddy's, but the premium service that they offer is worth the additional expense. Additionally, Hover includes free services, such as Private Registration, that Go Daddy charges extra for. A Go Daddy domain with private registration costs more than a Hover domain by approximately $5 annually. So, in many respects, Hover is actually cheaper than Go Daddy.
Shopping around is important. Always compare domain registrars to see which is the best domain name registration service provider. Remember, it's not just about the price. It's also, equally if not more so, about the service.