Which domain registrar is the "the best"?  Well it really depends on you.  Everyone is looking for something different.  Some people want the cheapest out there, some what service, some what good domain management tools and others are worried about security.  You probably won't find the perfect domain registrar, but you should be able to find one that has all of your needs and most of your wants covered.  Since everyone's different we will walk you through the process of choosing the right registrar.

In selecting the correct registrar there some things you should do and think about:

Decide What's Important to You:

1. Price - Is price the biggest factor for you?  I you are planning on having more than 20 domain names then price can really become a big factor for you.  On the other hand if you only have a handful of domains then service and ease of use may be more important.

2. Security - Is Security your overriding concern?  If you going to put most of your money into buying one great or several good domain names then security should be high factor in your purchase.  Even if it costs you a little bit more to register domain names.

3. Domain Management - Is domain management and domain portfolio tools what you want and need from your registrar?  Not all registrars offer the same tools for controlling your domain portfolio.  If your planning on buying and selling a large volume of domain names this may be a high priority for you.

4.  Customer Service - You maybe new to domaining and you want to make sure you can get all your questions answered in a reasonable amount of time.  Further if something goes wrong with your account you want to be able to resolve it right away.

Research:

1.  Ask people you know.  If you know fellow domainers ask them who they use and if they like them and why they like them.  Does your company use a certain registrar.

2.  Check the forums.  Always check out the domaining forums like Domain State or DNForum.  Is everyone happy with there registrars or are there a ton of complaints from multiple people.

3. Google them - If you have a list of domain registrars like the one we provide.  Try googling the registrars and adding the word reviews.  You'd be surprised by the information you'll get back on them.  Just remember that a lot of people like us make money from affiliated with domain registrars and will get paid if you sign up with them.

4.  How long have they been around? - When your googling the registrars check out how long they have been around.  It does take some money to start a registrar, but not enough to ensure just because they are in business they will still be there next month.  Don't take a chance on a new registrar unless it is someone you know personally or is a reseller for larger domain name registrar.

Make a Decision:

Now that you have all the information you need to make a decision you just need to weigh what is important to you against what you learned in your research. I recommend just putting together a quick excel sheet with your list of needs on one side then the priority of the needs in the next column just prioritize from 1-10.  Then list the domain registrars across the top of the sheet and rate them for each category.  Now you just need to find the one that matches up the best to your priorities.