What Is a Domain Registrar?

Building your first business website? You'll need a domain name, like yourbusiness.com. A domain registrar is the company you register that domain through.

Most registrars offer the same basic service, but their prices, renewal rates, and purchasing experiences can vary. Your choice generally won't affect your website's speed, but it can affect how much you pay and how much hassle you deal with.

So, where should you buy your domain? Let's look at what to watch for before you decide.

Do I Need to Buy My Domain From My Website Builder?

No. You can buy your domain from a separate registrar and connect it to your website later.

For example, you can register your domain through Cloudflare and use it with a website built in Framer, Wix, Webflow, WordPress, or countless others. Your domain registrar and website hosting provider don't need to be the same company.

One important tip: Make sure your business owns the domain and controls the registrar account, even if your web designer handles the technical setup.

Things to Consider

Intro Discounts & Renewal Prices

Wonderful upfront. However, there can be a catch.

Registrars are businesses. They need to make money, and offering a domain for $1.98 is one way to get you through the door. Sometimes, those promotions come with fine print. You might be required to purchase several years of registration upfront to qualify for the advertised price.

There's also the renewal price to consider. That $1.98 domain might cost considerably more when it's time to renew. In my experience, some of the registrars offering the biggest initial discounts aren't the cheapest over the long term (in fact, they're sometimes the most expensive).

None of this automatically makes a promotion bad. Just make sure you know what you're agreeing to before handing over your credit card.

My advice: Compare the renewal price, not just the introductory price.

My Advice: Compare Pricing w/ TLDSpy

Not sure which registrar is right for you? TLDSpy compares domain registration, renewal, and transfer prices across 40+ registrars.

Use it to compare your options before purchasing, and verify the final price with the registrar since pricing and promotions change.

Katalyst is not affiliated with TLDSpy.

My Pick: Cloudflare

Cloudflare is known for a lot of technical things, including DNS, website security, performance tools, etc. Don't worry if you don't know what all of that means. The important thing: Cloudflare offers domain registration, and its pricing model is hard to beat.

Now, Cloudflare might not be as widely recognized for domain registration as others. But it offers something I appreciate: transparency.

No Markups. No Games.

Cloudflare sells domains at cost, without adding its own markup. You can check current registration and renewal prices on its website. (See Cloudflare's published domain pricing.)

There are no inflated renewal rates added by Cloudflare, no obnoxious upselling during checkout, and no promotional pricing that suddenly expires into a much higher registrar markup.

Why offer domains at cost? Cloudflare has a much broader suite of products and services. My assumption is that domain registration also helps introduce customers to that ecosystem, where they'll find other services as their needs grow.

Whatever the reasoning, I appreciate the result.

The Downsides

1. Its dashboard can feel a bit intimidating if you're not particularly technical. You're going to see a lot of settings, options, and terminology that might feel overwhelming. The good news is that you don't need to learn everything. You can stay comfortably in the Domains and DNS sections and leave the rest alone.

2. Domains registered through Cloudflare must use Cloudflare's nameservers. This doesn't prevent you from connecting your domain to Framer, Wix, Webflow, or another website platform. You simply manage the DNS settings through Cloudflare instead of another DNS provider. For most small businesses, no problem.

3. It isn't a traditional all-in-one provider for domains, website hosting, and business email. If you'd prefer to bundle your domain, hosting, and other services with one provider, another option might make more sense. Just compare the costs and services included.

Already Own a Domain Somewhere Else?

You Can Switch Registrars.

So, what if you bought your domain somewhere else and you're paying $60 per year just to keep it?

In most cases, you can transfer your domain to another registrar. I've personally transferred multiple domains from Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Namecheap to Cloudflare.

Transferring is usually straightforward, but some domains have a 60-day transfer lock. You'll also need to unlock your domain and obtain an authorization code from your current registrar.

Visit ICANN's domain transfer FAQ for more details.

Before transferring, check what you're actually paying for. If the $60 annual bill includes email hosting or other services bundled in, know that switching registrars won't automatically replace those services. And if your domain has premium renewal pricing, moving it won’t always solve the problem.

But if you're paying an excessive amount for a standard domain registration, compare your options.

Will My Website Go Down During a Domain Transfer?

Usually, no. Your domain and website hosting are separate. As long as your DNS settings are configured correctly, your website and email should remain unaffected.

If you're concerned about disrupting your website or business email, contact Katalyst for professional domain transfer assistance.

My Take on GoDaddy

Okay, I said I wouldn't bad-mouth anyone. I'm going to walk that back a little.

Ever used TurboTax? Free, right? Haha. Not always.

I've always found TurboTax's relentless upselling frustrating. You're just trying to file your taxes, and the experience keeps pushing paid add-ons, often blurring the line between what's actually necessary and what's just optional. Unless you're good at seeing through the noise and sales tactics, "free" quickly turns into $100-$200 more than you were expecting to pay. (See my article on [dark patterns], a poor UX practice Katalyst specifically avoids.)

GoDaddy gives me the same feeling when buying a domain. Like TurboTax, GoDaddy's service itself is fine, but its checkout experience is cluttered with upsells and add-ons that can make a simple purchase more complicated and expensive than it needs to be. Not to mention, they have one of the more expensive renewal prices available.

You can buy from GoDaddy, but be prepared to decline a few extras along the way. It's why I find it hard to recommend over other registrars.

The Bottom Line

For most small businesses, I recommend Cloudflare Registrar for its straightforward, at-cost pricing and lack of aggressive upselling. But the best choice depends on your needs. Compare renewal prices, understand what you're paying for, and remember that your domain registrar doesn't have to be your website host.

Katalyst is not affiliated nor sponsored by any domain registrars.

Helpful Resources

• Cloudflare Domain Pricing — Check current registration and renewal costs.

• TLDSpy Domain Comparison — Compare prices across registrars.

• ICANN Domain Transfer FAQ — Understand domain transfer requirements.

Already have a domain and need help transferring it without disrupting your website or business email? Book a consultation with Katalyst.