domain names etc

[DaveP]

I am looking register a domain name, but not hosting. With an option
to set up a free re director to a different url

Also I want to create email address based on the newly registered domain name.

If you know of any business that offer the above please reply.

[expat]

Originally Posted by DaveP

I am looking register a domain name, but not hosting. With an option
to set up a free re director to a different url

Also I want to create email address based on the newly registered domain name.

If you know of any business that offer the above please reply.

I use
www.easily.co.uk
www.ovh.co.uk
www.gandi.net

[ferret]

Cheap and Easy. 123-Reg.

When you check out you will be offered hosing but you don't have to add it.

Just checked the control panel and you can do all sorts of URL forwarding to send you to another site or send you to a site in a frameset so your domain still shows in the address bar (nasty!) and more.

As a cheap way of using email you can forward *@yourdomain.co.uk to you@yourISP.co.uk or gmail address or whatever you have. No need to buy pop domains this way. You can set up email forwarding too for free.

Domains cost £2.79 a year for .co.uk or £8.99 a year for .com.

They had some DNS issues a while ago, very nasty, took a lot of sites offline. Would have thought they would have sorted this by now though...

[ferret]

Just checked and Easily do it all to - more expensive though. Never had a problem with Easily DNS though.

£9 for two year .co.uk £24.99 for two year.com

[RichardCranium]

Originally Posted by ferret

Cheap and Easy. 123-Reg.

They had some DNS issues a while ago, very nasty, took a lot of sites offline. Would have thought they would have sorted this by now though...

And lost emails. It went on for months and months.

I was one of those who lost out because of their incompetence.

I - and may, many others - will now never touch any Pipex-owned outfit.

[Moscow Mule]

I use LCN.biz

Forwarding (as described by Ferret above) is £7.50 for 2 years (.co.uk).

Not as cheaps as 123.com, but has failed me once for about 24 hours in the last 36 months.

[voodooflux]

I tend to use 123-reg for co.uk domains, and GoDaddy for .com domains (around a fiver given the exchange rate).

[expat]

Originally Posted by DaveP

I am looking register a domain name, but not hosting. With an option
to set up a free re director to a different url

Also I want to create email address based on the newly registered domain name.

If you know of any business that offer the above please reply.

should also mention
MyDomain.com

They have a variety of services: I use a free (!) one where a domain that I have registered elsewhere is redirected to a URL on a site that is hosted in yet another place.

[NickFitz]

Another vote for http://easily.co.uk/ - I've been using them for several years now without problems.

For web hosting one can either use their hosting, redirect to another domain, or redirect to another domain using frames to "hide" the redirection(horrid, as ferret said).

For mail you can set up a "catch-all" email address, and all mail sent to the domain will be redirected to that address. This allows you to have unlimited email addresses for that domain, as they all just get sent to the alternative address you specify, where you can then filter them based on the original intended recipient.

They've recently tidied up their control panel, making it easier to use, so all the stuff you want to do should be a matter of minutes to set up (including registering the domain and making payment).

You can also change the nameservers for the domain (while still having the domain managed by Easily for renewals and so forth), which could be useful if in the future you want to host the domain somewhere else in its own right, rather than just forwarding to another domain.

[ferret]

Originally Posted by NickFitz

Another vote for http://easily.co.uk/ - I've been using them for several years now without problems.

<snip>

You can also change the nameservers for the domain (while still having the domain managed by Easily for renewals and so forth), which could be useful if in the future you want to host the domain somewhere else in its own right, rather than just forwarding to another domain.

You can also edit the DNS so you can use Easily Nameservers to point the A and MX records as you desire. Same with 123-Reg although 123-Reg allow you to list lots of subdomains whereas Easily only allow you 3 before you have to send in requests for customer services to add more which is annoying. Same with Nameservers, Easily will only allow you to specify 2 which can be a hindrance. I far prefer the 123-Reg control panel as you have more control than Easily but yes, Easily have been far more stable over the last couple of years.

I host my own DNS with another provider so not an issue, I just register with 123-Reg and then change the nameservers so their poor service does not always affect me.