My personal domain name is up for renewal. I’ve been with Network Solutions as my registrar for a very long time, 15 years, maybe. A whole lot of low-cost registrars have popped up during that time, but I always stuck with the leader.
Now, recent re-evaluation shows I don’t really have a need for any of the services NetSol offers, so why should I be paying a premium price for their services? Let’s take a look and see what the cost of renewal is with NetSol. I just want to renew my domain.
This is where NetSol has really shot itself in the foot. Not only is it a premium-priced registrar, it seems they are so money-hungry, they want to take every attempt to get more out of you. After clicking renew, I am taken to a series of advertisements about other things I should be buying.
First, a pitch to add additional domains. These are variations on my existing domain. No, I don’t see any need to have three more domains with less-recognizable suffixes (or TLD’s for the technical). No thank you; next.
Next, a pitch to make my registration details private ($9/yr). Other people have complained about this before. Why should I have to pay extra for privacy? And had I bought extra domains, multiply that $9 per domain. Next!
Next, a pitch for web hosting. New domains, hmmm. ok. Existing domains, you probably already have hosting. If you were transferring a domain, that would be another valid opportunity. But, no. I’m fine where I’m at.
Next, a pitch for forwarding web requests, mail hosting, custom website design (even if you selected no web hosting), and an SSL certificate. Jesus, isn’t this simple renewal request ever going to end? This is four full pages of advertising!
Then, finally, you get to see the price of renewal: $35/yr. 4x the amount of other registrars? For what? 4 pages of ads when you renew? Now, you can see that NetSol has been overtaken by salespeople and scammers. Granted, there are discounts for multi-year renewals, which is how I’ve stayed with NetSol as long as I have.
The way I see it, when you click renew, you should be taken straight to the shopping cart where a line item shows the domain(s) for renewal. Under the line items, a line with a checkbox for each of these offered services should be shown. Clicking the checkbox would expand the section to let you choose which renewing domains will get the service. Obviously a “Learn more about service” link would be provided.
That’s quick, simple and to the point. One page, all options available. Instead, NetSol is afraid that if they don’t shout the features and prices at you in a full page ad, you might not take them up on their overpriced services. In the virtual world as well as the real world, overselling, overhyping, and shouting drives me out the door.
Farewell, Network Solutions.
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