There are many domain name registrars and it could be a challenge to choose.
First, decide if you have critical web hosting requirements. If you have webs hosting requirements, than you should first decide on web host. Some of the web host might provide with free domain registration (for example yahoo).
See who are the market leaders. You would want to be sure that company you choose is reliable, stable and is going to be in the market. Check http://registrarstats.com/. As the stats shows, Godaddy.com is the clear winner.
Now, let’s compare other companies in the list to see if there is a better provider.
Enom.com – Pricing is similar to Godaddy. However, it charges huge setup fee. Advantage is free website creator is ads free (Not sure about this, any comments on this are welcome).
Network Solutions – Cost is much higher than Godaddy.
Godaddy simply beats competitors in this market.
Features like email accounts etc are not important anymore as Google is providing free apps (email accounts, chat, calendar, docs, spreadsheet etc.) for custom domain and is far better than included with domain name. Google has also partnered with Enom and Godaddy to sell custom domain at 10USD/yr. The pricing is same as going directly with Godaddy. The advantage is that Google apps are already pre-configured to work with the custom domain you sign up for. One might prefer to go directly with Godaddy to get better control on account. You can also use Google page creator to create simple website. You can also use blogger.com to create a blog and point it to your custom domain, if blogger fits your needs.
