Last month we announced that when you register new .com or .net domains, we are now the ICANN-accredited registrar. This change cut resellers out of the supply chain, which is an important step on our way to offering better value. It also reduces our reliance on systems that we don’t control.
It’s always sensible to take a cautious approach to change, so at the time we limited the number of affected TLDs to .com and .org, and we left domain renewals untouched. Now that we’ve had time to make sure that everything is working smoothly, it’s time for the next step.
A new option
When you renew some domains, you’ll see a checkbox that offers you the option to “swap registrar”, or change our role from simply being the retailer to being the actual registrar. There’s no extra cost, and there will be no change in your day-to-day management of domains.
The option looks like this:
If you agree, this will make a behind-the-scenes change. Rather than renewing your domain via the reseller, we will take on the role of registrar. Your domain will still appear in your SiteHost control panel as usual, there will be no change in price, and there’s no risk of downtime.
We’ve been a .nz registrar for some time now, so if you have any New Zealand domains registered with us you already know that we can do the job very reliably.
Why we recommend swapping registrars
With so many things not changing, why would swapping registrars be a good idea?
Firstly, it brings us closer to the day when there are no resellers effectively dictating the prices that we charge for a range of generic TLDs.
Secondly, it means that your domain won’t depend on reseller systems that can make life difficult. We are big fans of simplification, so the fewer intermediary APIs between us and the registry, the better.
Thirdly, you’ll be helping us consolidate our systems. That’s mostly an “us” thing rather than a “you” thing, but it does mean that over time we’ll have more time and energy to spend serving customers, rather than maintaining multiple ways of registering and managing the same domains.
If you do not swap registrars: Your domain will stay as it is and your renewal will go through as usual.
If you do agree to swap: Thank you! We’ll take care of the change and you will hardly notice a thing. Your domain’s WHOIS data will change to show “Webslice International” as the registrar. That’s us - or, to be exact, it’s our sister company. Same owners, same team, different name.
Affected domains
To swap registrars can typically take a week (with no downtime). Because of this, any domains that will expire within seven days will not have the option to swap registrars.
So long as the expiry date isn’t too close, a growing list of TLDs will offer this option. The first eight are:
.com.net.org.cc.io.name.travel.tv
As always, we're here to answer any questions you have about domains and registrars. And, again, our thanks to everyone who uses their domain renewal as a chance to turn us into your registrar.