Best domain registrar for .BOND domains

If you’re thinking of registering a new domain for you or your business, you might be worrying about your prospects of finding a good .COM name. And if you’re not worried yet, just wait until you start looking. The truth is, because the .COM extension is so popular, there simply aren’t that many unique and relevant names left.

But who said that a .COM extension is the best extension for your site? There are plenty of extensions that can add just as much personality and business relevance to your domain as a unique term/string (what is left of the dot in a domain name), sometimes even more so. The best part is that because so many of them are relatively new, there are still plenty of options available. This article is going to discuss a new and potentially very useful domain extension to enter the field of online finance—the .BOND extension.

Who might want one?

Because .BOND domains are newly open to the public, they can be registered by anybody. So long as you can afford to buy one, you can even set one up right now. That being the case, you might be wondering who a .BOND domain is really ideal for.

The obvious first answer is financiers and anyone offering financial bonds. Indeed, even a quick look through nic.bond, the official website of the .BOND name, reveals that the domain is being marketed towards the financial sector very strongly.

If you’re not a financier though, don’t worry. A .BOND domain is also great for bail bondsmen, James Bond fans, and anyone who wants to use their domain to bond with their clients. According to nic.bond, “when you select a .BOND domain, you’re adding a powerful word to your web address — a word that sends strong and positive connotations to your visitors and reinforces the benefits clients will receive when working with your firm.” If this sounds like your goal, then a .BOND domain might be perfect for you.

What to look for in a registrar

A scroll through nic.bond’s list of registrars offering .BOND domains may make you feel a bit intimidated. There are currently fifty registrars on that list. With all those options, discerning how each registrar differs and what the advantages and drawbacks of each are seems to be a monumental task. To help guide you through the vetting process for your registrar, below is a list of just a few essential factors to take into consideration.

• Accreditation
  • Accreditation is one of the first things you want to make sure of when considering a registrar. You want to make sure that they are authorized to sell a .BOND domain in the first place, since not every registrar out there has that privilege. You also want to make sure that the registrar is ICANN accredited. ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is more or less the head honcho when it comes to domain name regulation. An ICANN accreditation shows that the registrar in question is not only authorized to operate, but also provides some assurance of quality.
• SSL
  • SSL, standing for Secure Sockets Layer, is a method of data encryption that protects sensitive information that passes through any website. Basically, anytime a user is prompted to input anything like a credit card number into your website to complete a purchase, an SSL certificate makes sure that that information is protected and can’t be intercepted by a hacker. Having an SSL certificate is an essential piece of website security that every domain owner should incorporate, including you and your .BOND domain. Make sure that any registrar you use offers SSL certificates through them. It is possible to obtain a free SSL certificate through a third party, but these certificates come with significant drawbacks, making them far less protective than paid SSL. Purchasing a certificate through your registrar also ensures that they have accountability in the event of a malfunction or security compromise.
• Warranty
  • Registrars that offer SSL certificates typically also come packaged with a pretty hefty warranty. 101domain, for instance, offers a $10,000 warranty for standard SSL protection and a $1 million warranty for their highest offered level. In the same way that you want accountability from a registrar, you also want to make sure that the warranty they offer is as large as possible, not necessarily because you want that money, but because the more a registrar has to pay out in the event of an SSL failure, the more incentive they have to make sure an SSL failure never occurs.
• Support
  • Mistakes can and will happen, no matter how good a registrar seems to be. No company is 100% error free, and so you want to know who is going to be responsible for any mistakes that happen. A good registrar will make it easy to get a hold of someone who can help you when things go sideways. For example, 101domain has a chat feature that is accessible from anywhere on the website at any time. If someone is available to talk they can help you right away, and if not they allow you to leave a message that they will get to as soon as possible. 101domain is a bit unusual in this respect, and most other registrars use more traditional systems like email or phone calls, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. That being said, be wary of any registrar that seems to make it more difficult than necessary to contact them.

Where to get one

The best place to start looking for a registrar to buy a .BOND domain is on the list of accredited providers on the nic.bond website. Only a few of the items on the list have links that you can follow, so you may have to do a little digging on your own. Ultimately, what registrar is the best for you is going to come down to your personal needs, but with some help from this article, hopefully you feel a little more prepared to make an informed decision.