A new domain registrar

17th March 2024

I’ve switched my domain registrar from 123-Reg to Fasthosts. I’ve done this for four reasons:

About 6 months ago 123-Reg messed up an order for me. They accepted the order, took my money and then silently failed to process the request. When I chased I eventually found out their system didn’t support the domain name I had registered. It worked on the front end (and still does) but they can’t process the order. I did get a refund and a vague suggestion they would update the front end to avoid this problem going forwards, but I lost a month going round in a circle trying to get things sorted and I didn't get the domain I was trying to register.
123-Reg have changed how they handle email forwarding for domains. They now require you to also subscribe to their email service. They have also removed the option to set up a catch-all email forwarder. A backwards step.
123-Reg’s control panel has always been a bit cumbersome. They are slowly replacing it with a new version but so far this doesn’t seem to be making things better. The new version, which they admit is incomplete, has basic functionality missing or hidden. The original version has been updated to remove features that have been migrated, so you have to use both at the same time. It’s a bit of a mess and I’m fed up waiting for it to be finished.
123-Reg’s smallest VPS offering is four times the cost of Fasthosts. To be fair it is four times the capacity too, but that is four times more than I need.

It’s a shame, I’ve been using 123-Reg for about 20 years. I want to show them some brand loyalty but they simply no longer have the products or quality I need. It seems as though they are really focused on selling a complete domain + web hosting + email hosting package. I don’t fit into that bracket. I’m not the only one who is looking for alternatives. The email thing in particular has people upset and moving on.

Enter Fasthosts. Provides Domain registration and management. Supports simple email forwarding and a catch-all forwarder. Has a sensible control panel. Offers virtual private servers at the size I need. And has good feedback online. So I switched and so far I’m very happy.