Google Domains vs. Network Solutions

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Domains
Score 4.8 out of 10
N/A
N/A
$12
per year
Network Solutions
Score 1.3 out of 10
N/A
Network Solutions is a website domain name registration service.N/A
Pricing
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Editions & Modules
.com
$12.00
per year
.net
$12.00
per year
.org
$12.00
per year
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Best Alternatives
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Small Businesses
Shopify
Shopify
Score 9.1 out of 10
Shopify
Shopify
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Shopify
Shopify
Score 9.1 out of 10
Shopify
Shopify
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
1.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google DomainsNetwork Solutions
Likelihood to Recommend
Single domain users and small businesses, yes. Great for those just needing one domain and an easy interface to build or buy their website. For those with a bunch of domain names to house them all, Google Domains isn’t the place for you. They are lacking in the bulking capabilities that GoDaddy and HostGator provide.
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If you know what you are doing with free open source website building applications and need no help, Network Solutions is a good place to look. If you have an Etsy shop or SmugMug account and you want to have a domain name that points to those locations, Network Solutions Web Forwarding is a cost effective easy solution. If you need email for your domain name that is reliable, Network Solutions has a solid product
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Pros
  • Very smooth technology. No glitches or meltdowns.
  • Good value for the money- we can attach aliases to existing email accounts minimizing the number of users we have to spend money on hosting.
  • Great web page hosting - we have never had an issue with hosting, maintenance, etc.
  • Easy to use administrator interface
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  • Network solutions supports TXT, MX, and CNAME records.
  • DNS changes propagate fairly quickly.
  • Network Solutions has a web management portal for maintenance of your account.
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Cons
  • The only problem with Google Domains is that you only have access to the basic domain extensions. The new, cool domains are only available on GoDaddy and other providers. Hopefully this will change soon.
  • Domain pricing was not the lowest on the market.
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  • From experience, they respond when they say they will - they say "24-48" hours but problems take weeks to resolve
  • I believe they don't put service reps in the position of lying to your customers - give them access to accurate information
  • Give access to senior level support instead of just having text service reps that don't have access to information or ability to actually fix anything.
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Likelihood to Renew
Unless the product goes away, I'll continue using it.
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Usability
When on desktop or mobile, the minimalist design and functionality of Google Domains is welcome. Because we use Google Workplace, the integration is simple. Management is fast and easy, and it offers on-the-go ease. Google is very consistent in its user interfaces and usability, so there’s no wasted time in a new learning curve. And the price is right
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The backend for managing your domain is very easy to work thru once you learn where everything is and what it is for if you want to do it yourself. The company has toll free phone support 24/7 that can also make changes for you if you are away from your desktop or have an emergency situation where you can't make the change yourself. This is peace of mind knowing that there is help out there should you need it. You don't have to learn the backend if you want to have the Network Solutions customer support team help you. They are secure and won't make changes for anyone who calls, they authenticate you for your protection every time
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Support Rating
I've never actually had to use support because everything has been very straightforward and I have not had a glitch. I have used Google's support for other items so I can only imagine that it's probably the same support which is decent. They do take a while to get back to you.
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For the most part I've had excellent interactions with the customer support team I've dealt with at Network Solutions. When I've needed help with something like Wordpress, it hasn't always worked out so well but you can pay their techs for 1 on 1 help with these offerings, you just won't have the support for free. I've often been talked to on upsells for services that I particularly didn't need and found the offers to be annoying when the agents kept pushing me on an upsell instead of addressing my issue. It's hit or miss on that, perhaps it depends on the department you speak with.
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Alternatives Considered
Google Domains is focused on domain registration only, instead of providing hosting solutions. So it can be a good option if your client has a server but needs a domain for a new website. Also, as it's only one service, it's much easier to use than other solutions and has better integration with Google services as well.
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Network Solutions is on the higher side if not the top of normal domain registration costs while being at or near the bottom in terms of features and general experience using their management console. If you want to pay more and be spammed with ads every time you log in, be my guest, but there are plenty of better options. There are tons of registrars out there, but this is one of the many that I would not consider using again. Unfortunately, we often still have to deal with them when a client has an existing domain registered through Network Solutions, so we still often have to suffer through their consistently awful transfer process.
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Return on Investment
  • Positive: Google Domains streamlined inter-company communication as well as customer-facing communication. There was no split between these two channels of communication, making life easier and communication much faster.
  • Positive: The integration with Salesforce allowed staff to log emails right from Gmail instead of repeatedly from Salesforce itself. Integrations are key.
  • Positive: folders and labeling and the ease of use for this saved tons of time and headache.
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  • Renewing an SSL certificate should have been a simple process after I submitted the CSR, but Network solutions wasted multiple weeks of my time to complete this.
  • We currently have an issue with our hosted webpage, we cannot get the page to support multiple aliases utilizing Network Solutions.
  • Any A, MX, TXT, or CNAME record updates do tend to propagate fast than any other DNS registrar I have worked with.
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ScreenShots