Debate : The Case of Clueless Admins in Domain Registrarville

Could the sumtotal of their website usability knowledge fill a thimball?

[Brett_Tabke]

Resolved: by-and-large, programmers that work for domain registrars are the most clueless group of programmers anywhere, in any sector, on the entire internet. The sumtotal of their website usability knowledge would not fill a thimball.

It's not often you'll find me chastizing a group of fellow webmasters. However, domain registration and maintenance is core to the web. You'd think after all the years of the netsol "less than usable" system, they'd have gotten the thing figured out by now.

I've yet to find a registrar (been on 2 dozen'ish), that isn't a mess. Even netsol's is now poetry compared to some of them.

Some examples from the real world:

Example:
"Modify Domain Whois" - click
"The delete command is for deleting domains within the first 12hrs of registration. False use of the delete command could consitute fraud".

That's the only thing on the page and you are presented with your whois info after that. You tell me? Would you edit a domain with that warning attached?

Example 2:
Modify Profile,
Edit Domain,
Edit Whois
Modify Name Servers

Which one would you click to edit your DNS info? If you selected "modify name servers" - incorrect. (it is actually modify profile and requires 4 more clicks to get to your dns info).

On the flip side, I did run into a very good one up in Canada a few months ago - darned if I can remember the name.

[Lisa]

Designing the website for a domain registrar is a very difficult business. It takes the following elements...

- geek programmer/HTML designer/graphics (most people don't do both WELL)
- ecommerce
- integrating RRP/EPP communication
- integrating Whois scrapping
- integrating database information
- editing just one domain / editing multiple domains
- marketing departments material
- sales department material
- tracking stats
- monitoring campaigns
- usability
- SEO (if any, most don't)
- support
- FAQ

A website with just one mission is easy to do, like for example optimize a site to sell blue widgets. And usually it is just one or two people working on the site. With large companies it just goes to hell. After working for a large enterprise in the website division I got frustrated that non-SEO, non-HTML, non-Perl/PHP/ASP programmers were dictating how the site would work.

The support department manager wants it to work this way...
The sales department wants it to work this way...

Ugg...

I think it is a tough job, do-able, but tough. I think if just one person could manage a registrars site then it would be so much better. But one person can only code so much. That person would really need to know what they are doing as well.

[Dante_Maure]

So when does WebmasterWorldDomains.com go live? ;)

[Brett_Tabke]

Doing a registrar system would be gravy beyond belief. If there is an easier dynamic site to build, I don't know what it would be. Simple db work with a web front end. A good ecomm site would be much more difficult and time consuming to do.

I'm talking just the interface system (the whole point), with the user. They are by-and-large junk. From netsol, godaddy, register.com, etc etc - junk from the front to the back. Zero attention to usability and utility.

[nutsandbolts]

Well, that's why I like 000domains.com. They are light on the graphics and "fiddly bits" and their support is first class.

[xbase234]

ooodomains.com is a very 'usable' site because it cuts to the chase. Simple design, easy to navigate, quick download, fair price.

What really ticks me about domain registry sites is trying to find the Whois. It gets more and more difficult as these guys fight over proprietary rights to Whois data.

And some sites make it difficult to even access your account - that's just plain nuts.