Google Domains is often an overlooked tool in Google’s portfolio, but it shouldn’t be.
Google aims for its service to be the most straightforward domain registration on the market right now, and it’s quite simple to use.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to register a domain name, look no further than Google Domains.
In this article, we’re going to be discussing what Google Domains is, the advantages and disadvantages surrounding it, and a little bit of guidance on how actually to use it.
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Google Registers Domains? Google Domains Overview
You can probably guess what Google Domains is by its name, it’s essentially a domain registration site that was launched by Google in 2015, it helps you to register a domain name that you use with your WordPress site, but it can be any other site too.
Unlike a lot of popular domain registration services, Google Domains doesn’t offer any direct hosting, this means that you’ll have to purchase hosting services separately. Don’t worry, several types of hosting are out there and can start on the cheap.
It’s useful to use Google Domains, especially if you use a Google account for many things regarding your website. You can connect to other Google services like Google Wordspace, Google Search Console, and more.
Advantages Of Using Google Domains
If you’re still not convinced, here are some of the advantages that Google Domains offers.
It’s Well Designed And Easy To Use
You can expect any service designed by Google to have an easy-to-use setup and a familiar interface.
It’s also like any other Google service, in that it uses your existing Google account to log in, which means you won’t have to make a new account, just ensure that your account is properly secured using a strong password and two-factor authentication.
Also, the dashboard fits the Google aesthetic, so if you’re familiar with Google, you’ll have an easy time using it.
Free Privacy Protection
When registering a domain name, you tend to have to enter your personal information such as your address and phone number.
Unfortunately, once you’ve done this all your information is freely available in the Whois Registry, making you more vulnerable to malicious attacks or spam related activity.
However, this can be avoided by using privacy protection, which hides all your information behind generic privacy information.
Most domain registration sites will charge you upwards of $10/ per year for this add-on, but Google Domains includes it free of charge.
Google-Powered DNS Servers
Domain Name System, also known as DNS, is the thing that connects your domain name to your web server.
Each domain registrar will have its own DNS service, but the problem with this is that not all DNS servers are created equal, and some can have slower response times, which means your page won’t load as fast as it could.
But with Google Domains, you get to use Google’s Cloud DNS, which is already backed by Google’s infrastructure at no extra cost, so you can be ensured that the DNS servers are high quality. Thus your page will load and run smoothly without paying even more for better loading times.
Plus you can use Google’s default nameservers for fast global DNS updates.
Disadvantages Of Using Google Domains
It wouldn’t be a fair overview if we didn’t discuss some of the potential disadvantages that Google Domains has.
There Are Cheaper Alternatives Out There
Whilst Google Domains does have standard, competitive pricing, there will always be a cheaper alternative out there.
However, this does depend mainly on the domain extension, for example, Google Domains is still the cheapest option for .org extensions, but you’ll be able to find much cheaper alternatives for .io extensions.
Not As Many Smaller Extensions On It
Google Domains does support an impressive 100+ domain extensions, but other domain registrars can support even more.
This won’t affect the average person looking for a normal domain extension, as Google Domains supports many of the popular ones anyway. Still, if you’re looking for a niche or uncommon domain extension, then you’re best looking at some alternative domain registration sites.
How To Register A Domain With Google Domains
Now that we’ve gone through the advantages and disadvantages of Google Domains, it’s time to discuss how to use this service.
Step 1: Choosing Your Domain
The first, and most crucial step, is to choose a domain name. So head to Google Domains and search for the domain name that you want.
Google will then display a list of domain extensions that are currently available. Hopefully, you should see a green tick next to your desired domain name, this means that it’s available, then just go ahead and add it to your cart.
Step 2: Purchasing Your Domain Name
Once you’ve placed your domain in the cart, go ahead and check out and Google Domains will show you two options that are both enabled.
This is privacy protection (which we mentioned earlier) and auto-renew, this is to make sure that you don’t forget to renew and potentially lose your domain.
This can be turned off, but it’s completely up to you, once you’ve made your choices, check out and follow the instructions and it should now be purchased!
Step 3: Point Your Domain To Your Host
As soon as the purchase has been completed, Google Domains will automatically open up the dashboard for your domain.
To point your domain to a host is quite simple, just go to the DNS tab, and from here you can either change your nameservers to your host’s nameservers or add resource records to your Google nameservers.
Step 4: Set Up Email Forwarding (Optional)
If you don’t want to set up your email through your host or another service, like Google Workspaces, you can use email forwarding through Google Domains.
Simply select the Email tab and click Add Email Alias, and it should be straightforward from there.