When selecting a registrar, customers place security at the top of the list.

According to Domain Name Wire’s 2008 survey of 841 domain name industry participants, security is the number one selection criteria when choosing a domain name registrar.

This is a change from the first two years of the survey, which had price as the number one consideration. Clearly, issues about domain names being stolen are affecting where registrants take their business.

Survey respondents were asked to rank six factors in order of importance. The factors were presented in random order to each respondent to avoid bias.

The weighted average results were:

1. Security
2. Price
3. Customer service
4. Account management tools
5. Ease of transfering domains to other people
6. Value added services, such as webhosting

Positions three through six remained the same as the 2007 survey.

It may seem odd that customer service is in the middle of the list, but when you consider the thought process of selecting a registrar it makes sense:

-Make sure my domains are safe
-Cross off any registrars who charge more than $x per domain registration
-Now, consider which registrar offers adequate customer service

In other words, you have to have great customer service to be a good registrar, but if your pricing and security are bad then it’s a moot point.

[View survey results here. Next up: Best Registrar results]

Related posts:

1. Survey: Price, Security Top Considerations When Registering Domains
2. Survey: Price, Security top considerations when choosing registrar
3. 2007 Domain Name Wire Survey Opens

Tags: Domain Registrars, domain survey