I would like to understand and evaluate the pro & cons of buying a domain name from Namecheap (or other domain providers) before upgrading to the Wix Premium plan.
YouTube Audience Member – Website Wiz
Do I understand correctly that while Wix offers a free domain name for the first year, the domain cost will increase for every year after that?
And would it be more cost efficient and portable in the long term to purchase my domain name from a different domain provider, other than Wix?
Disclaimer: Before we get into the answers to your questions, please recognise that we aren’t financial advisers and can only give you the benefit of our experience from our own personal perspectives. And while we do our very best to provide the best researched and most accurate information that we can, the occasional mistake can enter in. Please let us know in the comments if you spot any errors. And do feel free to add a comment if you find this article helpful.
What are the pros & cons of buying a domain name from Namecheap before upgrading to the Wix Premium plan?
Pros of Namecheap
- If you need Domain Privacy, Namecheap gives you that protection “free forever”, whereas Wix charges US$ 9.90 / year for it.
- Namecheap offers 400+ extensions (.com, .net, .info etc.), whereas Wix only offers 25 extension choices for use with their “1st year free domain voucher”.
- If you use Namecheap as your Domain Name Provider and Wix as your Host, all your eggs aren’t in one basket, so to speak. But whether that is a benefit or not depends on what happens in the future. Namecheap is based in the U.S. and Wix in Israel, so it’s a safer bet that both won’t get into trouble at the same time. But perhaps we’re just being too conservative.
- Namecheap sells premium domain names but Wix does not. Premium domain names are those that have a higher value, usually because they are shorter in length, easy to remember and able to be branded well. They are also rare because they are in short supply. Most of the shorter domain names were bought up years ago at the start of the Internet, so if any are available they usually cost more.
- For the most common domain extensions, Namecheap is cheaper in the long-term than Wix.
Cons of Namecheap
It’s easier to connect a Wix-provided domain name to a Wix-hosted site. That said, Wix does make it easy to connect your domain from another domain provider, through easy to follow video tutorials, at each step of the connection process. They have included these video tutorials for the most popular domain providers, which are accessible from within your account at the time you connect your domain to your Wix website.
It’s faster (by up to 48 hours) to connect your Wix domain name to a Wix-hosted site.
If you don’t need Domain Privacy, Wix does beat Namecheap on pricing for the following extensions:
- .coach
- .fit
- .fitness
- .info
- .live
- .space
- .studio
- .training
- .yoga
And in the case where you do need Domain Privacy, Wix still beats Namecheap on the following extensions:
- .fit
- .store
- .yoga
Does Wix offer a free domain with their website plans?
Yes, Wix offers a free domain with the purchase of any yearly premium plan subscription.
Please note that the free Wix domain voucher has a 2-month expiry date from the date that you receive it.
How much is a Wix domain after the free year?
Wix domain pricing depends on a few factors, including:
- The domain extension (pricing ranges anywhere from US$ 8.00 – US$ 45.95 / year)
- The number of years selected
- Whether you add Domain Privacy protection (US$ 9.90 / year)
- Your own local taxes or VAT
For a “.com” domain registered with Wix, the price is US$ 15.95 / year.
However, you can save more money if you choose to pay for multiple years upfront as the price per year drops:
- 1 Year – US$ 15.95 / Year
- 2 Years – US$ 14.95 / Year
- 3 Years – US$ 13.95 / Year
This does not include Domain Privacy, which is an additional US$ 9.90 / year.
Should I get Domain Privacy?
To avoid all of the hackers, spammers and scammers out there and to protect your private information, such as name, address and phone number, it’s advisable to get Domain Privacy.
However, if you have a physical address, and feature it on your website, and are using Local SEO, you will absolutely not want Domain Privacy. In fact, it will hurt your Google Ranking if you switch it on and you have an actual place of business.
Is it more cost effective in the long-run to buy my domain name from Namecheap or from Wix?
It is more cost effective for the majority of domain extensions to purchase your domain name from Namecheap.
Their base cost is generally lower and the fact that they offer free Domain Privacy beats Wix most of the time.
If you need Domain Privacy for the following domain extensions, it is cheaper in the long-term to purchase your domain name from Namecheap:
- .art
- .be
- .biz
- .club
- .co.uk
- .com
- .net
- .nl (Netherlands only)
- .online
- .org
- .pictures
- .rocks
- .shop
- .store
- .xyz
Is it more portable to buy my domain name from a domain name provider other than Wix?
Portability is not something that’s built into the Domain Name system, whether you pay for your domain with Wix or anyone else.
It can take up to 5-7 days to do a domain transfer (transfer a Domain Name from one registrar to another). And during those 5-7 days, your website can be down for all or part of the time.
According to the Wix Help Center:
“in accordance with ICANN rules: You cannot transfer a domain within 60 days of purchase. Changing your registrant contact information locks your domain from transfer for 60 days.
Transferring your domain locks it from being able to transfer again for 60 days.”
So, you can only transfer your domain between registrars every 60 days, no matter what happens.
So, not a system built for portability!
Conclusion
Both Namecheap and Wix are reputable companies with great services. But Namecheap is definitely more domain-focused than Wix. They offer a wider range of services and more competitive, cheaper pricing than Wix for the majority of their domain name extensions.
And whilst Wix gives you your domain name for the first year free with any premium plan upgrade, Namecheap is definitely the front runner for best pricing over the long-term.
And because Wix makes it so easy to connect a domain from another provider such as Namecheap, to your Wix website, you can benefit from greater savings without any hassles.
For a more in-depth domain comparison of Namecheap to Wix, including all 25 of Wix’s extensions, you can download our Wix vs Namecheap Pricing Comparison PDF below:
Please recognize that this is only general advice from us. We are just trying to help, and this is not professional advice you’ve paid for, to be tailored to your specific circumstances. If you need professional advice, please seek the recommendations of a website and/or financial consultant before going ahead with anything that could cost you in any way.
And if you have any questions, please write to us in the comments section below.
