No matter where you buy your domain name, whether it’s with Namecheap* (who we recommend) or another company, getting the privacy protection is basically mandatory.
Unless you like spam mail + spam calls, that is.
See, if you don’t get the privacy protection, all the info you added during your checkout (like your business/home address and your phone number) will be made public on the WHOIS website. That site lists all domain names and how to get in touch with the owner.
And trust me, a lot of bots are going around on that site, finding people they can get money out of. They’ll start sending you mail telling you you have to pay them so much otherwise you’ll lose your domain name (which is obviously not true). They might even do the same, but by calling you.
Talk about annoying.
How can you avoid all those spam emails + calls?
Get. the. privacy. protection.
Some companies offer it for a bit of extra money, Namecheap* offers it for free.
What that does is that Namecheap* (or your other company) will list their info as the contact info for your new domain name. That means that nobody knows that you’re the owner (except the company you paid with).
Want to see what it looks like? This is the info WHOIS gives for my site, codeandcoconut.com. Do you see my name? Or my phone number? Nope. All you can tell is that the domain was bought via Namecheap*.
The only downside of privacy protection? In case you want people to reach out to you to buy the domain from you, they can’t really do that.
So unless you plan on selling your domain name, get the privacy protection!
What about the other up-sells?
You shouldn’t need much more than your domain + privacy protection. Most domain name up-sells are related to hosting, so unless you do want your hosting at that same company, you can consider them. Otherwise, you’ll be good with just your name and the privacy protection! Everything else you can get/figure out later.
