# godaddy - worth adding on the business registration and private registration plans?



## Mc

I am registering my domain name with godaddy.com. Is it worth adding on the business registration and private registration plans, or should I just purchase the domain name itself?


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## Rodney

I'm not sure what the "business registration" is, but my guess is that it's just a hyped up marketing package that godaddy offers. If so, you don't need it.

The "privacy registration" makes it so that your contact information is not available in the public whois database. This is supposed to protect against unwanted spam or solicitations.

In my personal opinion, if you are running a business, you should have your whois information public.

When I see a business that wants my money, and I see that they have a private whois registration, it makes me feel like I can't trust them with MY private information. If they can't trust me with their basic business information (name, address/po box, phone number), then I don't feel like I should trust them with my private information (like the stuff they need to get my money )

Not all customers will think this way, and some customers may not even care or even know to check, but if I'm dealing with a new business, I as part of my "legitimacy check" before I give out my information, I check the whois for anything fishy.

So to me, it removes one layer of trust that you should be working to earn when you are trying to gain new customers. It doesn't cost much for a small business to have a separate "business" mailing address like a post office box or a private mail box, and it doesn't cost that much to get a second line strictly for business purposes. I feel if a company doesn't have that much money to spend, they could pack up and leave with my money at any second.

I've heard legitimate uses for them (like personal domain names, hobbies, if you need to make sure your info stays private for safety reasons, etc), but for most businesses, my opinion is that they should be avoided.

Anyway, that's my rant


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