Google on Monday revealed that it is prepping a new domain registration service dubbed “Google Domains” which is still in an invite-only beta stage.
“We’re beginning to invite a small number of people to kick the tires on Google Domains a domain registration service we’re in the process of building,” Google said in a statement.
“Businesses will be able to search, find, purchase and transfer the best domain for their business — whether it’s .com, .biz, .org, or any of the wide range of new domains that are being released to the Web.”
The search engine giant said that it initiated developing a domain registration service when it found that around 55 percent of small businesses still don’t have a website. With this new service, Google aims to help more companies get started with their online presence.
The search engine giant clarified that Google Domains will only offer domain forwarding, customizable sub-domains, and no-cost private registration services and that it won’t include hosting. However, for user’s website building and hosting needs, it has partnered with website building providers including Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.
Google further said that it won’t charge users with any hidden fees for extra features like private registration that will hide the user’s name, address and contact information. Google Domains will provide users with full-on customer support and users will be able to create up to 100 email addresses on the domain and as many as 100 customized sub-domains.
The new Google Domains’ website currently lists domain registration cost to be at least $12 for one year, per domain.
With this latest move, Google now stands in direct competition with GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar with over 57 million domains under its management.
