I just went to register another domain for a side-project idea I had. For $10, I figured I’d scoop up the domain and start coding later.

I’ve been using GoDaddy for at least 5 years, and maybe more like 10. I never found it particularly user-friendly, but I become more and more frustrated each time I have to use it. We have a few accounts with them at work, and every time I have to use it, I find myself grimmacing.

Today, I went to register a new domain name. After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out what my account was, I gave up and decided to create a new one. And then I put in my domain, and had to wade through pages of text with offers to register the .info version, and the .mobi version, and so on. I guess it’s not abnormal to offer tons of crap at signup. But it went on for several pages, at which point I realized that there was no apparent way to uncheck one option, and also that I had accidentally left the 2-year registration term instead of opting for a 1-year. The order that was supposed to be $7.49 was rapidly shaping up to be about $30, and I hadn’t even gotten through all of the pages of having more crap thrown at me.

And seriously, they have the most confusing interface I’ve ever seen. There are way too many buttons and menus to go through. I can’t even tell if I’m logged in or not, but a woman wearing a race jacket takes up half the screen, as do ads for “Too hot for TV” commercials.

So GoDaddy, I’m sorry to inform you… Actually, that’s a lie. GoDaddy, I’m elated to inform you that I closed the browser and began looking at other registrars. I want to put in my domain name, fill out the whois information, pay you $7.49, and have you plop that data into ICANN. The GoDaddy process seems to have gotten more and more absurd over time. I’m now looking at other registrars, and I’ll gladly pay a bit more for a place that doesn’t make me pull my hair out. It’s not worth saving $5 to have to jump through hoops for 15 minutes.