So lemmiverse, my https://pxtl.ca domain has officially been booted off of Google Domains (welcome to the Google graveyard, Google Domains) and now has been moved into Squarespace, which is expensive.

Anybody recommend a good cheap .ca TLD domain host? One with a decent API for dynamic DNS so I can keep my home subdomain? I have a couple of pi4 servers in the house that could be tasked with pinging an API endpoint to notify the domain host of my IP.

thanks in advance.

  • wildbus8979@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    17·
    2 days ago

    First off you should realize that the registrar’s and domain name servers don’t have to be the same. Feel free to use any registrar (ex: namecheap, gandi, etc) and host the domain name server anywhere else.

    Secondly, if you want a good API for dynamic updates, I’d recommend looking for something that supports nsupdate, which is bind’s built-in update mechanism. It’s supported almost everywhere, including by let’s encrypt clients like Lego.

  • charles@lemmy.caEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    As others have pointed out, CloudFlare doesn’t sell .ca domain names due to the ownership restrictions applied by CIRA. I’ve personally used Web Hosting Canada (WHC.ca) for many years, including their hosting for a while. I also have a couple of domains with Register.ca.

    I then use DuckDNS for dynamic updates and the free tier of CloudFlare for security certificates and some simple access rules.

  • jdeath@lemm.eeEnglish
    72·
    2 days ago

    Cloudflare is by far the cheapest registrar & host I’ve used. I’m on their free plan, which can handle almost any load (thousands of requests a week for me personally). The domains are sold at cost, so around $10 for my dot-coms. So $10/yr covers it.

    • liliumstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      English
      4·
      1 day ago

      Unfortunately Cloudflare does not do .ca domains. I imagine this is because there are restrictions on who can own one, so it’s probably not worth the trouble for them.

  • ShortN0te@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    Some (probably most) domain registrars allow to use different nameservers. So for example i use namecheap, since its cheap as domain registrar but cloudflare for DNS, since the API is free and widly supported.

  • thayer@lemmy.caEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I’ve been happy with whc.ca for hosting…been using their pro account for years. I generally use canspace.ca for domain registration, and have done so for more than 10 years without issue.