Never Buy A .online Domain
5 hours ago
- #domain-registration
- #web-development
- #google-safebrowsing
- Author bought a .online domain for a small project, breaking their usual .com preference.
- The site was suddenly flagged as unsafe by Google and put on serverHold without any notification.
- Attempts to resolve the issue revealed a catch-22: Google required domain verification to remove the flag, but the domain wouldn't resolve due to the serverHold.
- Author learned hard lessons about sticking to .com domains, adding domains to Google Search Console early, and monitoring uptime.
- The site was eventually restored after public attention on Hacker News, but the experience was frustrating and costly in terms of time.