I just saw that Google will be shutting down Google Domains / selling all domains to Squarespace, which makes me wanna see if I can pick a better registrar.
I only used Google Domains for the reliability and convenience, but would rather not go with Squarespace. I don't see any section on hosting/registrars on the main site so was wondering what anyone else recommends.
I've heard talk before that Njalla is bad because you don't actually own the domain and there have been instances of them shutting down / revoking access?
Also along the same lines I wouldn't mind recommendations for good website hosting services too.
I would suggest looking at TLD List for the major registar's and their prices.
Regarding good website hosting, you have to find the one best for you (and your needs). You can go with what a registar offers, but some may offer other things you need.
The question is what is the thing you do not trust? Domain registration is not anonymous. You can use privacy feature, so it is not simple to track you down but typically the registrar needs to know who you are. I am not aware of other alternatives other then Tor services though maybe there are.
Njalla is bad because you don’t actually own the domain and there have been instances of them shutting down / revoking access?
Haven't heard of them revoking access for any legitimate users. I like not actually owning the domain because this means not ever seeing a fucking form asking for my literal home address.
ICANN's RAA says nothing about your address needing to be your home address. It can be a P.O. Box or a mail forwarding service. It just needs to be a contact address.
On the hosting side, I've been very happy with racknerd.com. They're still listing and honoring their black Friday deals [1] and they're ridiculously cheap! I have two shared hosting accounts but keep wanting to pick up at a VPS at these prices.
I have used many in the past, but currently use Cloudflare (out of laziness since I use them for DNS and such too) and Hover. Hover in particular is neat as it is the b2c registrar of Tucows, the company that has been the biggest b2b backend registrar for small registrars since the 90's.