The Best Web Hosting In Nigeria Discussed & Which To Avoid
Last updated on February 28th, 2023 at 02:37 pm
Are you about to purchase a web hosting account in Nigeria and you do not know which is the best that you can invest in?
Perhaps you are on a low budget and you want to maximize every penny, or maybe you want to have a website for your small business, It is the right thing to do. I have always recommended that every business should have a website, regardless of how small.
Before you go ahead, kindly ensure you read this guide and save yourself some headaches.
Please do not be like Donald.
You may be wondering who is Donald.
Donald is a client who started a blog some years ago, he was super excited about the idea of the blog, unfortunately, got frustrated about it.
He jumped on a random web hosting in Nigeria, and set up his blog in 48 hours, everything went smoothly.
Also started publishing a chunk of articles he had in his archive, and he was super excited to join the blogging bandwagon.
Donald started sharing his blog articles on social media, it didn’t take long before friends and family noticed and jump on his articles.
That was when his troubles started.
The blog starts to shut down intermittently.
Donald reached out to the hosting provider immediately because the feedback on social media was embarrassing. The hosting company told him to upgrade to another package for more server resources as his current package couldn’t handle the traffic his blog is having.
This became Donald’s struggle, he had to keep paying more money to keep upgrading to another plan at the sight of traffic to the blog, until someone advised him to talk to me.
It was a painful experience for Donald, anytime his marketing efforts get traction, his site shuts down, and it couldn’t handle the traffic. It was all wasted effort.
Where Did It Get All Wrong?
You must be wondering already, where did Donald get it wrong.
It is very simple.
Donald did not do due diligence on good web hosting in Nigeria before investing.
Most people are like Donald, they buy web hosting just because it is cheap.
I have always learned that the word “best” and “cheap” do not go together.
It’s simply because we always expect that the best should always be the most expensive.
The logic makes sense. However, it is not always the case.
The best doesn’t need to always be the most expensive, Donald was surprised I recommended a web hosting that was even cheaper than the one he was currently on.
Donald paid for my consulting services, you won’t if you follow this guide. I will try my best to cover everything you need to know about choosing the best web hosting for your website.
Table of contents
Buying A Web Hosting In Nigeria
Buying a web hosting account is the easiest process in Nigeria today, but can also be complex if you do not know what to look out for, you just might be wasting your money.
Unfortunately, there are lots of crappy recommendations from hungry bloggers and those who just want to earn a recommendation fee out there. Don’t be a victim, guard your money jealously and invest wisely.
I will be sharing with you my several years of experience as a blogger, and also a web developer in Lagos. I have designed hundreds of websites for my clients, you can check my portfolio. My team and I simply help people to tell their stories online through stunning and responsive websites.
Relax! I will help you save your money and guide you through the best deal out there.
You have 2 options to consider when trying to buy web hosting in Nigeria. These options are:
- A local web hosting company in Nigeria
- A foreign/internationally recognized web hosting
Truthfully speaking, both are worth consideration and I will be giving you the advantages and also disadvantages of both. I will also let you know when you should consider any of these companies.
Recommended Local Web Hosting Company In Nigeria
We have quite a handful of these companies in Nigeria.
Maybe I should say businesses.
I did a check on the accredited hosting providers in Nigeria, while a few of them have a physical office, most of them do not, they operate from their homes, and some are not even operating from Nigeria yet they are accredited.
You can see the list of accredited local web hosting registrars in Nigeria.
Here is the best out there:
DomainKing Hosting
DomainKing is registered with Nira, however, they are not a Nigerian company, and they seem not to even have an office in Nigeria. This company belong to an Indian company: Hannu Internet Corp. Pvt. Ltd., you can see their Whois records here yourself. Despite claiming they are online from 6:am – 6:pm, I checked around 5:00 pm, and their chat is already offline.
I used their services before. I like them because they have a competitive price and fast customer support.
If you are looking into starting a new website, you can consider them. They are only recommended for starters.
With a 4.8 rating from 264 reviews on Trustpilot, DomainKing seems decent enough to give them a try.
I did not find any local web hosting in Nigeria that has any reviews worth the mention. Once I find another with a minimum of a 4.0 rating, I will update this list.
I did research on some other local web hosting in Nigeria on TrustPilot, the surprising thing here is that lots of bloggers are recommending them. Unfortunately, see how their customers have rated them, the feedbacks are horrible to read:
WhogoHost
Whogohost terrible service is obvious from a 2.0 score from 16 reviews on TrustPilot. You can check TrustPilot yourself.
SmartWeb
SmartWeb is not left out with a 2.9 score from just 2 reviews on TrustPilot. You can check TrustPilot yourself.
The Problem With Web Hosting Companies In Nigeria
Let me share a little secret with you.
All web hosting companies in Nigeria are a franchise of foreign companies. None of them has an actual server in Nigeria, at least none I know. They are a reseller of another hosting company outside Nigeria.
Most of them would definitely not sell expensive, they want to be able to sell at a price you can afford in Naira, so what they do is limit the server resources at your disposal. Just like Donald, you will have to keep upgrading to a bigger package, and that means more money.
Pros Of Local Web Hosting In Nigeria
- You can pay in Naira
- You have access to local domain names like .com.ng and .ng
- Cheaper in the short run
Cons Of Local Web Hosting in Nigeria
- Poor website speed
- Poor customer support
- Little or no security
- More expensive in the long run
- Poor Uptime
- Low bandwidth – Pay more in the long run to accommodate a website
The pros of using Nigerian web hosting companies are nothing compared to a list of cons, it is difficult to find a good one. If you insist on using a local hosting company, I have done a dirty job to find you the best and the only one I can recommend.
Best Web Hosting In Nigeria (International)
If you want to host your website in Nigeria and you want something quality because you take your business seriously, then you should consider using a foreign-based web hosting company available in Nigeria.
The top websites in Nigeria are all hosted outside the country, sites like Jumia, Glo, Konga, Linda Ikeji, etc. These are businesses that cannot afford to joke with their companies, and if you want to be like them or compete with them, you should consider hosting your website with international web hosting companies of repute.
There are quite a good number of foreign hosting companies out there. I have used a lot of them over the years. A lot of them have reached out to me to test their servers speed and features so that I can make tutorials on them on my YouTube channel.
I would streamline my recommendation to only two companies because these are the companies I currently own accounts with and I have been satisfied with their services over the years.
As a Nigerian, I put high consideration on cost. These companies are not just good, but they are the cheapest when compared with the resources they offer. Before you go ahead to make up your mind, kindly ensure you read the section where I mentioned how to choose the best web hosting in Nigeria that will serve your project. There are some considerations I make in making up my mind.
Hostinger
Hostinger has been in the market for a long time. because of how cheap they are I believe their server resources will be nothing significant. I have had first-hand experience with terrible web hosting in Nigeria. Not until I got an email from one of their marketers, who gave me access to their server to test.
I could not believe the rest I got.
I thought it was a joke, I had free access to a year plan, so I stayed and tested and tested. The speed that my test website got was unbelievable. It did not take long for me to join the bandwagon. I now use Hostinger for any new project I am starting. Hostinger is A PERFECT FIT for beginners.
Hostinger is one of the most affordable web hosts on the market, with prices starting at just $1.99 per month. Even when compared to other budget-friendly hosting providers, this is a really low price. This is my number one recommended hosting for new websites with a small budget.
With a 4.6 rating from over 13 thousand reviews on Trustpilot, Hostinger is the real deal. 13k users cannot be wrong.
Enjoy 80% Off on Hostinger with my special link today, to even get another 10% off use my COUPON CODE: “DAPS”
This is the best deal in the market, hurry before it ends.
A2 Hosting
This blog is currently hosted with A2 Hosting, if I can trust this blog with this hosting company, then anyone else can. I recommend this hosting to anyone who has an established business or someone who is starting but wants to grow fast.
When this blog started getting decent traffic, I migrated it to A2 Hosting turbo servers immediately and in the last few years, I have had nothing to worry about.
This hosting is a little more expensive than Hostinger but when you compare the turbo servers they provide, it can be compared to the most-priced server in the industry.
I love the fact that I get something others pay thousands of dollars for at a ridiculously cheap amount. This blog loads in less than a second in most locations around the world. That is not a joke.
With a 4.5 rating from about 2 thousand reviews on Trustpilot, A2 Hosting is confirmed to provide excellent services. These clients cannot be wrong.
Features To Look For In A Good Web Hosting Account
While purchasing hosting for your money site, you should take care of some of the basic features given below, these hosting types can vary according to the hosting company and plan.
Uptime:
This is one of the most important features of a trusted web hosting provider. Many companies offer guaranteed uptime, it must also be noted that 100% is a myth because there will be a need for server updates or breakdowns from time to time, so getting one that can offer 99.9% is important. Uptime is a measure of reliability. Even an uptime of 98% can mean your website is down for up to six days of the year! Look for an uptime of 99.8% or higher.
Bandwidth:
Bandwidth tells the amount of data transferred between your website and visitors at a fixed time. With more bandwidth, more and more people can access your website without interruption at the same time, while lower bandwidth can reduce the speed of your website. Some bandwidth may not have the capacity to show your web pages to up to 500 people at the same time, your visitors keep getting bounced back and many times sites get shut down.
Storage:
In every hosting account, you must have enough disk space to store your web pages, graphics, other media files, etc. Keeping in mind your needs, you should choose the best hosting plan for yourself.
Email:
You can take advantage of web hosting as well as email hosting, in which you can create a custom email address for yourself or your organization. Email hosting allows you to receive emails, send mail, and many other features such as virus and spam filters, address book, calendar, etc. Customized emails like ([email protected]) make you look more professional.
Backups:
Sometimes, some files are deleted from your computer and your data is lost. Keep in mind that the server is also a type of computer and there is a danger of data loss, so keep in mind whether your hosting provider is offering you backup or not.
Customer Support:
This is also very important, you should know if your hosting provider is available for your technical support, can you call them? What time are they available? Can you tell me your problem by sending them an email? What is their response time? Is a live chat facility available? Do they have a forum, tutorial articles, etc? With these features, you can easily solve any problems related to incoming hosting in the future.
Speed:
We all know the importance of website speed. And speed all begins with a fast web host. A web host should respond within 200ms (according to Google), so look for a host that responds quickly in your location and around the world. Your site may never land on Google’s first page if the website speed is slow.
Security:
There’s nothing worse than getting hacked or anyone getting you’re your life details just because you own a website. What would you do if you lost all your content and hard work? That’s why web host security is so important. A good host should have automatic updates and malware scanning. Any security-conscious hosting company will offer a free SSL (security) certificate and domain privacy if you register your domain with the host.
Price
Pricing is key in Naija, I just have to mention this.
It is something we must come to terms with that every consumer wants to get value for his money – that is what I call getting the best at the cheapest. Don’t always settle for the cheapest web host, but what can provide all the things you should look out for at the best price? It can end up causing you issues with speed and reliability. It may even hold you back if your website starts to grow. At the same time, you don’t need to spend a fortune! Look for an affordable web host with all the features you need.
If you want to have a website that is top-notch, available at all times – ready to earn you money, then do not compromise on the features I have mentioned above. Well, if you do not mind and you do not care, then you can end this reading and jump on any web hosting at your disposal.
Cheap Web Hosting In Nigeria
Pay serious attention to this!
Over the years, web hosting companies in Nigeria have tried to improve, but unfortunately, they are not there yet. Site speed and customer support are serious issues.
I was working on someone’s site some years back and there was an issue on the server, it was already the weekend and we had to wait till Monday almost noon before we could get customer support to help solve the issue – the site had to remain down for over 48 hours.
Now here is the bait!
All hosting companies in Nigeria offer a lucrative starter pack – You register very low and regulate highly their server usage, you will need to keep upgrading to the next package if your website gets a little attention on the web – eventually, you will pay more.
A cheap web hosting in my own opinion is one that can deliver what you need and would never compromise quality, yet at a highly competitive price.
The Review Of My Recommended Web Hosting Company in Nigeria
Hostinger and A2 Hosting are my recommended web hosting any day, I have recommended them to all my clients around the world
I need to start this by letting you know some things!
- I am not just trying to make a sale
- If you buy my recommended web hosting, I’ll get a commission, not just from Hostinger or A2 Hosting but every web hosting out there has an affiliate program.
- I am recommending them because, over the years of designing websites for myself and my clients, these companies have offered amazing features at unbelievable prices.
- Finally, buying through my link would add no extra cost to you, as a matter of fact, my link would give you an additional price reduction and also my discount code.
Now you already know my recommended web hosting, and since I have established the truth above, let me do a review of my recommended web hosting based on the features mentioned above. I need to make you see exactly what I’m talking about. So as not to make the post necessarily long, I would only review one of them – Hostinger.
The Pros
Hostinger Uptime:
According to Uptime.com, Hostinger has maintained 100% uptime consistently, as a matter of fact, they have not had downtime since 8 months ago. That is impressive.
See the stats for reference.
Hostinger Bandwidth/Storage:
Hostinger has a shared hosting plan that starts at $1.99/month for four years. It comes with 100GB disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and MySQL databases. You also get a domain name for the first year for free, now this looks too good to be true right?
Here is a snip from my control panel, this account is hosting up to 3 sites, I just would never have to worry about space/bandwidth.
Hostinger Email & Backup:
It is amazing to note that Hostinger offers up to 100 free unlimited professional emails, unlike others that put serious limitations on the number of emails. This makes it easy to design a website for businesses and companies.
I also have used this to design websites for schools and even hospitals creating professional emails for every staff aside from the official business emails. Each department has its email, something like [email protected].
To protect your website data from any form of accident, Hostinger keeps 7 days backups of daily backups and also 7 weeks backups of weekly backups. Even if you mistakenly delete the website or your website gets hacked, you have a secured backup to restore it.
Hostinger Customer Care:
Hostinger offers customer support through an online help desk and ticketing system. They offer tutorials if you want to try and fix the issue quickly by yourself. Otherwise, they also offer phone and chat support. Their chat support is what tickles my fancy, available instantly and 24/7.
I have never had to worry when clients I manage their websites forward queries to me, I also forward it to their support and they fix it.
Hostinger Speed:
Website speed is very important for user experience. Never compromise on this.
Hostinger is a company that never compromises on speed. With LiteSpeed Web Server technology, Its shared server loads even faster than those on a VPS or even on a dedicated server.
If you think this is a joke, let me show you the metrics of this particular blog (dapsdigital), when Hostinger was hosting it.
I used the popular and global number one tool GTmetrix for checking website speed and performance, see results:
My blog loads in a whopping 1.9s, isn’t that unbelievable? No VPS! No dedicated server. I used a tool called GTmetrix, you can check your website too.
I even took it a step ahead and used Pingdom, see the result again:
My blog loads in less than a second, see the report on Pingdom. I even used a new and developing tool called Bitcatcha, to see site loads in less than a second in different countries. Check the report here.
Hostinger Security:
Online security is very important – never compromise this.
Hackers are real! Internet fraud is more real, we all know about the serious issue of “yahoo boys” in Nigeria. With Hostinger, you get a free SSL certificate that encrypts your site. SSL allows your site to fully function over HTTPS and not HTTP with a secured green padlock on your browser.
Check for any website you visit, without this padlock never give out sensitive information about yourself.
That is not all.
Domain privacy is key, upon registering your domain your information is submitted to whois and anyone can search your domain and see all the information about you, including name, address, email, phone number, etc.
Hostinger makes domain privacy free for all. I have never paid for domain privacy.
Hostinger Pricing:
It would be normal if I had told you Hostinger web hosting is way more expensive than others, even our local hosting in Nigeria.
Amazingly Hostinger is even cheaper than many local companies in Nigeria if you compare the features.
Hostinger has a pricing package that rewards long-term investments. You have the option to go with a monthly, yearly, biannually or even a 4-year plan. The longer the plan the lesser you pay. I always advise people to invest in their 4-year plan so they can enjoy their entry fee for 4 years. In 4 years, your website should be financially buoyant enough to pay higher.
The Cons
No one is perfect!
I would have not been a sincere person if I had not mentioned the not-too-good things about Hostinger
No Phone Support
Hostinger offers live support which is more than enough for most people. Personally, I prefer the live chat as I do not see myself comfortable spending quality time on an international call to resolve any issue I have, however, not having phone support is something a few people would have preferred, some people feel attended to when they talk to a real human.
Upgrades Are Way Expensive
Hostinger is only recommended for startup websites, once your website starts to get good traffic, the cost of upgrading becomes unbelievable. This is not too good. This is why I do not recommend Hostinger for established websites with a lot of traffic.
Server Speed Can Be Better
Hostinger’s server speed is not bad really.
I’m just saying it can be better. This blog is responding swiftly, and it’s rated “B” by the most speed checker platforms in the world. But what happens to “A”?
It’s Really Not Unlimited
Most of the features listed on Hostinger’s shared hosting plan are “unlimited.”
Of course, nothing is truly “unlimited” in this world. The same holds here, too.
But first, some good news:
There are no ‘overage’ fees for using a lot of resources like disk space, assuming you’re using the same correctly within their terms.
I wrote extensively about unlimited hosting in this article.
However, there are a few resource limits to keep in mind. This is not limited to Hostinger alone but all hosting providers. There is really no such thing as unlimited, they find a way to limit the resources used on their server.
Well, Hostinger has a VPS and dedicated server that can cover sites with huge query calls on their database.
My Special Bonus
I do not like wasting time.
I do not like promising what I cannot offer either.
If you are compassionate enough to buy: A2 hosting, Hostinger, and DomainKing through my link, I will also be generous enough to give you access to my Website Design Mastery Course.
Would you want to learn how to design a WordPress website and also learn the business of web designing in Nigeria – you can easily earn 300k monthly with the skill, check my web design mastery course.
This course s for non-techies, even if you are as old as my grandmother, as far as you can operate a computer, then you can design a professional website in 24 hours.
I have sold this course for years now with hundreds of students enrolled. This I will give you access to if you buy through my affiliate link.
All you have to do is reach me on my contact page, I will give you instant access to the course.
All the best in your website design project.
Daps.
Emmanuel
Please I need help on Cloudnetvox (a web hosting company in Nigeria), the research I have made so far has great reviews.
Please I will be happy if you use your expertise to educate I and the world regarding the Company.
Thanks.
Lorilee Davidian
Hi, I just looked at your site and really impressed by it’s design and content. You are doing an excellent job by providing such data to the world. Thank you so much.
Daps
Many Thanks