If you’ve read any of my previous posts on blog or website setup, you’d have realized how sternly I warn against using Nigerian web hosting services. And that’s because they’re widely known to offer crappy services and poor support.
To be frank, my harsh opinion on Nigerian web hosting companies was based on other people’s woeful experiences with many of them. I’ve heard many sad stories from friends and have read lots of negative reviews of these companies online.
So, for years, I vowed never to try them out, let alone pitching my tent fully with any of them. And I kept true to that… until recently.
Earlier this year, I felt that it’s just plain impossible not to have at least few reliable hosting companies in Nigeria at this time and age. And I decided to figure out the few good ones myself, so I can recommend them to anyone who cannot afford hosting plans offered by foreign firms.
At the time, I wanted to register a .com.ng domain name with the aim of starting an education blog targeted at Nigerians. So, I saw that as a good opportunity to give a Nigerian hosting company a trial. After going through some recommendations I found online, I shortlisted few Nigerian web hosting services. I decided to go with Web4Africa, which was first on my list.
That very day, I registered the domain name of my choice with Web4Africa. The transaction was processed quickly, and I was sent emails confirming the success of my purchase. I logged in to my client area to modify the nameservers (DNS), but what I saw shocked me! My domain name hasn’t been activated to modification.
I waited for hours… nothing happened. I’ve used Namecheap for years, and what I’ve always known is that your domain parameters become modifiable immediately after you purchase it. Why is the experience frustratingly different with Web4Africa?
I sent several support tickets, but I got no reply until after the third day. And the reply started with no apologies. Rather the responder “went straight to the point” by telling me that the domain name has been activated and the DNS can now be modified. I heaved a sigh of relief. But that wasn’t all; I entered my DNS in the field provided only to have it reset to blank after I tried to save the changes.
At that point, I decided to forfeit both the domain name and the money I paid for it. This shitty company just proved right my long-term assertion that Nigerian web hosting companies are not worth trying out.
But because my subscribers won’t stop asking me to recommend reliable Nigerian web hosting companies to them, I needed to continue my search for a reliable company.
I shared my experience with Web4Africa on Nairaland and with some friends, and I got other recommendations about Domainking and Whogohost. But I still hesitated to give any of them a trial — no thanks to the Web4Africa experience.
Last week, I needed to start a WordPress website to promote one of my bestselling information products, and I decided that I would need a .com.ng domain name for the site. I saw that as a good chance to try out another Nigerian web hosting company. And this time, I decided to try Domainking.ng, the Nigerian subsidiary of an India-based web hosting company. They actually were not the second on my initial shortlist, but the reviews I found online about them pushed them up on my list.
Without further ado, I visited Domainking’s website. While it didn’t look spectacular, everything was clearly spelled out and navigation was smooth. I created an account without any problems, and I purchased my domain name and hosting package successfully within few minutes.
One impressive thing I noticed about Domainking.ng was that they didn’t charge me a kobo for the domain name I registered because I purchased a one-year hosting plan along with it. After the purchase, I got emails containing my receipt as well as my hosting account login information.
To be sure I won’t have the same experience I had with Web4Africa, I quickly checked to see if my domain name has been activated for modification. And that was the case! At that point, I started loving Domainking.
I proceeded to login to cPanel and install WordPress on my new domain name (yourdreamjob.com.ng). The whole process was seamless. And in the end, Domainking.ng succeeded where Web4Africa failed. I had no reason during the whole process to contact their support staff, and I’ve had no regrets so far.
Now, I’m not saying Domainking is perfect. But based on my experience with them so far, I’d readily recommend them to any Nigerian who wants to set up a blog or website and is on a very tight budget with regards to hosting.
After deciding that I’d be recommending Domainking on this blog, I contacted their sales support and requested a special promotional incentive for my readers. They gladly gave me a custom 20% discount coupon. So, anyone who uses the coupon will get a 20% discount off any hosting package on Domainking.ng — courtesy of WebIncomePlus.com
How to buy domain name and hosting from Domainking.ng
Visit https://domainking.ng
Enter your preferred domain name in the field provided, and hit the “SEARCH” button.
On the next page, you’ll be informed whether your chosen domain name is still available or not. If it’s not available, you’ll have to choose another domain name. If it’s available, select the number of years you want to register the domain name for (1 year, preferably), and hit the “Click to Continue” button.
You’ll be taken to the domains configuration page.
If you’re only registering your domain name and not buying hosting, then you can scroll to the bottom of the page and proceed to the final checkout page.
But if you’re also buying a hosting plan with Domainking, simply hit the “[No Hosting! Click to Add]” link right beside your domain name.
You’ll be taken to a page showing the various hosting plans. Choose your preferred plan, select the number of years you want to pay for, and click the “Order now” button next to it.
{NOTE: You may not even get to pay for your domain name if it’s a .com.ng type, as you get one free with some hosting plans}
You’ll be taken to the hosting plan page, where you’ll be required to select options regarding your domain name.
If you already chose your domain name, select “Use a domain already in my shopping cart”. Hit “Click to Continue”.
On the next page, add the hosting package you just selected to your shopping cart by clicking, “Add to Cart”.
You’re now back on the domains configuration page, this time showing that your domain name has a hosting plan attached to it. As for the two addon checkboxes, ignore them if you’re not sure of what they stand for (you’re likely not going to need them if you’re a beginner). Click the “Continue to Final Checkout Page” link.
The next page is the “Review & Checkout” page, where you’ll be required to enter your personal contact and payment information. In the “Promotional Code” section, enter “WIP20OFF” to get a 20% discount off your total due price. Select your Payment method (Choose Voguepay for payment with ATM card) and complete the order.
If your order is successful, you’ll be redirected to an order confirmation page, which displays your order number. After some minutes, you’ll receive some emails from Domainking. The most important of these emails will come with the subject “New Hosting Account Information”, and it contains vital information about your hosting account. Nonetheless, you should save all these emails in your inbox.
Wrap-up
For now, my search for a reliable Nigerian web hosting company has ended with Domainking.ng. But I’m not under obligation to stick with them. If they should goof, I’ll ditch them and search on!
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