FAQs on web hosting and domain registration in Kenya with Niabusiness.com Hosting

Want to learn more about web hosting in Kenya? How about domain registration in Kenya? In this page Niabusiness.com Hosting Kenya will address the concerns you may have as someone who wants to create a website, start a blog or open an online shop in Kenya. You will also find details about the cost of hosting and prices of domains (in Kenyan Shillings).

A little bit about Niabusiness Hosting and why this FAQ section was created

Table of Contents

Niabusiness.com provides web hosting and domain registration services to individuals, businesses, organizations and schools in Kenya.

We sometimes get asked questions regarding our hosting plans, domain registration services, starting blogs and websites, how we help our clients, costs involved and more.

 Note: This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on something I recommend and purchase it, I will receive a commission for the sale – at no extra cost to you. 

So, we created this FAQ page to give you the answers you’re looking for – and save you time going back and forth via email, livechat or phone.

The questions we are frequently asked are answered below. Read on to get the clarity you need before you spend any of your money on a domain and hosting plan. The answers you find on Niabusiness.com will equip you with the knowledge necessary to successfully launch your website or blog.

The answers will also help you plan how you want to go about starting and growing your blog or website.

So, read everything in this page – and even take a step further to find more answers to questions we are frequently asked by going to this page.

When you are equipped with the right knowledge (and actionable steps provided in the answers to the questions below) you will approach building your blog or website with the seriousness it deserves – and therefore increase the likelihood of building and owning a successful website.

If you skip this step, like some clients do, you are likely to just let your website sit and gather dust.

You won’t consistently work on growing it – for example by adding new quality content to it at least a few times every month – and what that means is that the site will, in most cases, fail.

The process of getting a domain, buying hosting, creating your blog or starting a website in Kenya with Niabusiness.com web hosting  is as follows:

NOTE: You are free to build a website or blog powered by a free or premium script other than WordPress, since Softaculous (the program in your cPanel that makes it easy to quickly install scripts) offers many scripts you can use to power your website or blog..

How much do I pay to host my blog or website with you – and what’s the cost of domain name registration at Niabusiness.com Hosting?

In this page, we list the costs of domain names that use various extensions.

Here is what you need to know even before you check that page.

When you pay for hosting with us and the domain name you want to register ends with a .com, .net, .biz, or a .org, .co.ke extension, you’ll only pay the cost for any of the web hosting packages listed below.

No extra payments on domains.

However, domain names that end with extensions like .co, .go.ke, .info.ke, .co.tz, .name, .me, .mobi.ke, .or.ug, .ac.ug, .or.ke, .ne.ke, and .co.ug may cost a little more. How much you ask? The answers are here.

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Now, to web hosting pricing. How much do they go for?

Currently Niabusiness Hosting Kenya offers three packages as shown below:

  1. Proven package – goes for Kenya Shillings 16,000 a year. Get this hosting plan now.
  2. Mediate package – goes for Kenya Shillings 11,000 a year. Get this hosting plan now.
  3. Starter package – goes for Kenya Shillings 6,000 a year. Get this hosting plan now.

Why is there a difference in pricing? Why are the hosting packages priced differently?

When you start a new website or blog, and work at it, the new site will gradually grow (get more readers visiting it at any given time, host more content – like articles, images and different files you add to it).

As your site gets bigger, it will need more resources (and more attention from us) so that it continues to grow – because that’s what you want.

You want to get more people to know about you, your ideas, business, organization or project – and if you are selling something, to get more people paying for and using your products and services.

So, as you move from Starter package to Mediate, Proven or any other package Niabusiness Hosting Kenya may introduce as time goes by, you get more power (bandwidth, disk quota and speed – so that your site loads fast even as it continues getting more visitors).

This is why there’s a difference – just like how you need to add more funds (airtime) to your phone if you want to speak longer without worries of being reminded by your operator that your call will be disconnected in a few seconds because of insufficient balance.

If you still have a question, continue reading. Chances are the question has been answered below. If you are ready to choose a hosting package right now though, click here to get started.

  1. Tell me what you want to do for me and why should I listen – if I want to create a website or blog in Kenya?

Niabusiness.com web hosting service helps businesses and individuals start their own quality websites or blogs.

That is what we want to do for you – make sure that you are the owner of a site that helps you achieve various goals (some listed in #2 below).

  1. Why should I even bother getting a website (blog)? And why do I have to pay for one when I can get one for free?

Some people don’t start their own sites because they don’t know the immense benefits that come with a quality site. [read 32 reasons to start a site PDF guide]

Some don’t start one simply because it takes a lot of effort to create a great site.

Some start their own sites using free services like wordpress.com, blogger.com, tumblr.com etc.

But you should register a domain name, pay for hosting and start your own site to get the benefits mentioned below:

  • Your own site will help you get in front of customers looking for the services you offer (or products you sell) via different search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Duckduckgo etc. Providing the right kind of information, could be the start of new relationships with prospects, business owners (offering complimentary services) etc – all in a place (your own site) you have control over.
  • Your own site will help you diversify the way you market your products or services. Just as you work hard to ensure that your ads on newspapers, magazines, online classified ad sites, radio, brochures, business directories or business card helps you achieve certain goals, a quality site will help you reach more – new customers or clients.
  • Your own site will help you let people know what you do, why you do it, what you can do for them, for how much, how they can  get in touch with you and much more.
  • Unlike many of the free sites which you don’t own and therefore have a limited say on how they should be designed etc, your own site is a free place. You can do anything with it. After all, it is yours. And as long as you build a quality resource and market it, the benefits that come with it can surpass those from the free sites.
  • Your own site enables you to capture the emails of people who visit your site. You can create a free incentive to get prospects to opt in your mailing list. This list can become handy in building stronger relationships with both your customers and prospects alike.
  • Blogging is one of the cheapest ways to teach customers and prospects through how to guides, videos, infographics, podcasts and more – and gain trust, widen reach and be chosen and paid for an outcome your customer wants.
  • Your can use your own site to take care of your customers. For example, you can compile all the questions people frequently ask concerning your services and products and create detailed posts (consisting of text, images, videos etc) about them, publish them on your site and make them accessible every second of the day to anyone with internet access – in essence a customer care rep that never sleeps!
  • Your own site will help you reduce the costs involved with getting feedback from your customers. You can add surveys to your site and invite them to participate – or ask them questions in your blog posts or email campaigns.

Paying for a domain name and web hosting (instead of starting a free site) in Kenya ensures that:

You get to do more with your blog or website. Free always comes with limitations and some of that can be overcome by getting your own self-hosted site – which Niabusiness Hosting makes affordable for you as shown on this page.

  1. How will you help me get my own blog or website (and how will I know that I am the real owner)?

We’ll let you know how to register your domain name and select a hosting plan. You’ll be required to enter your postal address, email, phone number and real name (details to show that you are the real owner).

If you don’t want to do all this, you can send us the details above and we’ll register the site for you (note that the passwords and usernames will be sent to your email. So make sure to provide a valid email address and make sure that all the other details are correct). You can easily change any of the passwords later if you want to.

See also  Domain name registration prices in Kenya shillings for .co.ke, .com, .or.ke, .org, .ac.ke, .sc.ke, .co, .ug, .net, .biz ...

Whenever you are ready, you can pay and your site will be up and running in a few hours.

BUT HERE IS WHAT WE LIKE DOING MOST: We discuss about your needs. You tell us about what you want your site to do. You tell us about all the things you want to include on the site (we prefer if you do this via email) and then move from there.

This may seem like a lot but preparation goes a long way in creating a great site.

  1. What if I want a blog, not a website with static homepage?

Your site will be powered using the self-hosted version of WordPress (which is found at WordPress.org – the default script we use to power sites though you are at liberty to use any other script (like the many available within cPanel script installer Softaculous to power your site).

Why? You won’t have trouble operating it. It is easier to use. Can have both static pages as the HOMEPAGE and a section dedicated to your posts – BLOG.

You’ll just have to tell us what you want.

  1. Where will the website (blog) be hosted?

Niabusiness has the capacity to provide web hosting and domain registration services.

Your site will be hosted by Niabusiness Hosting.

  1. Which domain name extension should I use?

The most popular one is .com. There are others like .biz, .org, .net, .co, .co.ke etc. some cost more than others. So, lots of choices. Read more about your choice of domain name extensions here.

  1. Can you please break down the costs involved in getting a new blog or website in Kenya with Niabusiness Hosting?

If you are going to register a domain name in Kenya with a .com, .net, .biz or .org extension and get hosting, plus get help in setting up your site, adding pages and making it work the way you want, you’ll only pay the cost for the hosting plan you choose.

Why? We know there are many people out there who’ll tell you to just pay for the domain name and hosting and figure out the rest (building a great site) by yourself.

This amount will ensure that you get a new site and someone to help you build it (as you learn more about sites etc.). Our experience will come in handy.

It may seem like a lot of money now. But don’t wait till you get your site and come face to face with reality (all the effort – time and money but mostly time – you’ll need to make it successful.)

  1. When can you start working on my blog (website)?

After the discussion to determine what you really want from your site.

We have seen people who really want their own sites but can’t seem to commit to building it.

A site cannot build itself. We will need your input.

If this project is to succeed, you’ll have to be ready to take action to ensure that the quality site you want becomes a reality.

That means that if you really want your website or blog to grow, you will agree to add new content to it on a regular basis – say by publishing at least 1 to 7 blog posts per week to beef the site a little bit – and have more content for search engine robots to crawl and index – resulting in more top 10 rankings for various long and short tail keywords.

Let’s talk about what you want, pay for a hosting package here and let’s get started.

  1. When will the site be operational?

After payment, one to four hours. During this time your site will still be under construction – with more content being added to it – and some more changes made to the site for it to work the way you want.

The content we will add to your blog or website include articles, MS Word documents and images you send to us via email – after payment.

  1. What will Niabusiness Web Hosting Kenya do for me?

On top of purchasing a domain name and paying for web hosting, we will also provide support.

Sometimes sites suffer from internal server errors (so that the site’s content may not be accessible to people who visit it) or your IP address is blocked or the site owner takes an action that triggers a fatal error – so that the site doesn’t function well.

Sometimes your site is hacked and infected by malware without your knowledge.

One thing that comes with every new blog or website is attention. They need attention to get you the results you want. That may mean time, money and lots of effort to ensure your site is ready for visitors who land on it.

It is very hard to run a site successfully without spending lots of time on it. That’s why some people cut shortcuts and end up hurting their sites.

Niabusiness Hosting Kenya will help you do the following:

  • make your site secure,
  • guide you on the things you need to do,
  • help you publish the pages and add the features you need using various plugins,
  • ensure your site doesn’t violate Google and Bing webmaster rules, setup your mailing list with MailChimp which is free (up to 2000 subscribers) or GetResponse (or Aweber or ConvertKit) which is not free,
  • add your free incentive or lead magnet (could be an ebook  or a short guide that you write – you can learn more here) to your site and make sure that people can get it after opting to your list,
  • add the necessary widgets to your site’s sidebar,
  • verify your site with Google, Bing, Alexa etc under your Gmail address,
  • give you a basic introduction to WordPress – to enable you confidently manage your site,
  • add Google Analytics ID to your site,
  • add a Facebook like box (and Follow me on Twitter button) to your sidebar,
  • add Google+ and Pinterest buttons to your site (including sharing buttons within posts and pages),
  • and help you create more quality content to rank in search engines (we’ll just share ideas you can use and not write content for you unless you want to pay for writing services as well). You’ll write the content and we’ll be there to guide you and optimize it before it is published on your site.
  1. When can I start seeing returns on my investment (website, blog)?

It depends on how much effort you put (towards creating a quality resource and marketing it) on this project.

Just don’t be swayed by some of the make money online posts that don’t tell the whole story.

See also  Web hosting in Kenya for blogs and websites - costs, packages and benefits

Like everything else, this is going to require a lot of hard work, determination and yes, patience.

And talking about return on investment, remember to take your time answering these two questions:

  • Why am I starting this website, blog?
  • What do I want to achieve with this blog, website?

There’s a section to help you clearly answer these two questions in the ebook How to Start a Successful Blog in Kenya.

  1. What are the advantages of starting a website or blog in Kenya right now?

You open the door for new opportunities earlier:

  • The opportunity to turn a prospect to a customer (client) – who would have not found and worked with you if you had no site in the first place.
  • The opportunity to give people answers they need right when they need them: product reviews, how to guides, news, and more answers to questions that start with who, what, when, where, why and how. This is a time-saver.
  • The opportunity to connect with other people interested in what you do (could be customers or prospects). You can get feedback from them and learn more from their suggestions and behavior on you site – analyzing all this (behaviour and data) can help you tweak your site, products, create more content on a particular topic etc.
  • The opportunity to get linked to from other sites and get your content shared, reaching more people with your message – while increasing your domain authority.
  • The opportunity to create one place where all your customers can connect, get to know each other, help each other and more. A forum or membership area for example.
  • The opportunity to open an online store that is accessible every hour of the day. For example creating an online shop using the free WordPress ecommerce plugin WooCommerce.

And yes, a lot of experience and stories that can help you think of better ways to solve your customers’ problems, make your business profitable etc. Learn more here.

  1. What if I change my mind and want my money back?

We always take the time to discuss the needs of the client before accepting their money. We do our best to make sure the client gets full value for their money.

And when we get to work on your site, it takes a lot of time in front of the computer to build your site. But should we take the money because of this reason, even when you are not satisfied? No.

However, there are people who let us put in the hard work and then say they weren’t satisfied with the services rendered – using dishonesty to get things done for free. We don’t like this, and you wouldn’t either if you were in our position.

But what if a person makes a genuine claim and is really honest with us? They get a 30 day money back guarantee – full or partial refund – determined on a case by case basis.

  1. What are some of the things I can do to benefit from the website or blog I start?

We will be guiding you whenever necessary. This is to make sure that you build a quality resource that attracts quality traffic and helps you achieve various goals.

Feel free to ask questions. And best of all, be the person who takes action to ensure that you implement the recommendations we agree upon after every discussion we have.

  1. What if I don’t know anything about websites, blogs and how to maintain them?

There are lots of free and paid resources out there. Articles, podcasts, videos, courses and a lot more. If you want us to point you to some of them, do let us know. Or start with the articles on web hosting we publish on Niabusiness.com blog.

If you want someone to teach you more, we can do that, but this is a separate service that you’ll have to pay for. Let us know if you need this service as well.

If you want someone to maintain your site for long term, get in touch and let us know how we can help. Remember that this is a separate service.

  1. Can I have a personal blog (website) and another one for my business?

Yes. But before you start many sites, ask yourself the following questions (because it takes a lot of effort and time running just one quality website or blog):

  • Will one do? Why two or more?
  • Will I have enough time to make them all successful?
  • Can I just focus on one site right now and then start the other one later?
  • Do I really need another site now? Why? Is it because of excitement?
  1. Can I hire Niabusiness Hosting to maintain my website (blog)?

Yes. Remember this is a separate service. Get in touch for more information.

  1. Will you be available for consultation after I register my site with you?

Yes. By email, chat and phone – and sometimes in person.

  1. How will I pay the money for the domain name and hosting? [How to make payment to Niabusiness.com Hosting Kenya]

You can pay via Safaricom M-PESA. If you want to pay using another method, get in touch. Let’s talk about it first.

  1. What steps will you take to ensure my blog or website is a quality site?

In our discussion, after registering the site, we will (Niabusiness Hosting and you) come up with a few guidelines. These guidelines are meant to do one thing – help you achieve your set goals without taking shortcuts.

The services we offer are like steps to those goals. We’ll do everything legit and right to ensure you achieve these goals.

We’ll work together. You’ll keep your end of the bargain and we’ll keep ours. We will work hard and so will you. But if you are not ready for this, wait until you do (don’t start a website or blog now and just let it sit, with no new content). Wait until you want to build a successful site.

When you are ready and serious about building a great website or blog, get in touch with us here at Niabusiness.com.

The recommendations we’ll give you are meant to ensure you build a great site. If you keep your word, it will be great.

  1. Can I refer others to Niabusiness.com web hosting Kenya?

If you work with us, like what we do and believe that someone else can benefit from this service, feel free to refer them to Niabusiness.

You can let them know about Niabusiness web hosting services via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, email, Linkedin, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, word of mouth or in any way you can think of.

You can also give them a link to this page (niabusiness.com/host or link to it from other sites), where we have attempted to address a few things they may want to know more about.

What if you want to be an affiliate and earn commissions for clients you refer – the ones who pay for the web hosting service Niabusiness offers? Sign up here and we’ll let you know when we launch Niabusiness Web Hosting affiliate program).

  1. What if I am not ready to start a website (blog) right now?

Save this page. And wait till you are ready for the responsibilities that come with a new blog or website.

Alternatively, you can decide to start learning and get your site in a few days or weeks from now.

You can also hire us to do everything for you. This will cost more and we can only give you a quote after discussing a few things: mainly what you want to achieve with your site and the specifics on what you really want Niabusiness Hosting to do for you.

  1. What if I already have a site of my own?

Thought of improving it?

A little tweak here and there can get you more and better results. If you want us to help you with this, let us know via the contact page. We’ll let you know how we can help you – and give you a quote.

  1. What are some of the things I should know about regarding ownership of a website, blog security, traffic, conversion and quality?

  • When you register your new site, make sure that you use correct information e.g. name, email, address etc.
  • A successful site takes a lot of time and effort to build.
  • Always make sure that the content you add to your site helps your visitors fulfill a certain need – the reason why your site exists.
  • A lot of traffic doesn’t mean more sales, more loyalty or success. That is why it is better to focus on getting the right kind of traffic – that helps you achieve your short and long term goals. Also, make sure you capture user details for example by using email opt-in forms on your site.
  • A few simple tweaks here and there can immensely improve your site’s security.
  1. What must I do to make my site successful?

The success of a site is determined by the goals you want to achieve with the said site. I call this a blog mission – details are available in the ebook I mentioned above.

Without wasting your time, the answer is hard work, creating great content (and spending time promoting it), genuine relationships with other bloggers, entrepreneurs, customers and readers.

  1. I still have a question but can’t find what I am looking for on this page, what should I do?

Click here to get in touch with us. Let us know how we can help.

Want to register a domain name, pay for web hosting and start your own blog or website in Kenya right now?

Choose a hosting plan below to continue. Click here for details about each Niabusiness.com hosting plan – then choose the right one for you. Contact us if you need any clarification about services offered by Niabusiness Hosting Kenya.