Free web hosting Plan in Kenya
Are you looking to set up a website in Kenya? If so, you must have heard the term web hosting thrown around. In this post, we are going to look at Truehost’s free web hosting plan in Kenya plus all the questions you would need answered before deciding to purchase web hosting services.
In order to benefit from free web hosting plan in Kenya you need to register a domain name so that you can have an online website address or brand to be found online.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a name that uniquely identifies a website or brand online. It works a bit like a Physical Address. For instance, our office location is at Juja, Ryanada House, ground Floor.
This address would help you come directly to our office without asking for directions. Just like a physical address, a domain name helps users come directly to your online address (Your Website or email address) without requiring any other directions.
Parts of a Domain Name
A domain name has two parts, the name and the Extension.
The name is usually the brand name or the name that you would like your website identified with.
The extension is a set of characters that distinguish the type of domain name you have and the location where the domain name is registered. There are many types of extensions but the most popular domain name extensions in Kenya are: .com, .co.ke, .org. .ke, .io etc
Truehost is a domain name that uniquely identifies the Truehost Website and .co.ke is the extension .
Here is a short description on what a domain name is…
What is a .co.ke domain name?
A .co.ke domain name is a domain name of a company or entity in Kenya. The domain name is issued by the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) which is a government agency. Anyone can buy a .co.ke domain… Buy Here and it only take about 10 minutes to register.
.co.ke domain names work best for businesses that sell their products to Kenya since your customers are able to identify that you are Kenyan and not an international company. So if you have a business in Kenya and you are looking to get cheap web hosting, you can choose to buy a .co.ke domain name to improve your visibility in Kenya.
How to Choose a Good Domain Name in Kenya
When choosing a domain name, you need to be careful since you are determining how your business will be identified online. Your domain name is your online identity and the choice of name can greatly affect how your website performs. A poorly picked domain name would make clients get lost and not know if this your business or someone else that has registered the same name.
.com or .co.ke?
The first question you need to ask yourself is if you will go with .co.ke or .com.
Advantages of .co.ke domain name vs .com domain
- You will have a local identity that sets you apart from other international domain names. This will give you an advantage in Kenya
- You will have higher ranking on SEO when someone is looking for content related to what you offer but with a focus on Kenya (e.g. when someone is googling fashion clothes in Kenya, a .co.ke domain is more likely to rank higher than a .com domain.
- Your customer will have more confidence with you when they see that you have a .co.ke domain name since they know that you are nearer than an international business
- .co.ke domain names are cheaper than .com domain names so you will have an easier time paying.
- even when you have a name that is similar to international domains that are already taken, you may find that the.co.ke version is still available.
Disadvantages of.co.ke domain name vs .com domain
- You may not be viewed as relevant in other countries. You will therefore be appealing to the Local market but not the global market.
- . co.ke domain names have a local feel and your customers, even in Kenya may take a .com domain more seriously than a. co.ke domain
- Most of the Kenyan registrars only accept M-PESA as the only means of payment. This may be a disadvantage for you if you live abroad.
What to avoid when choosing a domain name & Hosting in Kenya
When looking for web hosting in Kenya, you will come across many providers who will promise great features but will most likely not live up to their promises. Below is what you need to avoid when looking for cheap web hosting in Kenya.
Ensure that you look for the reviews of the company that you would like to engage: Avoid any company that either has no online reviews or has any negative reviews.
Avoid falling into the trap of buying more resources than you need: When searching for cheap hosting packages in Kenya, you will come across up-sell offers that ask you to upgrade your hosting package to higher resources citing that you will need the extra space in the future.
An average 5 page website will not consume more than 50 MBs of web space. So buying a 50GB hosting package will be a waste since you may never get to use even a quarter of it before the hosting period expires.
Avoid web hosting companies without good support: When using a web hosting account, you are bound to encounter challenges with your website, emails on the server or your domain name.
When this happens, you will need to have a web hosting company that is available to sort you out and prevent any outages or down times on your website or emails.
A good way to check for the availability of 24/7 service is to try to contact them at night or early in the morning. If they respond, you are sure that they will be available for you when you are in trouble.
What happens to a domain name in Kenya when it is not paid for?
When you don’t pay for a domain name in Kenya, the domain name goes through a number of stages:
Pre- Expiry Reminder: First, you will be sent a reminder 30 days to the renewal date. This email will give you a chance to pay for the domain name without losing access to it.
Redemption Period: Second, once the due date hits without payment being made, the domain name expires and you receive an email telling you that the domain name has gone into redemption. What this means is that the domain name is still yours but you are not able to use it or the emails associated with it. Within this time, if you pay for the domain name, your services will be restored back to the way they were.
Data Deletion and Domain Public Availability: 30 days after the due date, the name goes back to the public domain where it can be bid for and bought by anyone. It is now in the public domain and can be bought by any of your competitors or anyone who thinks they would benefit from holding your domain.
At the same time, your hosting account gets frozen and your data is deleted from the servers. I would advise that you backup all your data before allowing your account to get to this state because you may not be able to recover anything from this account after this period ends.
what is web hosting
The term: ” web hosting”, refers to space on a web server, stored somewhere in a server firm or data center located anywhere in the world, made available for users without a fee.
This ensures you can “self-host” your website, files or any supported application in a web server rather than a local storage drive. However, you are responsible for creating, installing and maintaining these files and applications.
Why is web hosting needed?
Web Hosting is an essential for any business that uses a website. If you want your customers to be able to see your site and enjoy the content, you need a web hosting service that works well and helps you make your website as friendly as possible.
What free web hosting in Kenya offers is space and the tools to get these up and running and accessible via the web. Tools like easy site builders may or may not be included depending on limits place on your free account package.
What is CPanel?
Well, cpanel is a popular control dashboard that helps you manage your web hosting server using a human-friendly web-based interface.
Cpanel exists to provides a reliable automation software for companies to offer economical web hosting services and make web hosting easily used by a very wide audience.
Its purpose is to make web hosting services easy, economical and reliable for hosting companies and web owners. Cpanel empowers the world to sell cheap web hosting.
What Makes a good web hosting company in Kenya
Choosing a web hosting solution provider is dependent on the several factors. The preferred company must have competency and capability to meet the client’s needs.
Evaluating the needs of the client is therefore paramount when selecting a provider. Clients look for speed convenience and cost effectiveness of their service providers.
Although they are looking for cheap hosting service the quality of the service should not be compromised. Most cheap web hosting solutions are based on shared hosting platforms.
Clients value Customer support when looking for product and service. They anticipate a 24 hour support that is responsive and reliable throughout the day. Their availability must also be based on several platforms of communication for their convenience of the clients.
What is SSL?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts information that a visitor’s web browser transmits to a web server. Use these protocols to protect against electronic eavesdropping.
You should protect all of the sensitive data (for example, credit card numbers, and login information) that you transmit over the Internet with SSL/TLS.
SSL is installed on website to ensure that all data transmitted through the website is secure and encrypted. It builds trust on the website visitors allowing them to make online transaction on your site. When it is installed on your site your site will always appear with a lock sign and green bar.
Will the free web hosting plan in Kenya Come with Free SSL?
Only when you purchase hosting with Truehost you get a FREE SSL certificate installed free. The domain purchased automatically loads with the lock sign and green bar once installed.
This marks your site as secure to your customers to make online transactions without the fear of compromising their private information.
Features of the Free web hosting plan in Kenya
The bronze hosting package has the following features
Storage | 144 MBs |
Emails Accounts | 1 |
Sub-Domains | 1 |
Bandwidth | 1GB |
Databases | 1 |
Free SSL | Included |
24/7 Support | Included |
Cost of Hosting | KSh. 00.00 |
Cost of Domain Name (. co.ke) | KSh. 570 |
Total Actual Cost of the hosting Plan | KSh. 570 |
Conclusion
Free web hosting might not always offer everything that a paid host will give you. There are, however, plenty of reasons you’d use a free host, and no reason not to get the best free web hosting plans in Kenya around.
Hopefully, our best free web hosting plans in Kenya convinced you in on what to look for in your search. You might even want to try one of our paid packages and see if they’re the right hosting options for you.
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1.https://www.truehost.co.ke/how-to-register-a-domain-name-in-kenya/