Last updated on December 4th, 2020 at 11:19 am
Are you looking for free domain registration in South Africa?
In this article, I will walk you through what you need to do now to register the best website name for free in under 5 minutes.
To get started, I assume you already know what a domain name is. Either way, it is the address people type to the browser to access a specific website.
For example:
To access Facebook using a browser, I have to type, www.facebook.com or FB.com, or Facebook.com.
The first part (A) is the domain name, while the last part (B) is the domain extension. In fact, .com extensions are so popular since the emergence of the internet.
Other top extensions include .net, .africa, and .org.
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Country-level domains
However, there are other emerging extensions such as .buzz, .pizza, .mobi, etc.
But there it is this one, .co.za, I want to focus your attention on it. In brief, this is a country-level TLD. This means that it is only reserved for websites from South Africa.
Other examples of ccTLDs include:
- .co.uk – for the United Kingdom
- .in – for India
- .co.ke – for Kenya
- .ng – for Nigeria websites and so forth.
Now, why am I telling you this?
See, when creating a website, your main goal is to attract traffic and hopefully make a sale. If you are selling only to South Africans, getting a .co.za domain can be the best decision you will ever make.
why?
Here is the thing:
There are specific criteria used by search engines to list websites on the search result pages (SERP), that is what you know as algorithms.
If there is one thing you need to know about how these algorithms work is that they take into consideration the location of the user when serving results based on the query.
That explains why you can search ‘restaurants around me’ and Google gives you options you can recognize.
Now, we mentioned that .co.za is a domain extension used to identify South African websites, right? This means that you have higher chances of showing up on search results when anyone in South Africa searches for things related to your business.
If you wish to read more about why .co.za is the best domain for South Africans, read here.
How to pick the best domain name in South Africa
I will tell you this for free, you can change your Facebook name or Instagram handle whenever you want.
Unfortunately, you cannot change a website name once it is registered. This means that you only have one shot to register a website name you won’t regret later.
The only way to change a domain name is to register a new one. Even if the registration process is free, you have to part with some Rand to get the domain.
However, this can be avoided.
How?
Use these tips to pick the best domain name in South Africa:
- Should be related to your business. If you are into Fashion, it should be reflected in the domain name
- Avoid using hyphens or numbers, for example, domain-name.co.za or domainname123.co.za.
- Make the name brandable and not generic. It should be something that can be turned into a business. Look at Facebook.com, Pinterest.com, Twitter.com
- If lost, use domain name generators to ease the process. They are fast and free. Also, they give you a ton of ideas. For example, biznamewiz.com.
- The name should not exceed 3 words. Avoid names like mydomainnamebusinessonline.co.za. Why? See the next tip.
- A name that is short and memorable. Long names are hard to remember
Follow these and you should be able to come up with a list of viable domain names for your next business.
With the list of ideas, it is now time to register.
How to register domain in South Africa for free
While some people charge for the registration process, Truehost Africa doesn’t. All you have to do is search the domain:
Check if it’s available (not already registered):
Go ahead and add to cart.
Do not forget to add hosting (if you don’t have one).
We have three packages that will fit your needs and all affordable.
Continue following the prompts on-screen to complete the registration process.
What to do next
Again, make sure you are registering the best domain name. Use .co.za if you are targeting the local market and readers. That is a simple guide on Free Domain Registration in South Africa.