Where does your website live?
Five questions to ask first.
Your website and your email sit on someone else's computer. Here is how a South African small business can choose a host without the jargon, and how little a professional email address can cost.
Where should a South African small business host its website? Somewhere with its servers in South Africa, daily backups you can restore, a support team you can actually reach, and a plan you can leave with your files and your domain intact. And if all you need is a professional email address, it can cost a few rand a day. Webway, a hosting company based in Pretoria, is one option that ticks those boxes.
// Chapter 01 — The part nobody explainsYour website lives on someone else's computer
A website has two separate parts. The domain is the address, like yourbusiness.co.za. The hosting is the computer that holds your pages, pictures and emails and shows them to visitors. Most owners pay for both without ever thinking about the second one, until the site goes down, gets hacked or turns slow.
Hosting matters more than it looks. If the computer is far away, local customers wait longer for your pages. If the host does not keep backups, one bad day can wipe your site. And if the host does not update the software your site runs on, you are exposed. That last point is not theoretical. This week South Africa's Presidency took its own website offline over a serious flaw in PHP, the software behind most WordPress sites. Read what happened and what to check on your site.
Five questions to ask any hosting company
Whoever you choose, ask these before you pay. A good host answers them in plain language.
What you get on the entry plan
I have hosted with Webway since 2018 and still do: my own email runs on their cPanel hosting. That is not a first impression. The company says it has been running since 2015 from Pretoria, with hosting, reseller hosting, servers, domains and website design under one roof. Its entry-level shared plan, as listed on WHTop, looks like this:
That is a sensible spread for a small business website, a WordPress site or a handful of business email addresses. Webway also sells reseller hosting, virtual servers and cloud storage if you outgrow it, which is handy if you manage sites for other people.
// Chapter 04 — Email on your own domainProfessional email for about R50 a month
Many small businesses do not need a big hosting bundle. They need an address like [email protected], so that customers trust the email instead of seeing a free Gmail or Hotmail address. This is where hosting gets cheap. On Webway, based on the 50 GB cPanel plan I pay for today, it looks like this:
Some managed hosting bundles cost over R1,000 a month once domain, email and hosting are added together. If all you need is business email and a simple site, that is a lot to pay. Plenty of providers have cheaper plans too, so compare, and ask exactly what each price includes. You do not need a website to start: you can register the domain, set up email today and add a website later.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits a typical business website: a brochure site, a booking page, a small online shop, or just email on your own domain. If you run WordPress, one-click installs and daily backups take a lot of weight off your shoulders.
It does not suit everything. A custom platform with logins, client data and strict rules about who can see what, such as a portal or a multi-branch system, is better built on purpose-made cloud infrastructure than on a shared hosting plan. That is the kind of work we do at Forge Vertical, and it is a different job from hosting a brochure site. I use both myself: TripSpace Global, our marketplace, runs on Google Cloud, while my email stays on Webway's cPanel. Each is the right tool for its job. If you are not sure which one you need, ask us and we will tell you honestly, even if the answer is a cheap shared plan.
How to get started
If you are comparing options, have a look at Webway's plans and run the five questions above past their team. If you would rather have someone move the site and look after it for you, message us and we will sort it out.
Where should a small business host its website in South Africa?
Choose a host with servers in South Africa, daily backups you can restore, support you can reach quickly and an easy way to leave. Webway, based in Pretoria, is one option that lists all of these.
What is the difference between a domain and hosting?
The domain is your web address. Hosting is the computer that stores your site and shows it to visitors. You pay for both, and they can be with different companies. Keep your domain registered in your own name.
How much does Webway shared hosting cost?
The entry cPanel plan is listed at about US$4 a month on the WHTop directory, with discounts for longer terms. Prices change, so check the current rand price on Webway's site before you buy.
Is this an affiliate link?
Yes. Forge Vertical is a Webway affiliate and may earn a commission if you sign up through the links on this page. It does not change the price you pay. Jarrit has hosted with Webway since 2018 and still uses it for email.
How much does business email cost in South Africa?
It can be very affordable. On Webway, a .co.za domain is about R95 to R99 and keeping it running is R50 a month including VAT, billed monthly, with 50 GB of disk space and up to 50 email addresses. The monthly figure is from my own Webway invoice, and R95 is what I paid to register a .co.za last week. Confirm on Webway's site, as prices change. Some managed bundles cost over R1,000 a month, so compare what you actually need.
Do I need a website to have business email on my own domain?
No. You can register a domain and use it for email only, then add a website later.
How many email addresses can I create?
On the Webway plan described above, up to 50, with 50 GB of disk space. Check the current limit before you buy.
Is shared hosting enough for my business?
For a brochure site, a booking page, a small shop or business email, usually yes. A custom portal or a system that holds sensitive client data needs more careful infrastructure, and you should ask a developer before choosing.