₦airaland Forum

https://www.bitcatcha.com/research/web-hosting-nigeria-websites/

Are you thinking of setting up a website in Nigeria?

If so, you’re going to need a fast and reliable web host – the foundation that powers your site. There are two main options for hosting your Nigerian website:

Choose a small, local host based in Nigeria
Choose a larger, recognized international host.

As you’ll see throughout this post, we recommend choosing option 2: an established international host. Although there are many local Nigerian hosts, their performance is simply too slow. In fact, we discovered only one local host that produced acceptable performance.

Instead, we recommend the superior speeds and ultra-reliability of international hosts like HostGator Cloud. Even in Africa, their performance is outstanding.

If you’re looking for a quick answer, here are top web host picks for Nigeria:

At a Glance: Top Four Web Hosts For Nigeria

HostGator Cloud A+

SiteGround A+

Inmotion Hosting A+

QServers A+


What to Look For in a Good Hosting

Best Web Hosting for Nigeria Websites

Before we get into the details, we need to understand what makes a good web host.

A web host determines the speed, reliability and stability of your website, so it’s important to make the right choice. So, what exactly are we looking for?

Speed We all know the importance of website speed. And speed all begins with a fast web host. A web host should respond within 200ms (according to Google), so look for a host that responds quickly in your location and around the world.
Uptime ‘Uptime’ is a measure of reliability. In other words, it’s the percentage of time your website is online. Even an uptime of 98% can mean your site is down for six days of the year(!) Look for an uptime of 99.8% or higher.
Security There’s nothing worse than getting hacked. What would you do if you lost all your content and hard work? That’s why web host security is so important. A good host should have automatic updates and malware scanning. Some even come with a free SSL (security) certificate.
Backups As an extra security and practical feature, many hosts now come with regular automatic backups.
Customer service Ideally, your web host should have 24/7/365 customer service. Most hosts now have customer service options including phone, ticket systems and online chat. Note that some hosts charge extra for a premium support service.
Storage and bandwidth ‘Storage’ refers to how much content, images and data you can store on the host’s servers. And ‘bandwidth’ is how much data can flow through from the server. This has an impact on speed and visitor numbers. Naturally, we want the highest storage and bandwidth within reason.
Price Don’t always settle for the cheapest webhost. It can end up causing you issues with speed and reliability. It may even hold you back if your website starts to grow. At the same time, you don’t need to spend a fortune! Look for an affordable host with all the features you need.

Should you choose a local Nigerian host or an international host?

As I mentioned, you have two main choices when it comes to hosting a website in Nigeria.

Choose a local host with servers in Nigeria A local host may cater to an African audience, but they are generally slower in the rest of the world.
Choose a global host that covers Nigeria A global host will give you high speeds all around the world. Large, international hosts may also have better technology, customer support and security.

Other Considerations For Nigerian Web Hosting

Purchasing web hosting for a Nigerian site poses two additional considerations.

Supported Payment Methods As many people do not use a credit card in Nigeria (due to high levels of fraudulent activity), you may require a web host that accepts direct bank transfer. Local hosts are more likely to accept this.
.NG Domain Name You may want a .ng domain name. Unfortunately, most international hosts don’t support the .ng domain registration. However, you can register the .ng domain with a second party domain company (See the list of accredited registrars) and then simply point the nameservers to your hosting. (We generally recommend you do this, as it gives added protection should you ever wish to change your hosting).

Our Recommendation

We recommend that you choose an established, international host. (HostGator Cloud is our number one pick). We tested all five of the largest local Nigerian hosts and were disappointed with the results. In fact, we only include one in our recommended hosts below.

We repeated the tests at different times of day and continually saw poor results.

RANKED: The Best Web Hosting For Nigerian Sites

1. HostGator Cloud
https://www.hostgator.com/
HostGator Cloud
Worldwide Speed A+
Average Response Time 144 ms
Price (NGN) 28,980/year
Key Features

Unlimited disk space
Unlimited disk transfer
2x faster load time
Easily scalable
cPanel included

"Quite simply, HostGator Cloud is the fastest web host on the planet."

There is no faster service out there for African audiences and the global community. It’s fast in Nigeria if you have a local audience, and it’s fast in the rest of the world too.

Why? Because it’s a cloud hosting service which uses superior technology and multiple servers. That means you get a much faster response.

HostGator Cloud does cost a little more than the other services on this list, but it’s worth the price tag. It comes with unlimited storage and bandwidth, and it’s scalable too. It grows with your website, so you’ll never be overloaded, no matter how much traffic you receive.

We also love HostGator Cloud’s user-friendly dashboard and control panel (much more intuitive than your average cPanel).

Downsides:

Relatively high cost compared to others on the list.

Bitcatcha Testimonial :

We set up a test-site using HostGator cloud so we could measure every aspect of its performance. The test site scores an A+ in every corner of the globe and enjoys almost 100% uptime. HostGator Cloud is a truly faultless service. (Click here to the test-site.)


2. SiteGround
https://www.siteground.com
SiteGround
Worldwide Speed A+
Average Response Time 175 ms
Price (NGN) 14,945/year
Key Features

10GB SSD storage
10,000 visits per month
cPanel & SSH access
Free Cloudflare CDN
Free daily backup

"An excellent all rounder web hosting choice!"

VISIT HOST

If you’re looking for performance and affordability, SiteGround is an excellent alternative. It’s almost half the price of HostGator and still scores an A+ across the planet. (Though it’s worth noting, the speeds are a little slower than HostGator).

SiteGround also comes with a free CDN (content network delivery) service, which means your site will be delivered from a server close to Nigeria for quicker regional speeds.

SiteGround guarantees 99.9% uptime and offers generous features (including daily backups). Best of all, it comes with a 30-day guarantee, just in case you’re not happy.

Downsides:

The renewal price for the following year is high, and may catch some users out. Make sure you understand the second year price.
SiteGround only accepts credit card payments.

3. Inmotion Hosting
https://www.inmotionhosting.com/
Inmotion Hosting
Worldwide Speed A+
Average Response Time 156.9 ms
Price (NGN) 15,150/year
Key Features

Free domain name
Max Speed Zones™
Unlimited data transfer
SSH access
24×7 US support

"I use Inmotion to host Bitcatcha. That’s how much I trust them."

Inmotion is an international host with A+ speeds across the world. When you dig into the numbers, Inmotion is only beaten by HostGator in terms of speed.

Inmotion also comes with unlimited storage and bandwidth, daily backups, and 99.9% uptime.

As an existing customer, I can vouch for Inmotion’s exceptional customer service and the ease-of-use.

Downsides:

Inmotion doesn’t allow payment via PayPal. You’ll need a credit card or US purchase order.


4. QServers
https://www.qservers.net/
QServers
Worldwide Speed A+
Average Response Time 178.9 ms
Price (NGN) 17,000/year
Key Features

30GB disk space
120GB bandwidth
Softaculous included
99.99% uptime guarantee
Unlimited emails

"The only Nigeria host we can honestly recommend."

QServers is a local Nigerian web host, and the only local host we can honestly recommend.

QServers scored an A+ in our worldwide speed tests (all other Nigerian hosts scored lower than C).

It also has a great starter package, which costs just ₦3,500. (Note: you are limited to just 2GB storage and 8GB bandwidth with this package, but it’s great for small local blogs).

Other features include 99.9% uptime, daily backups, free migration, and it supports .ng domains. You may also appreciate the payment options. As a local Nigerian host, you can pay by bank transfer or Interswitch Webpay.

Downsides:

Comparably slower in Europe than other recommended hosts.
Lacks the international recognition and reputation of international hosts.


✘ Nigerian Web Hosts Not Recommended

You may be tempted to choose a local Nigerian host for their location, ease of payment and domain name availability. However, please don’t sacrifice speed and performance, especially if you have a global audience.

We tested the following four Nigerian web hosts and found their speed and performance fell well below our standards.


If you want a local Nigerian host, choose QServers, and avoid the following hosts:


1. Whogohost
https://www.whogohost.com/
Whogohost
Worldwide Speed: C
Average Response Time 315.9 ms
Price (NGN) 21,500/year
Key Features

25GB disk storage
75GB bandwidth
Free .ng domain
Unlimited SQL databases
FTP accounts

This is the number 1 ranked host in Nigeria according to popularity. But do not mistake this for performance. In fact, we found that WhoGoHost’s performance was quite poor.

It scored a C in our worldwide speed tests, falling below Google’s recommended 200ms in Europe.

WhoGoHost also charge a processing fee on certain payments. For example, if you pay via PayPal, you could pay an additional ₦423 in fees.


2. Web4Africa
https://web4africa.ng/
Web4Africa
Worldwide Speed: D+
Average Response Time 408.1 ms
Price (NGN): 24,000/year
Key Features

20GB disk storage
200GB bandwidth
Basic web builder
SSL certificate
Free nightly backups

Google Trend ranks Web4Africa as the second most popular web host in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this host also falls short of performance expectations.

Web4Africa scored a D+ in our worldwide speed tests, falling outside Google’s recommended 200ms in the USA. In other words, this host is too slow for American and global audiences.

On the other hand, the performance is strong in the local region, as Web4Africa lets you choose between servers in Ghana or Nigeria.

3. DomainKing
http://www.domainking.ng/
DomainKing
Worldwide Speed: C+
Average Response Time: 260.4 ms
Price (NGN) 20,000/year
Key Features

10GB disk storage
100GB bandwidth
10 domains allowed
cPanel
99.9% uptime guarantee

DomainKing is an Indian web host with a presence in Africa. It ranks third in popularity in Nigeria, so you may come across this host.

Like other local Nigerian hosts, it does allow bank transfers and supports .ng domains. However, its speed and performance is slow compared to the recommended hosts. It scores a C+ in our worldwide speed test.

DomainKing does offer 24/7 support and 99.9% uptime which is good. However, the storage and bandwidth is limited, and you’ll have to pay extra to enjoy larger limits.

4. Utiware
http://www.utiware.net/
Utiware
Worldwide Speed: D
Average Response Time: 716.3 ms
Price (NGN) 20,000/year
Key Features

15GB disk storage
25GB bandwidth
Unlimited sub-domains
eTextMail included
120 emails

Utiware is a Nigerian host with servers in the US. As a result, it does respond quickly for American audiences. However, it fails across most of the rest of the world.

Overall, Utiware delivered the slowest results in our worldwide speed tests, scoring a D.

Bitcatcha Recommendations For Nigerian Web Host

Although there are lots of options for hosting Nigerian websites, we cannot recommend most of the local Nigerian hosts. They are simply too slow for the demands of a local or global audience.

Bitcatcha therefore recommends the reliability and unmatched performance of international hosting options. HostGator Cloud is the fastest and most reliable, by far, and it’s our top pick. SiteGround and InMotion offer a powerful, affordable alternative, while QServers is the only acceptable local host.

If you have any questions about Nigerian web hosting, please drop me a message and I’ll be happy to answer.

kingelemide:
please what's your reason have you used their service before?

AfterEarth:
The worst part of it is that this idiots are still accepting payments ... they shouldnt.

Okay... i tried buying a domain for someone on whogohost ... immediately i wanted to checkout .. they told me they're working on their site hence i cant access.

Domainking should do so ... but they're just accepting payments and wont even address pple ....

Absolutely Rubbish!
Get Lost Fools .... Nonsence!

elfakkawy:
So, we can pay monthly?