₦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.

Davchuksi:
Wow, this a good review #thumbsup
I want to get a new host but confused between HostGator and Qservers...Any advice please?
Just want to be very sure before getting to pick. Thanks

Davchuksi:
Wow, this a good review #thumbsup
I want to get a new host but confused between HostGator and Qservers...Any advice please?
Just want to be very sure before getting to pick. Thanks

oswaggiee:
QSERVERS ehh...i can't recommend them to anyone..i hosted about 2 domains there when i wanted to move the domain, they didnt want to release the EPP codes and the client transfer was prohibited they forced me to host it there for another year..when i called their customer car..when we were talking when i brought up to issue the guy hung up, imagine..i was so pissed off ....QSERVERS SUCKS!..infact ALL NIGERIAN WEB HOSTS SUCCKS...I LATER FIGURED OUT...ALL ARE RESELLERS..Forget nameservers ooh...all are resellers..Naija no get DATACENTER

jonnyboy4u:
Oga, you don't need to lie to get your post read. It's clear you know very little of the domain name service. All Nigerian hosts have client area's where you can generate your EPP key yourself, unlock or lock your domain, DNS management and domain redirection so you don't even have to contact your host.

An active domain has the status "Ative" or "ok", from what you mentioned (transfer & then renewal) it's clear your domain was already expired and it's not possible to generate an EPP key/ transfer a domain once expired.

Please we want meaningful contributions to these types of topics.

SConnect:
Just incase, you may be interested in a Reliable Web Hosting Provider with instant activation for your website.

Our unlimited web hosting package is the best, it's super fast and very stable backed with a 100% Uptime Guarantee.

Unlimited Web Space
Unlimited Monthly Bandwidth
Free Unlimited SSL Certificates
Free Automatic Daily Backup
100% Uptime Guarantee
Fully supports Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, SMF, etc
FREE Softaculous Auto Installer
FREE Website Transfer
London, UK Data-center

Starting at ₦2700 First Year using Promo Code: 50%OFFUNLIMITED
Payments Accepted via Bitcoin, PerfectMoney, PayPal, Naira MasterCard/Verve/Visa & GTBank Internet Banking
Website: https://www.speedyconnect.net

Why You Should Host Your Website With Us
UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH/TRAFFIC
At SpeedyConnect.net, worrying about the bandwidth/traffic consumption of your shared hosting account is a thing of the past as each of our shared hosting packages has Unlimited bandwidth/traffic.

WE ARE NOT RESELLERS
We own and manage all our servers, This allows us to pass on very competitive lowest cost prices unto our customers.

24/7/365 CUSTOMER SUPPORT
We are always here to serve you 24/7/365 (Day and Night) via Live Chat, Ticket.

100% UPTIME GUARANTEE
We hate downtime just as much as you do. We guarantee your website a rock solid 100% uptime, which means your website will be online always.

LOW PRICE GUARANTEE
Our Hosting prices are very cheap and include an extensive list of features including UNLIMITED web space, UNLIMITED bandwidth, and If you know of any host offering same features at a lower price, just contact us and we will beat it.

FREE AUTOMATIC DAILY BACKUP
Your data are automatically backed up daily and stored in multiple backup servers at no extra cost. Sleep well knowing your data is in safe hands.

YOU BENEFIT FROM HIGH QUALITY SERVICES
We utilize only High spec Intel Xeon CPU's, Enterprise SATA's & SSD's, fully redundant premium network, 1Gbps Uplink and lot's more.

----------
Follow us on Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speedyconnect
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------------

EntMirror:
This review would have been good have you not listed hosting companies users shouldn't go for. Every host has their flaws and strength, your best hosting company can turn out to be piece of crap to another.

As long as Nigeria is concerned, these guys you listed as incompetent are trying to be better and to further satisfy their customers. However, this review has cost them lots of cent. Try and be emphatic for once, how will you feel if someone conduct a review and you company was painted in black?

Anyway, I'm proud of Betahost247.

Despite the horrible reviews I've read about them, they seem to be the best.

web4africa:
https://web4africa.ng/the-4-best-web-hosts-for-nigeria-websites-rebutal/

Interesting analysis from an author trying to promote his site speed testing service. The site speed testing service has no single server on the African continent. A test from within Nigeria would have been way more accurate. Why should Web4Africa be blackmailed with speed tests to Singapore, Sydney, Japan etc when about 80% of our valued clients are in Africa?

We have server hosting equipment across Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, serving our clients and audience at unbeatable low latency and network speed delivery.

In Nigeria, we deliver a latency of 1ms to most local ISPs. That surely trumps the 200ms+ latency from the USA to Nigeria.

For a website that is chasing a global audience, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) exist to breach the global latency issue. Thus, the location of your hosting server doesn't matter much if you make use of a CDN service that has a really global footprint.

Say your website is hosted in Nigeria, the speed to users in far-flung places like New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, Russia etc would be very fast if the CDN service has a presence in those locations. Some CDN services are CloudFlare, Fastly etc.

kingelemide:
Thanks for this review. On my previous website i used whogohost but I had to stop for some reason. Now i will be resuming soon but i heard about qservers and i have been thinking of which to choose between qservers and whogohost but now i think i know my answer because i have seen so many good reviews about qservers apart from this one. Thanks..

Ehrick:
Thank you very much for this. Please I have a question. How does one pay for Hostgator web hosting considering the issue we have with international online payment. I'd love a reply from anyone. Thanks in advance.

Ehrick:
Thank you very much for this. Please I have a question. How does one pay for Hostgator web hosting considering the issue we have with international online payment. I'd love a reply from anyone. Thanks in advance.

oojuola:
You can save yourself from the stress of international payment and make use of Qservers, i knw they do payments in Naira. Since those are the ones we can really boast of

oswaggiee:
QSERVERS ehh...i can't recommend them to anyone..i hosted about 2 domains there when i wanted to move the domain, they didnt want to release the EPP codes and the client transfer was prohibited they forced me to host it there for another year..when i called their customer car..when we were talking when i brought up to issue the guy hung up, imagine..i was so pissed off ....QSERVERS SUCKS!..infact ALL NIGERIAN WEB HOSTS SUCCKS...I LATER FIGURED OUT...ALL ARE RESELLERS..Forget nameservers ooh...all are resellers..Naija no get DATACENTER

chubysoft1:
Very true. I paid for transfer too, the former web host are saying they've unlocked it, the new one, qserver are saying it's not unlocked yet. Each time i send qserver mails, they keep on speaking grammar after paying them almost 8k.