8 free custom domain providers to create websites in Nigeria (2024 Guide)

A memorable and professional domain name is crucial for establishing a strong online presence.

Unlike subdomains (e.g. yourname.wordpress.com), custom domains (e.g. yourname.com) communicate authenticity, seriousness, and professionalism to your site visitors.

While custom domains often come with a price tag, many website hosting providers offer free custom domains as part of their subscription packages.

These are usually offered free for the first year of use and require yearly payments afterward.

These free domains provide an attractive option for individuals and businesses seeking to establish their online identity without incurring additional costs.

Advantages of free custom domains

1. Brand Enhancement: A custom domain name creates a sense of professionalism and enhances brand recognition.
2. Improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Custom domain names can positively impact SEO, making it easier for search engines to index and rank your website.
3. Ease of Use: Setting up and managing a free custom domain is typically straightforward and integrated into the hosting provider’s control panel.
4. Cost-Effective Solution: Free custom domains eliminate the upfront cost of registering a domain name, reducing the overall cost of website ownership.

Compared to their international counterparts, the majority of local hosting providers offer subpar hosting services, although a few Nigerian hosting companies stand out from the competition.

Reasons to choose a local domain provider

1. If you can ONLY pay in naira (Dollar transactions on Naira debit cards in Nigeria have a $20 limit)
2. If you do not have a debit card and can only make bank transfers
3. If you require a .ng domain (Only offered by NiRA-approved registrars.)
4. If you just started and wanted to experiment with website design
5. If you require only a basic low-traffic website on a budget
6. If you are required, for example, by law, to host your website data in Nigeria.

If any of the above applies to you, then you can choose from the list below.

The criteria for inclusion in the list below are companies that offer free domain names as part of their hosting services, primarily serve the Nigerian market, and are accredited to register the .ng domain TLD.

1. DomainKing

Visit DOMAINKING.NG

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: WP 1(WordPress hosting)
2. TrustPilot rating: 4.8/5
3. Whtop.com rating: 9/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, WordPress, Managed VPS, and Reseller.
2. Free features: SSL, caching
3. WordPress features: one-click installation
4. Free domain: Yes, free for a lifetime
5. .ng domains: available
6. Traffic: 8,000 monthly visits
7. Bandwidth: unlimited
8. Web space: 10Gb SSD
9. Starting price = ₦3000/month (WordPress hosting)
10. The number of hosting plans: 3 (WP1, WP2, WP3)
11. Billing period: flexible (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year)
12. Payment methods: Flutterwave, PayPal
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Chat, support ticket, email, knowledge base
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1
16. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (Unlimited)

Cons

1. No introductory 1st-year discount
2. Only free .com.ng TLD
3. A 7-day money-back guarantee
4. No phone support
5. No automatic backups

DomainKing has expanded to become one of the top web hosting providers in Nigeria with operations in more than 4 countries of the world.

2. Web4Africa

Visit WEB4AFRICA.NG

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: Bronze (Shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: NA
3. Whtop.com rating: 1.3/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, WordPress, VPS, Dedicated and Cloud.
2. Free features: SSL
3. WordPress features: Free migration, auto-updates, one-click installation
4. Free domain: Yes (.com, .net, .org, .biz, info, .name, .com.ng, .org.ng, or .co.za TLDs)
5. .ng domains: available
6. Bandwidth: unlimited
7. Web space: 10Gb
8. Starting price = ₦2,250/month (Shared hosting)
9. The number of hosting plans: 4 (Mercury, Bronze, Silver and Gold)
10. Duration of the money-back guarantee: 30 days
11. Billing period: flexible (1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years)
12. Payment methods:  PayPal, Card payment, Bank transfer, Bitcoin/Altcoins, PerfectMoney
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Phone, support ticket, knowledgebase
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1

Cons

1. Backups: Weekly
2. No introductory 1st-year discount
3. Free domain only for
4. No free domain emails
5. Phone support is not 24/7

If you are constructing a website and want to host it in Nigeria, here is another hosting option you should look into.

You have the choice of using servers in Ghana or Nigeria to host your website.

3. QServers

Visit QSERVERS.NG

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: WP1 (WordPress hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: NA
3. Whtop.com rating: 1/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, WordPress, VPS, and Dedicated.
2. Free features: SSL, Migration assistance
3. WordPress features: auto-updates
4. Backups: Daily/Weekly
5. Free domain: Yes
6. .ng domains: available
7. Bandwidth: 100Gb
8. Web space: 10Gb
9. Starting price = ₦1,500/month (WordPress hosting)
10. The number of hosting plans: 4 (WP1, WP2, WP3, WP4)
11. Billing period: flexible (1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years)
12. Payment methods: Squad, Paystack
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Phone, email, support tickets, knowledgebase
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1
16. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (unlimited)

Cons

1. No introductory 1st-year discount
2. Only .com.ng free domain TDL
3. No money-back guarantee

Another reliable and top choice among the best website hosting companies in Nigeria.

4. HostNowNow

Visit HOSTNOWNOW.COM

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: Flamingo (Shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: NA
3. Whtop.com rating: 7.5/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, VPS, Dedicated, Reseller, and Cloud.
2. Free features: SSL
3. WordPress features: Free migration, auto-updates, one-click installation
4. Backups: Weekly
5. Free domain: Yes
6. .ng domains: available
7. Bandwidth: 40Gb
8. Web space: 15Gb
9. Starting price = ₦1,200/month (shared hosting)
10. The number of hosting plans: 4 (Robin, Flamingo, Eagle, Hawk)
11. Billing period: 1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years
12. Payment methods: Bank transfer, Paystack
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Phone, chat, email,
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1
16. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (Unlimited)

Cons

1. No introductory 1st-year discount
2. Free domain applies only to .com.ng, .org.ng, and .net.ng TLDs.
3. Payment of ₦100 for cPanel.
4. No automatic backup
5. No money-back guarantee

HostNowNow is yet another web hosting company alternative in Nigeria.

They offer cloud hosting services that are backed by industry giants like Amazon AWS and Digital Ocean.

5. Truehost

Visit TRUEHOST.COM.NG

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: Truehost Silver Hosting (WordPress shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: 2.9/5
3. Whtop.com rating: 6/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, WordPress, VPS, Reseller.
2. Free features: SSL
3. WordPress features: one-click installation
4. Free domain: Yes
5. .ngdomains: available
6. Bandwidth: unlimited
7. Web space: 30Gb
8. Starting price = ₦600/month (shared hosting)
9. The number of hosting plans: 6 (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Bronze Unlimited and Ecommerce)
10. Duration of the money-back guarantee: 30 days
11. Billing period: flexible (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years)
12. Payment methods: Card payment, Flutterwave, Bank deposit, PayPal
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Phone, live chat, email, support ticket, and knowledge base.
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 3
16. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (Unlimited)

Cons

1. No automatic backups
2. Free domain only for .com.ng TLDs.

Founded in 2016, Truehost is another local website hosting alternative in Nigeria.

6. WhoGoHost

Visit WHOGOHOST.COM

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: WP Standard (WordPress shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: 1.9/5
3. Whtop.com rating: 4.2/10

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, WordPress, Reseller.
2. Free features: SSL
3. WordPress features: Free migration, auto-updates
4. Free domain: Yes
5. .ng domains: available
6. Bandwidth: 50Gb
7. Web space: 25Gb
8. Starting price = ₦2,920/month (WordPress hosting)
9. The number of hosting plans: 5 (WP Standard, WP Standard Plus, WP Professional, WP Professional Plus, WP Executive)
10. Duration of the money-back guarantee: 30 days
11. Billing period: flexible (1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years)
12. Payment methods: Paystack, Flutterwave Rave, Klump
13. Hosting control panel: cPanel
14. Customer support: Phone, chat, email, support ticket, knowledge base
15. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 3

Cons

1. No introductory 1st-year discount
2. No free backups
3. Free domain only applies to .com.ng, .org.ng, .name.ng
4. No free domain emails

WhoGoHost is the most popular web hosting provider in Nigeria, although it is not the best in terms of performance and speed.

7. GlobalHosting247.com

Visit GLOBALHOSTING247.COM

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: Extended (Shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: NA
3. Whtop.com rating: NA

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, VPS, Dedicated, and Cloud.
2. Free features: SSL
3. WordPress features: Free migration, one-click installation
4. Free domain: Yes
5. .ng domains: available
6. Bandwidth: unlimited
7. Web space: 6Gb
8. Starting price = ₦680/month (shared hosting)
9. The number of hosting plans: 6 (Basic, Standard, Extended, Extended Plus, Premium, Premium Plus)
10. Billing period: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years
11. Payment methods: Bank transfer, Paystack
12. Hosting control panel: cPanel
13. Customer support: Phone, live chat, email, support ticket, knowledge base
14. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1
15. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (Unlimited)

Cons

1. No introductory 1st-year discount
2. No monthly billing plan
3. No automatic backups
4. No free domain for the first 2 cheaper plans
5. Free domain only for .name.ng, .com.ng, .org.ng, .sch.ng, .i.ng TLDs.
6. No money-back guarantee

One of the most affordable web hosting services in Nigeria.

8. Upperlink.ng

Visit UPPERLINK.NG

Notes

1. The cheapest plan reviewed: Bronze (Shared hosting)
2. Trustpilot rating: NA
3. Whtop.com rating: NA

Pros

1. Types of hosting available: Shared, Dedicated and Reseller.
2. Free features: SSL
3. Free domain: Yes
4. .ng domains: available
5. Traffic: 40,000 monthly visits
6. Bandwidth: 75Gb
7. Web space: 12Gb
8. Starting price = ₦1,000/month, billed yearly (shared hosting)
9. The number of hosting plans: 4 (Basic, Bronze, Silver, Unlimited)
10. Billing period: 1 year
11. Payment methods: Paystack, PayPal, Interswitch Webpay, Bank transfer, Upperlink wallet
12. Hosting control panel: cPanel
13. Customer support: Phone, email, knowledge base
14. The number of websites with the cheapest plan: 1
15. Free domain emails with the cheapest plan (number): Yes (unlimited)

Cons

1. No free domain on the cheapest plan
2. Free domains only for .com.ng, .org.ng and .net.ng TLDs.
3. No live chat support
4. No automated backups
5. The billing period is inflexible, only annually
6. No money-back guarantee

With a focus on creating applications for users to make and receive payments, Upperlink Limited is a software development business that has been granted a license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP).

As a subsidiary, they provide website hosting services for Nigerians.