For South African business · 2 minute read
Why your business needs its own .co.za, in your name
Your web address is the one part of your website people type, print on a bakkie and say over the phone. For a South African business, the address customers recognise is .co.za. And whose name it is registered in matters more than most owners realise.
The short answer
A .co.za shows customers you are a local, established business. It should be registered in your name, so you control it whoever builds your website. With Appetite Host, your .co.za is included, registered in your name and renewed for you.
The address South Africans know
The registry that runs .co.za reported 1.5 million registrations across .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za in October 2026. It is the address South Africans have seen on shopfronts and vans for decades. When someone sees yourbusiness.co.za, they know you are here, not a website from somewhere else.
A free address on someone else’s platform, like a page on a social network or a sub-address on a builder, tells customers the opposite: that the business has not invested in itself yet.
Whose name is it in?
Every .co.za has a registrant: the person or business it is registered to. The registry’s own rules say the registrant retains control of the name and must not be locked in by whoever registered it for them. That only helps you if the registrant is you.
Problems start when a designer, a friend or a company registers the address in their own name. If they disappear, fall out with you or close down, getting your address back can take weeks, and your email and website go with it.
Appetite Host always registers your .co.za in your name, or your company’s, with your details at the registry. If you ever leave us, the address leaves with you.
Not every builder can give you one
- Wix: Wix cannot register a .co.za or take one over. You buy it elsewhere and connect it, which needs a paid plan.
- WordPress.com: WordPress.com does not sell .co.za addresses. You buy one elsewhere and connect it.
- Appetite Host: included in every package, registered in your name and renewed every year for you.
Want a .com or something else?
.co.za, .org.za and .net.za are included. If you would rather have a .com, a .africa or a city address like .durban, .joburg or .capetown, ask us about it. Those carry a yearly fee of their own.
How it works with us
- Tell Naya the name you want while she builds your website.
- Pay, and confirm your email.
- Your website is live within 1 working day of payment. Your own .co.za address follows as soon as you confirm your email, usually the same day.
Questions
Do I own my .co.za?
The registry’s rules talk about control rather than ownership: the registrant, the person or business named at the registry, retains control of the name. With Appetite Host, that registrant is you.
What happens to my .co.za if I stop using Appetite Host?
It stays registered in your name. You can move it to another provider and point it at a new website.
Is the .co.za included in the price?
Yes. Registering it and renewing it every year are included: R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with your first year included, then R249 to R499 a month.
Prices checked on 8 October 2026, as each provider showed them to a visitor in South Africa. They change; check with the provider before you decide.
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