Domain Registration in Ghana: How to buy a domain [Guide]

Every business must own a presence on the World Wide Web (WWW). It can be owning a website or having a social media page or account. Depending on your business needs demand, you will need an identity just like you have a name to identify yourself.

What is domain registration or domain name registration?

Domain registration or domain name registration is the process of registering a domain name, which identifies one or more IP addresses with a name that is easier to remember and use in URLs to identify particular Web pages. The domain name registrant is the person or business that registers a domain name.

The focus of my article is to help you get an identity for your business using a website. The names with extensions such as .com, .net, .us, .com.gh, etc., that you enter in your browser when surfing information about someone or a business is called a domain name.

Every website on the internet needs this unique identity called a domain name.

A domain name is a unique name that identifies a website among the millions of websites on the Web. No two sites can share the same name. Every website can have one primary domain name, even though you can redirect other domain names to another domain ( this is for another conversation). Some examples of domain names in Ghana are www.ghanaweb.com, www.jbklutse.com, www.facebook.com, www.mfa.gov.gh, etc.

Now that you know what a domain is, let’s consider how to buy or register one for yourself or your business. You can either buy it locally from a Web hosting company (most of them are resellers to big businesses outside Ghana) or buy directly from big internet companies in the domain registration or Web hosting market.

What do you need to buy your domain?

If you decided to buy it from a local Web hosting company in Ghana, you would need to have one of the following:

1. Debit card (your VISA or Mastercard from your bank),
2. Mobile money,
3. Bank transfer ( some companies offer this option, but it is an option I won’t encourage).

For those who wish to buy from international Web hosting companies, you need a Debit card ( you need to check from your bank if a Debit card can make online payments) or a Paypal account.

TIP: For security concerns, I recommend you visit any First Atlantic Bank (FAB) or UBA bank and apply for their INSTANT card. Your bank account is not linked to this instant card; it is a virtual account with a physical card (Debit card) for making payments and withdrawals.

Where to buy a domain name online?

There are many great service providers out there, but I will limit my list to the ones I have used or still use.

Local hosting companies:

1. Host with JBKlutse: After ten years of managing various web servers, we have decided to venture into providing secure, quality web services, which include a free domain when you buy a hosting package from us.
2. DTech Ghana: DTech is one of the oldest Web hosting companies in Ghana. It was the first company I started using when I decided to venture into the online space, especially creating websites. They were helpful to me, and I know they will work for you. I bought my first hosting account from Dtech, which came with a free domain ( most hosting companies offer free parts for the first year if you buy a hosting package from them.
3. Nakroteck: This is an internet services company with domain name registration and hosting services. They offer various hosting services: shared hosting, WordPress hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), and Dedicated Servers. They offer a 100% money-back guarantee for their services.

Foreign hosting companies:

1. GoDaddy: GoDaddy is an Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company. It is one of the leading companies in this space. Godaddy was my go-to company, where I buy all my domains. I used to manage all my domains until they became too expensive to maintain.
2. NameCheap: Namecheap is where I manage and buy all my new domains. They are affordable, and their renewal rates are better than GoDaddy’s. There also sell hosting packages.
3. iPage, HostGator, and BlueHost: are all Web hosting companies I have used in the past that sell domains too.

It is perfectly fine to buy your hosting or domain from local companies. They offer payment options that most people have, and you can easily visit their office whenever you wish.

We hope this article helped you learn how to buy a domain. You might want to check our Web hosting service.