Order web hosting step by step

Ordering web hosting takes two steps: Your order (plan, domain and extras) and Checkout (your details and payment with PayFast). You don't need an account first – the checkout creates one for you.

Watch the video (2 min 25 s, with narration) – or follow the steps below.

Step by step

1. Open the web hosting plans. You also get there with Buy now on our web hosting page, or with Order hosting in the client area.

   1. Choose Monthly or Yearly. Yearly is 12 months paid at once, at the same monthly price.
   2. Click Choose under the plan you want.
   

2. On Your order, choose the domain for your hosting:

   1. Register a new domain – for a domain you don't have yet.
   2. Type the name you want, choose the ending (for example .co.za) and click Search.
   3. Under Choose your domain, select a domain that shows Available. Its price for the first year is shown next to it.
   

   Already have a domain? Choose Use a domain I own and type it in – the page then shows the nameservers to set at your current provider after the order (see Use a domain you have with another provider). To move the domain to us, choose Transfer my domain (see Transfer a domain to DomainsOnline).

   If you are not signed in, a security check may appear before the search results.

3. Further down on the same page:

   1. Under Plan, check the plan – you can still change it here.
   2. Under Billing, check Monthly or Yearly.
   3. Click Continue to checkout. Your order next to it shows what you pay today and later.

   Below the plan, Extras are optional, for example an SSL certificate from RapidSSL, e-mail spam filtering or CodeGuard backups. Tick one only if you want it – every plan already includes a free SSL certificate.

   

4. On Checkout:

   • New customer: fill in your details – name, e-mail address, mobile number and address – and choose a password for the client area. Already a customer? Click Log in at the top of the form.
   • Signed in: check who the invoice goes to; Change opens your account details.
   1. Check your name and address for the invoice.
   2. Payment is by PayFast, our only payment method.
   3. Check the total and click Pay … with PayFast. PayFast's secure page opens; after paying you come back to DomainsOnline.
   

What happens after you have paid: After your order: what happens next.

Something not working?

• The domain you want is taken: try another ending, for example .africa or .com, or a slightly different name.
• A red message on the page: it names what is missing, for example a domain for your plan. Fill it in and click Continue to checkout again.
• The PayFast page closed before you paid: your order stays with an unpaid invoice – see Pay an invoice with PayFast.

Related articles

• Order WordPress hosting
• After your order: what happens next
• Search for a domain and register it

Need help? Open a ticket in the Sales department or call us on 082 412 6556.