The verdict in three sentences
A website is not a one-time purchase: the domain and hosting are recurring costs you must budget from the start. In 2026 in Nigeria, expect 3,000 to 10,000 NGN/year for a .ng, a .com around 8,000 NGN/year, and 15,000 to 60,000 NGN/month for managed hosting depending on traffic. The classic mistake is picking the "free" option that costs dearly in slowness, downtime and no support.
Domain and hosting: the real costs
Here are the recurring line items to plan for in 2026 (order of magnitude) for a serious professional site.
| Item | Cost | What drives the price |
|---|---|---|
| .ng domain | 3,000 - 10,000 NGN/year | Local extension, prestige |
| .com domain | ~8,000 NGN/year | Renewal, privacy protection |
| Shared hosting | 8,000 - 20,000 NGN/month | Traffic, storage |
| Managed hosting + CDN | 25,000 - 60,000 NGN/month | CDN, uptime, backups |
| SSL certificate | 0 - 30,000 NGN/year | Free (Let's Encrypt) or EV |
| Pro email (5 boxes) | 8,000 - 18,000 NGN/month | Number of boxes, storage |
Free vs managed: the real math
Many compare only the sticker price. Here is what each option really implies in 2026.
| Criterion | Free option | Managed hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | 0 NGN | 25,000 - 60,000 NGN |
| Speed on 3G | Slow, variable | Fast (CDN) |
| Guaranteed uptime | None | 99.9 % |
| Forced subdomain | Yes (e.g. .netlify.app) | No, your domain |
| Support | Community | Priority |
| Automatic backups | No | Yes, daily |
| Business-ready | No | Yes |
For reference in Senegal, a .sn domain runs ~15,000 FCFA/year and managed hosting 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA/month.
Mini case study
Emeka, who runs a hardware store in Ibadan, had a site on a "free" plan with a forced subdomain. On 3G, his pages took 9 seconds to load and the site went down 2-3 times a month. He moves to a .com (8,000 NGN/year) + managed hosting at 45,000 NGN/month + CDN, about 548,000 NGN/year. Result: load time down to 2.3s, 99.9 % uptime, and a bounce rate down from 71 % to 44 %. Quote requests via the site doubled in three months.
FAQ
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Should I use a .ng or a .com?
The .ng reinforces local anchoring and trust in Nigeria (3,000-10,000 NGN/year). The .com is more universal. Many take both and redirect one to the other.
Is free hosting really free?
On the surface yes, but it costs in slowness, downtime, forced subdomain and no support. For a business site, that fake-free loses customers.
What is managed hosting?
It is a plan where the host handles updates, security, backups and CDN for you. Expect 25,000 to 60,000 NGN/month depending on traffic.
Is SSL paid?
Standard SSL (Let's Encrypt) is free and covers 95 % of sites. An EV certificate (0 to 30,000 NGN/year) is only justified for banks and institutions.
How much to budget per year in total?
For an SME, plan roughly 350,000 to 700,000 NGN/year all-in (domain + managed + email). That is the price of a fast, reliable site.
Let's talk about your project. We'll set you up with fast managed hosting on 3G, with CDN and backups, sized to your traffic. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
