Build your own website in South Africa
If you have not chosen to study web development, building your own website in South Africa is not an impossible task. There are many companies out there that specialise in drag and drop software for building a website. You are not going to be able to do it completely for free though. No matter what, you will need to put in some money to get your website up and professional-looking. At the bare minimum, you are going to need a domain name and hosting. If you have chosen a .co.za domain you are going to pay around R89 per year to own the domain. Now that you have the actual name that you want, you are going to need some space to store all the files and images from your website as well as your emails, this is called hosting. Many of these drag-and-drop builders use their own hosting but if you need there are many companies that offer website hosting and prices can vary dramatically. Not all hosting is equal and our recommendation would be to host your website with Xneelo (formally Hetzner). We have used many different hosting companies over the years and through that process, we believe Xneelo to be the best hosting with a great support team, basic hosting starts at R99 per month. But there are many companies out there and you should select the one that is best for you and your wallet.
Now you will need to select the platform that is best for you. Below is a list of companies that offer a drag-and-drop option for website building and the related costs per month.
Digital Lime Green
At only R135 per month, including hosting of the website, this is a great option if you are wanting to build your own website. Within easy to use drag-and-drop editor. You can read more here.
This is a very simple, but free website builder offered by Google to get your business up on the Internet.
Wix
Wix has many options that are priced in dollars with their basic package, which doesn’t include Wix adverts on your website, starting at $8.50 per month (R141 per month).
GoDaddy
GoDaddy also comes with hosting and start at R74.99 per month that will be billed annually at R899.88 per annum.
WordPress
WordPress.org is free software that you can use and is very powerful. You will need to select a theme for your website and there are many free themes available from WordPress theme library. You will need to purchase your own domain and hosting separately, but most hosting companies offer WordPress installation free.
Weebly
Weebly charges $5 per month when billed annually for the most basic package that can connect your domain, this comes to R944.99 per annum.
Shopify
If you are wanting an online store, Shopify is an option starting at $29 per month for their most basic package which comes to R480.91 per month.
There are many options out there so look around at what is best for you and if you decide that creating a website by yourself it’s not the best use of your time, we can take over for you and create an amazing looking website starting at only R450 per month which includes domain registration, hosting, a monthly retainer of 1 hour, update to the software, and security for your website. View all the options here or email us on hello@digitallimegreen.com or call us on 087 379 5978. We look forward to hearing from you.