The .za country code belongs to South Africa, and .co.za is its commercial second level — the address most South African businesses use. It is administered by the ZA Domain Name Authority through the ZACR registry, and anyone can register one. There is no requirement to be a South African company or resident.
A .co.za is one of the cheaper country domains, and unlike many extensions it renews at the same price it registers at. Be careful of first-year offers elsewhere that jump sharply on renewal.
This is the question we get asked most, and the honest answer is that it depends on who you are selling to rather than which is objectively better.
You will live with this for years and print it on things. A few minutes of thought now saves a rebrand later.
Registration takes a few minutes. Protecting it properly takes a few more, and skipping that step is how people lose domains they have used for a decade.
Hosting from R34.50/month billed annually, with a free domain, free SSL, business email and daily backups included. Choose Starter or above and we design your website free — no agency fee, no contract.
Yes. There is no residency or company registration requirement. Anyone can register a .co.za.
R109 per year with Hostking, and it renews at the same price. It is free on eligible annual hosting plans.
Usually instant. Occasionally a registration takes a few minutes to propagate through the registry.
Yes. Unlock the domain at your current registrar, request the authorisation code, and start the transfer from your client area. We can walk you through it.
It stops resolving, so your website and email go down. There is a grace period to renew, but after that anyone can register it. Auto-renewal avoids the whole problem.
No, you can register a domain on its own. You need hosting only when you want a website or email on it.