Facts About Safaricom Web Hosting(Frequently Asked Question)

132

Here are frequently asked questions about Safaricom web hosting.You can also host your website at Kenya Website Experts for Ksh2,100 per year,click here to visit Kenya Website Experts website

Domain and Web Hosting Service Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 1.      What is a domain name?

        A website domain, such as www.kamauspares.co.ke is like an address name for a business. 

  •  
    • A website domain is your business name with an extension (such as .co.ke;  .com;  .info.org; .org; .go.ke; .or.ke) 
    • A website domain allows the website visitors to find and access information on your business web page more easily.

 2.       Why do I need a business domain?

  •  
    •  
      • Gives instant credibility to your business.
      • Send emails from a professional email address.
      • Gives users a place to find out more about your business before contacting you.
      • Your website is always open and available 24/7.
      • Gives you competitor edge.
      • Improves loyalty from your customers
      • Handles some of your customer service for your business
        • e.g. FAQs, Contact Forms, Information
        • Product information and pricing

3.       How can I register a domain name with Safaricom?

 
4.      What can I do with a domain name?

  •  
    •  
      • Change to a professional e-mail address such as [email protected] and maintain a professional outlook.
      • Build your own website with our easy-to-use website builder for a professional outlook.
      • Market your business online with your own website.
      • Communicate with your business contacts using a professional email address.
      • It improves your business’ loyalty and trust from your customers and suppliers.

 5.      What comes with the domain name if I purchase it at Safaricom?

The domain packages comes with a business domain name, free website builder, storage disc space, unlimited bandwidth for your website, from 5 business email addresses and free email security. 

 6.       What are some of the benefits and features that come with the Safaricom domain and hosting?

  •  
    •  
      • FREE e-mail security!
      • Unlimited website bandwidth.
      • FREE Website Builder!
      • Easy to use online self-provisioning of service.
      • Customer can raise a support ticket directly to our support team from the self-service portal.
      • Customer can choose auto renewal of service option from the self-service portal.
      • Customer can top up their account in advance for future invoice renewals.
      • Easy to use, affordable and no hardware or software purchase is required.
      • Customers will have their websites and mail hosted on Safaricom cloud.
      • Provide customers with the ability to provision email accounts for their employees online.                                              

 7.       How much does a domain name cost?  

  •  
    •  
      • Each domain extension is charged differently e.g. a .CO.KE domain only is Kshs 1,300 (VAT inclusive), a .COM domain only is Kshs. 999 (VAT inclusive) , a .KE domain is Kshs. 7,000 (VAT inclusive).  Please go to https://domains.safaricom.co.ke/
      • Each web hosting package has a cost depending on the storage space (GB), number of email accounts and other package features.
      • To view the various domain extensions and web hosting packages go to https://domains.safaricom.co.ke/sharedhosting.php

 8.         What is the billing cycle for domains?  

  • All domains are charged annually in advance.  Paymeny will be made against an invoice sent to the customer.  Customer must pay in advance for the domain before service is activated

9.      Can I pay for the domain and web hosting service for more than one (1) year?  

  •  
    •  
      • Yes.  You can choose your preferred number of years you would like to activate or renew the domain and web hosting service for;
      • Domains may be renewed for upto five (5) years.  One can choose 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years or 5 years to renew the domains for.
      • Web Hosting may be renewed for upto three (3) years. 
      • All domains are charged annually in advance.  Payment will be made against an invoice sent to the customer.  Customer must pay in advance for the domain before service is activated.

 10.  What are some of the domain extensions that I can purchase locally (Kenyan)?

  • co.ke – for everyone.
    •  
      • or.ke – Not for profit making or NGO’s.
      • ne.ke – Network devices.
      • go.ke – Government Entities and Agencies. (Supporting documents will be required, see below)
      • ac.ke – Instititues of Higher Education. (Supporting documents will be required, see below)
      • sc.ke – lower and middle institutes of learning.(Supporting documents will be required, see below)
      • me.ke – for Personalized Emails and Sites.
      • mobi.ke – for Mobile Content.
      • info.ke – for Information.
      •  .ke – for everyone.

 11.   What type of supporting documents will the above extensions require?

go.ke
This domain requires supporting documents from the Department of Government IT Services (GITS) at the Ministry of Finance. GITS should give an Authority Letter to show that the Entity is a valid Government institution or Agency and authorized to register the domain name.

ac.ke
This requires either a copy of the Certificate of Registration from the relevant Ministry, a copy of the College Charter or a copy of the Act of Parliament that was passed to establish the Institute. The documents MUST bear the name of the Entity. The document should classify the Entity as a Tertiary Institution: Polytechnic, Technical Institute, College or University.

sc.ke
This requires a copy of the Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Education. The document MUST also bear the name of the Entity. The document should classify the Entity as a Kindergaten, Primary or Secondary School.

Note: 

Customer will email us to [email protected] with attachments of the required documentation//certificates for the domains that require supporting documents.  Our Business Support team will generate a ticket to KENIC Registry Services with the Supporting Documents. Only when the Ticket is closed will the domain be published.

 12.  How do I register and activate a new domain and web hosting service?

  •  
    •  
      •  
        • Domain Search  (type in the domain and choose an extension e.g. .co.ke)
        • Click on Search tab to check availability of the domain name
        • Add to Shopping Cart
        • Select Web Hosting Package e.g. Lite, Silver, Bronze…
        • Confirm Package, Amount and Check out
        • Register Page for New Customer

                                                                                                  i.      First Name

                                                                                                ii.      Last Name

                                                                                              iii.      Email Address

                                                                                              iv.      Identification Number

                                                                                                v.      ID Document Type

                                                                                              vi.      Password ; Confirm Password

                                                                                            vii.      Address:  P.O. Box, City, State,  Post Code, Country

  •  
    •  
      • Phone Number / Mobile Number
      • Invoice displayed on screen for customer; customer may email himself the invoice
      • Selects the payment method (M-PESA)
      • Paybill Details will be displayed on the screen (Paybill No, Account No = Invoice No., Amount)
      • Customer makes payment
      • Customer enters the M-PESA Transaction Code on the screen
      • Click Complete Payment 
      • Customer receives payment confirmation email and an e-receipt (PAID invoice)
      • Customer receives the Domain and Web Hosting login credentials with email set up info
      • Customer can click on various tabs/widgets i.e. cPanel, Webmail, Creat Email Accounts etc

 13.  How do I renew my domain and web hosting service?

  •  
    •  
      • Customer will log onto the web portal https://domains.safaricom.co.ke/clientarea.php
      • Customer will go to their active subscriptions on their homepage.
      • They will choose the domain and web hosting package they would like to renew and click renew.
      • A confirmation page will appear showing the package details and the price.
      • A payment page will appear showing the two M-PESA options for payment.
      • The customer will choose the option whether M-PESA STK Push or M-PESA Paybill.
      • Once the payment is completed and confirmation of payment is received the service will automatically be renewed.
      • Customer will receive an invoice with a PAID stamp on it to confirm that the service is renewed.
      • The renewal date for the service will now reflect a new date for an additional duration that the customer has paid for.

 14.  How do I upgrade my domain and web hosting service?

  •  
    •  
      • Customer will log onto the web portal www.domains.safaricom.co.ke/clientend.php
      • Customer will go to ‘My Products and Services’ and click on the package of the specific domain that the customer wants to upgrade.
      • Customer will click on upgrade button on the left side of the page.
      • Customer will chose the package they would like upgrade to and click on ‘Choose Product’
      • Confirm the amount to upgrade the package to.  The upgrade price is calculated from a credit of the un-used portion of the current package and the billing of the new package.  This price will be prorated.
      • Customer will confirm the upgrade amount and proceed o make payment.
      • Customer will make the M-PESA payment for the upgrade to be activated.
      • Customer will log out of the portal/system.

15.  How do I downgrade my domain and web hosting service?

  •  
    •  
      • Customer will log onto the web portal www.domains.safaricom.co.ke
      • Customer will go to ‘My Products and Services’ and click on the package of the specific domain that the customer wants to downgrade.
      • Customer will click on downgrade button on the left side of the page.
      • Customer will chose the package they would like downgrade to and click on ‘Choose Product’
      • Confirm the amount to downgrade the package to.  The downgrade price is calculated from a credit of the un-used portion of the current package and the billing of the new package.  This price will be prorated.
      • Customer will confirm the downgrade amount and proceed to make payment.
      • Customer will make the M-PESA payment for the downgrade to be activated.
      • Customer will log out of the portal/system.

16.  How do I transfer my domain and web hosting service from my current provider to Safaricom?

  •  
    •  
      • Customer will log onto the web portal www.domains.safaricom.co.ke
      • Customer will go to ‘My Products and Services’ and click on the left side of the page and choose TRANSFER.
      • Customer will input the transfer authorization code from the current host/provider.
      • Customer will choose the hosting package (if any) and confirm the package details.
      • Customer will confirm the transfer and new package amount and proceed to make payment.
      • Customer will make the M-PESA payment for the transfer to be activated.
      • Customer will receive a notification via email that the transfer is successful.
      • Customer will log out of the portal/system.

17.  How do I set up my business email addresses?

  •  
    •  
      • Log in to your active email and click on the link sent.
      • Log in with your username and password
      • On the homepage, Click on email Accounts to start email account creation
      • Create email accounts associated with your domain by selecting a username and password and choose your preferred memory allocation for the accounts using the Mailbox Quota feature
      • You can manage the email accounts created by:-
      • Changing the email account password
      • Change the memory allocated to the email account and check usage memory usage
      • Delete email accounts
      • Configure email accounts for mail client applications

18.  How do I set up and publish my business website using the Free Website Builder tool?

  •  
    •  
      • Log in with your username and password
      • On the ‘Software/Services’ section on the homepage, Click on the RVSiteBuilder icon
      • On the Homepage, select create a new project / website and input Project / Website Name, Company Name, Category List and Save the details.      
      • Online Support available (live web chat) available on the Safaricom self-service portal on https://domains.safaricom.co.ke
      • Phone No. (2nd line support  –  0722 00 2222)
      • Email Support ([email protected] )
      • On the Step1 Tab, Select a template or import one of your own.
      • On the Step2 Tab Use the controls to edit the template to your preference.
      • On the Step3 Tab. Update your contact information and add any additional features.
      • Back up your project after every modification to save your changes on the website
      • Use the preview button to view what your website is like when it goes live
      • Publish your website to make it live and accessible on the web

19.   Can I enable my domain and web hosting service to automatically renew (auto-renewal)?

  •  
    •  
      •  Log in with your username and password
      • On the ‘Software/Services’ section on the homepage, Click on the RVSiteBuilder icon
      • On the Homepage, select create a new project / website and input Project / Website Name, Company Name, Category List and Save the details.      

20.  How do I get help/support when needed about my domain?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR