Your Free .co.za Domain with Noiz Shared Hosting

This guide is for anyone about to buy, or who has just bought, a Noiz shared or reseller hosting plan and has seen that it comes with a free .co.za domain. It explains, in plain terms, exactly what that free domain is and is not: which plans include it, which domain extensions are covered, how to claim your free registration when you order hosting or afterwards from the client area, and, most importantly, what happens when the domain comes up for renewal a year later. It also covers the common case where you already own a domain and would rather keep it, in which case there is nothing to register and you point your existing domain at Noiz instead.

One distinction runs through everything below, so it is worth fixing in your mind at the outset. Registration is the one-off act of taking a brand-new domain name that nobody currently owns and putting it in your name for a period, usually a year. Renewal is paying again, each period after that, to keep it. The word "free" in "free domain" refers to the first registration that comes bundled with your hosting. Renewals are a separate, recurring domain charge that continues for as long as you want to keep the name. Keeping those two ideas apart is the single biggest thing that prevents a surprise on a future invoice.

Last reviewed: 27 July 2026, against the current Noiz shared and reseller hosting plans and the Noiz client area. Which domain extensions a given plan includes for free, and what a renewal costs, are commercial terms that Noiz can change from time to time. For that reason this guide deliberately sends you to your chosen plan's page and to your own invoice for the exact figures, rather than printing numbers here that would quietly go out of date. It complements, and does not replace, the .za registry rules referenced below.

Official Documentation Reference

• ZADNA, the .za Domain Name Authority: the statutory authority for South Africa's .za namespace, which includes .co.za, .net.za, .org.za and .web.za. This is the authoritative source for your rights as a registrant and for the rules that govern local domains, including renewal and expiry.
• IANA Root Zone Database: .za delegation record: the authoritative delegation record for the South African country-code top-level domain, showing the chain of authority under which every .co.za name sits.

The genuinely authoritative source for what your plan includes and what it will cost to renew is not any of the links above. It is the plan page you order from and the invoice Noiz issues you. Everything in this guide is written to help you read those two documents correctly, not to substitute for them.

Prerequisites

• You are ordering, or already hold, a Noiz shared or reseller hosting plan. The free domain is bundled with hosting; it is not sold on its own.
• You have a name in mind that you would like as yourdomain.co.za, written that way throughout as an example to replace with the name you actually want. It helps to have a second choice ready in case your first is already taken.
• You can sign in to the Noiz client area, or you are at the checkout stage of ordering hosting, which is where the free registration is offered.
• If you already own a domain and intend to keep it, you have access to it at your current registrar. In that case you will not be registering anything new; see If You Already Own a Domain below.

What the Free Domain Actually Is

When a Noiz shared or reseller hosting plan advertises a free domain, it means the plan includes a credit that covers the first registration of one new domain, at no extra charge, when you take the hosting. The domain and the hosting are set up together, and the registration is handled for you as part of the order.

The extension included as standard is .co.za, South Africa's commercial second-level domain and by far the most common choice for a South African site. Some plans, typically the larger shared plans and the reseller plans, extend the free registration to further members of the .za family, such as .net.za, .org.za and .web.za. Whether your plan covers only .co.za or several of these is a per-plan detail, and it is shown on the plan's own page and again on the order form when you choose your domain. This guide will not list which plan includes which extensions, precisely because that is the kind of thing Noiz adjusts over time; the order form is always the current, correct answer.

A quick word on what those extensions signify, since people often wonder which to pick:

• .co.za is the default general-purpose and commercial choice, and the one most South African visitors expect to type.
• .net.za was originally intended for network-related organisations, though it is now used broadly.
• .org.za suits non-profit and community organisations.
• .web.za is a general alternative often used when a .co.za is already taken.

All four are governed by the same .za authority and behave identically in technical terms. Pick the one that best fits how you want to be found; if your plan includes only .co.za for free and you would prefer another, you can usually still register it, just not under the free credit. What that other registration costs is shown at the point of ordering.

What the Free Domain Is Not

Being clear about the edges of the offer saves disappointment later.

• It is not free forever. The credit covers the initial registration. From the next renewal onward, the domain is billed at the standard .za renewal rate, as explained under renewals below.
• It does not usually cover a .com, .net or other international extension. The free registration is for the .za extensions your plan lists. A .com or similar is registered at its normal price. If your plan is silent on an extension, treat it as not covered by the free credit and check the price on the order form.
• It is one domain, not many. The credit applies to a single new registration bundled with the plan. Additional domains are registered at their normal price.
• It is for a new registration, not for a domain you already own. If you already hold the name you want, there is nothing to register; you point that existing domain at your Noiz hosting instead. There is more on this below.

How to Claim Your Free Domain

There are two moments at which you can claim the free registration: during checkout when you first order the hosting, which is the cleaner path, or afterwards from within the client area.

At checkout, while ordering hosting (recommended)

The most reliable way to claim the free domain is to register it as part of the same order that buys the hosting, because the free credit is designed to apply at exactly that point.

1. Choose your shared or reseller plan on the Noiz website and begin the order.
2. At the domain step of the order, choose the option to register a new domain, then search for the name you want, entering it as yourdomain and selecting the extension. If your first choice is already taken, the search will say so and you can try another name or another eligible extension.
3. When you pick a name and extension that your plan covers, the order form shows the first-period registration as free. Confirm that the domain line reads as free before continuing; this is your on-screen proof that the credit has applied.
4. Complete the order and pay for the hosting as normal. Noiz registers the domain and connects it to your hosting, setting the Noiz nameservers ns1.noiz.co.za and ns2.noiz.co.za for you, so the domain is pointed at your site from the start.

Afterwards, from the client area

If you did not register a domain when you first ordered, or you want to add one to an existing service, you can also start a registration from the client area.

1. Sign in to the Noiz client area and open the Domains area, then choose to register a new domain.
2. Search for the name and extension you want, in the same way as at checkout.
3. Add it to your cart and review the price. Whether the free credit applies automatically when you register separately, rather than alongside a new hosting order, depends on how the offer is configured for your plan. If the domain shows as free, complete the order. If it shows the standard registration price and you believe your plan entitles you to a free one, do not pay first and query later; open a support ticket, quote your plan and the domain you want, and let Noiz apply the credit before the registration is processed.

What Happens at Renewal

This is the part worth reading slowly, because it is where the honest limits of "free" live. A .za domain is registered for a period, normally one year. The free credit pays for that first period. When the period is coming to an end, the domain must be renewed to stay yours, and that renewal is charged at the standard rate for the extension. The renewal is a genuine cost that Noiz passes on, so it is not something the free offer removes; it simply was not due yet when you registered.

In practice this means:

• Your first year is free (or first period, if the registration term differs), because the plan's credit covered the initial registration.
• Each renewal after that is billed at the normal .za rate, unless your plan page explicitly states that renewals are also included, which is unusual. Do not assume free renewals; assume standard renewals unless the plan says otherwise in writing.
• The renewal is separate from your hosting fee. Hosting and the domain are two different services with their own charges, even though they were ordered together and may fall due around the same time.
• You will be invoiced before the renewal date. Noiz sends a renewal invoice ahead of time so the domain does not lapse. The exact renewal amount for your extension is shown on that invoice.

The single most useful habit here is to read the domain line on your invoices. The invoice, not this guide and not the plan's headline, is the authoritative statement of what you are paying and for what period. If a renewal amount ever looks wrong, that invoice is the thing to raise with Noiz support.

If You Already Own a Domain

The free domain is a nice extra when you are starting fresh, but many people come to Noiz already owning the name they want to use, whether a .co.za or a .com. If that is you, the free registration is simply not relevant: there is nothing to register, because the name is already yours. You have two straightforward choices.

• Keep the domain where it is and point it at Noiz. You leave the domain registered with your current registrar and change where it points so that your website and email load from your Noiz hosting. This needs no transfer and no new registration. The full method is in How to Point Your Domain to Noiz, which walks through delegating to the Noiz nameservers or pointing individual records. This is the usual route when you already own a name.
• Register a different new domain under the free credit anyway. There is nothing stopping you from claiming the free .co.za for a new name even though you already have one, for example to protect a variation of your brand or to run a second site. It is your credit to use if you have a use for it.

What the free offer cannot do is retroactively make a domain you registered elsewhere free, or refund what you paid another registrar. The credit only applies to a new registration placed through Noiz.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: the domain is not showing as free at checkout. First confirm the extension you chose is one your plan covers; a plan that includes a free .co.za may not include a free .net.za, and a .com is not part of the .za offer at all. Check the plan's page for the extensions it lists. If you have chosen an eligible extension and it still shows a price, the free credit may be tied to a particular billing term for the hosting, so review the term selected. If it still does not apply, stop before paying and contact Noiz support with your plan and the domain you want.
• Symptom: you were charged for the domain. Look at the invoice line for the domain and note whether it is a first-time registration or a renewal. A renewal charge is expected and correct: the free credit only ever covered the first period. A registration charge on a plan you believe includes a free domain is worth querying; open a ticket with the invoice number so Noiz can check whether the credit should have applied.
• Symptom: your first-choice name is already taken. Domain names are first come, first served, and a great many .co.za names are already registered. Try a variation, or one of the other .za extensions your plan may include, such as .web.za. The order form's search tells you instantly what is available.
• Symptom: you want to use a domain you already own instead of registering a new one. You do not need the free registration at all. Leave the domain with your current registrar and follow How to Point Your Domain to Noiz to point it at your hosting.
• Symptom: you registered the free domain but the site does not load yet. A brand-new registration and its hosting take a short while to become visible across the internet as DNS updates. When the domain was registered together with the hosting, the Noiz nameservers are already set for you, so this is normal settling time rather than a misconfiguration. Allow a little while and check again.

Noiz Support

If you are unsure whether your plan includes a free domain, which extensions it covers, or what a renewal will cost, the quickest answer is to open a ticket with the Noiz support team, or to read the plan page and your latest invoice, which carry the current figures. When you contact support, mention your plan and the exact domain name and extension you want, for example yourdomain.co.za, so the team can confirm your eligibility and apply the free registration correctly. If you already own a domain and only need it connected to your Noiz hosting, say so, and support can guide you through pointing it rather than registering something new.