A domain name is your web address and is paid for every year. Hosting is the service that keeps your website online. In Namibia you can register .com.na, .org.na or .na through a registrar accredited by NA-NiC, the .na registry, or a .com through any registrar. Register the domain in your own name and ask the registrar what documents it needs before you pay.
Domain name
yourbusiness.com.na, registered through an accredited registrar.
DNS records
Point the name at your hosting.
Hosting
Stores and serves your website.
Email
Addresses on your domain use the same name.
What a domain and hosting are
- Domain name. The address people type, such as yourbusiness.com.na. You rent it by the year. If it lapses, the website and every email address on it stop working.
- Web hosting. The service that stores your website and sends it to visitors. Hosting is a separate account from the domain.
- Email on your domain. Addresses such as info@yourbusiness.com.na. Paid mailboxes are charged per user by an email provider.
.na, .com.na and .com compared
| Ending | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| .com.na | Namibian domain for commercial entities | The usual choice for a Namibian business. Registered through a NA-NiC accredited registrar. |
| .org.na | Namibian domain for non-profit organisations | Suits NGOs and associations. Same registration route. |
| .na | The country domain itself | Shorter, but one registrar describes it as premium and its pricing notice (effective 1 March 2024) lists it at several times the price of .com.na. |
| .com | A global domain, not tied to Namibia | Available through any registrar. Often cheaper than .na endings. |
Pick the ending your customers will trust and remember. Many Namibian businesses use .com.na for the local signal. If you also sell to people abroad, a .com can sit alongside it.
Who runs the .na registry and how registration works
The .na domain is managed by the Namibian Network Information Centre (NA-NiC). Its website says that people who want a domain should search for a registrar accredited for .na, because the registry does not work with applicants directly (NA-NiC, checked October 2026). So the steps are: choose an accredited registrar, search for your name, register it and pay the yearly fee.
Requirements
NA-NiC's website does not list the documents needed to register, and we have not verified them. Ask the registrar what it needs from you before you pay. The registrar may charge a higher fee for foreign registrants: Namhost's pricing notice lists separate local and foreign prices for .na endings (Namhost, checked October 2026).
What it costs a year
| Domain | Price on Namhost's site | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| .com.na | R790.00 a year | Registration and renewal as shown on the page. Prices are shown in rand, and the page can switch to Namibian dollars. |
| .com | R350.00 a year | Same page and date. |
Hosting and paid email are extra and depend on the provider and on how the site is built. Our website cost guide lists typical yearly costs.
Who should own the domain
You should. The registered owner can move the domain, point it anywhere or let it lapse, so the business must hold the registrar login, on a shared business email and not a personal one. Read who owns your website, and if you are already locked out, what to do.
What ADA Web does for clients
- We set the domain up in your name, never ours. The yearly fee is an outside cost, paid to the registrar and listed in your written scope.
- We list the domain, hosting, email and analytics accounts in a written handover record, with who controls each one and when it renews.
- We build the site so it is served from global hosting with a content delivery network. Where a project needs paid hosting, it is an outside cost in the scope.
- We can set up email addresses in your organisation's name. Paid mailboxes are an outside cost.
- On a care plan we send renewal reminders before the domain and hosting fall due.
If you already own a domain, tell us when you ask for a quote.
Key terms and where the definitions come from
Show key terms and sources
These explanations are ADA's own words, adapted from the independent sources named. Those organisations do not endorse or work with ADA, and the examples are illustrations, not real clients.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a human-readable address for your website, such as yourbusiness.com.na. You rent it from a registrar for a set period and renew it to keep it.
Source: Based on MDN Web Docs, What is a domain name?.
Reference: MDN Web Docs: What is a domain name? (external site, opens in a new tab)
For a Namibian business: A Rundu business that registers its own name controls where its website and email addresses point, even if it later changes its web designer or host.
Related ADA service: Who owns your website
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is renting space on a server, a computer that is always on, to store your website's files and send them to visitors who ask for them. A domain name is the address; hosting is where the site lives.
Source: Based on MDN Web Docs, What is a web server?.
Reference: MDN Web Docs: What is a web server? (external site, opens in a new tab)
For a Namibian business: A restaurant in Windhoek pays a hosting provider so its menu pages are available day and night, instead of only when someone's own computer is switched on.
Related ADA service: Business website design
What is DNS?
DNS, the Domain Name System, is the internet's naming system. It lets a human-readable domain name be matched to the numeric address of the server that holds the site.
Source: Based on RFC Editor (IETF), RFC 1034: Domain names, concepts and facilities.
For a Namibian business: When a Namibian company moves its website to a new host, the change is made in DNS records. A wrong record can take a website or email offline, so changes are made carefully.
Related ADA service: Website care plans
Common questions
How much is .na domain registration?
It depends on the ending and the registrar. On Namhost's site in October 2026 a .com.na cost R790.00 a year and a .com R350.00. The plain .na costs more, so check the registrar's price list.
What are the domain registration requirements in Namibia?
The registry does not publish them on its website, and the registrar sets what it asks for. Ask your registrar for the list before you pay.
Can I register a .na domain directly with the registry?
No. NA-NiC says applicants should use an accredited registrar.
Does ADA Web host my website?
Our sites are served from global hosting with a content delivery network, and where paid hosting is needed it is an outside cost listed in your scope. The account is recorded in your handover record.