The plain-English website guide.

01What a domain actually is

Your domain is your address on the internet — like yourbusiness.co.za. It is what people type, and what goes on your card, your van and your Google listing. You rent it, you do not buy it outright; a .co.za renews once a year.

Webvault SA registers and manages your domain for you, so you never deal with registrars or technical settings. It is registered for your business, and you are always entitled to it. If you ever leave, it transfers to you or your new provider within 14 days of a written request, once your account is settled. Your website, your name, no lock-in.

02Hosting and SSL, without the mystery

Hosting is the space where your website files live so anyone can reach them, day or night. SSL is the padlock in the browser bar — it encrypts the connection so the little "Not secure" warning never scares your customers off. Both are included in your build for the first year and in every Care Plan after that.

You do not manage any of it. No servers, no renewals to forget, no surprise "your site is down" on a Saturday. That is the point of having someone look after it.

03What makes a website fast

Most local-business websites are slow because they are built on heavy templates stuffed with plugins. A slow site loses customers before the first photo even loads — and Google quietly pushes it down the rankings.

• Clean, lightweight code instead of bloated page-builders.
• Properly sized images so a photo of your shopfront is not a 6 MB download.
• Mobile-first design, because most of your customers are on a phone, often on data.
• A fast host with the basics done right.

04POPIA and your contact forms

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) governs how South African businesses collect and store people's details. The moment your website has a contact form or a subscribe button, you are collecting personal information — so it has to be done properly.

• A clear privacy notice explaining what you collect and why.
• Consent on your marketing subscribe form — people opt in, they are not added without asking.
• An easy way for people to unsubscribe or ask you to delete their details.

Every Webvault SA build includes a POPIA privacy notice and a consent-based subscribe form as standard, so you are covered from day one.

05Buy a theme, or go custom?

There is no wrong answer — it depends on your time, budget and how distinctive you need to look.

06Why a Care Plan makes sense

A website is not a once-off; it needs to stay online, secure and current. On your own, your "digital rent" is the domain renewal plus optional business email, and every change is billed by the hour. A Care Plan bundles hosting, your domain renewal, security, monitoring, backups and a set number of monthly updates into one predictable fee.

• Care Lite — R400/month: the essentials covered, one update a month.
• Care — R550/month: three updates, small fixes, monthly reports. The popular choice.
• Care Plus — R750/month: six updates, light SEO, visitor stats, same-day support.

Unused updates do not roll over, and you can cancel any time with one calendar month's written notice.

07What it really costs

Builds start at R2,500 for a sharp single page and run to R12,000+ for a full multi-page site. Every build includes your domain, hosting and SSL for the first year. You see a free mockup proposal first, pay a 50% deposit to start, and the balance on launch.

After year one, your ongoing costs are simply the domain renewal (R150/year) and optional business email (R80 per user per month) — or you let a Care Plan cover all of it. No hidden fees, and every quote is confirmed in writing before any work begins.