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Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions about Salama Hosting services. If you can't find what you're looking for, contact our support team at support@salamahosting.com or visit our Contact Us page.

Getting Started

How do I create an account with Salama Hosting?

Visit my.salamahosting.com/auth/register, fill in your details, and verify your email address. Once registered, you can log in to your client portal and start ordering services.

What do I need to get started with a website?

You need two things: a domain name (your website address, e.g., yourbusiness.com) and a hosting plan (where your website files are stored). You can purchase both from Salama Hosting in a single order.

How long does it take to set up my hosting account?

Hosting accounts are typically set up instantly after payment confirmation. You'll receive an email with your control panel login details within minutes.

Do I need technical knowledge to use Salama Hosting?

No. Our control panels (cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin) are designed to be user-friendly with graphical interfaces. We also provide step-by-step guides in this knowledge base and offer support if you get stuck.

Domain Names

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the address people type in to visit your website, such as yourbusiness.com. It's your unique identity on the internet.

How do I register a domain with Salama Hosting?

Search for your preferred name on our website, add it to your cart, and complete the checkout process. Registration is typically instant after payment.

Can I register a domain without hosting?

Yes. You can register a domain only — hosting can be added later when you're ready to build your website.

How long does a domain registration last?

You can register a domain for 1, 2, or 3 years depending on the extension. Most popular extensions like .com, .net, and .org support multi-year registrations.

What happens when my domain expires?

Your website and email will stop working until you renew the domain. We send reminders before the expiry date — at 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, and 1 day before expiration. After expiry, there's typically a grace period of 30 days to renew at the normal rate, followed by a redemption period where additional fees may apply.

Can I transfer my existing domain to Salama Hosting?

Yes. Unlock your domain at your current registrar, obtain the EPP/Authorization code, and initiate the transfer from our client area. See our Domain Transfer Guide for detailed instructions.

Is there a fee to transfer a domain?

Yes. Domain transfers usually include one extra year of renewal as part of the process. The transfer fee varies by domain extension.

Do I own the domain after registration?

Yes. Once it's registered in your name, you are the legal owner (registrant) of that domain for the duration of your registration period.

How long does a domain transfer take?

Transfers typically take between 24 hours and 7 days, depending on the domain extension and how quickly your current registrar approves the transfer. .com, .net, and .org transfers usually complete within 5 days.

Can I change my domain name later?

No. Domain names cannot be renamed. You'll need to register a new domain if you want a different name. However, you can set up the old domain to redirect to your new one.

Does Salama Hosting offer free domains with hosting?

Yes. Selected annual hosting packages include a free domain for the first year. Check our hosting plans for details.

What is WHOIS privacy protection?

WHOIS privacy (also called ID Protection) hides your personal contact details (name, email, address, phone) from public WHOIS databases, protecting you from spam, solicitation, and identity theft.

Can I use my domain with another hosting provider?

Yes. You can point your domain's nameservers to any hosting provider you prefer. Your domain registration and hosting don't have to be with the same company.

What are nameservers?

Nameservers are DNS servers that connect your domain name to your hosting account, telling the internet where your website is located. When you host with Salama Hosting, you'll use our nameservers (provided in your welcome email).

How do I renew my domain?

Log in to your client area, go to Domains → My Domains, select the domain, and click Renew. Choose your renewal period and complete the payment.

What domain extensions (TLDs) do you offer?

We offer a wide range including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .ug, .co.ug, .or.ug, .ac.ug, .africa, .online, .store, .tech, .io, and many more. Search our website for availability.

Web Hosting

What is web hosting?

Web hosting is a service that stores your website files on our servers and makes them accessible on the internet. When someone types your domain name, our servers deliver your website to their browser.

Which control panels do you offer?

We provide three industry-leading control panels: cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin. Each offers a graphical interface for managing your hosting, files, databases, emails, and security.

What's the difference between cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin?

  • cPanel is the most widely used panel, best for traditional shared hosting with a feature-rich interface.
  • Plesk supports both Linux and Windows, has an excellent WordPress Toolkit, and offers a modern unified interface.
  • DirectAdmin is lightweight and fast, ideal for budget-conscious users and VPS environments.

Can I buy hosting without a domain?

Yes. You can purchase hosting and connect it to your existing domain at any time by updating your domain's nameservers.

What hosting durations do you offer?

You can subscribe for 1, 3, 6, 12, or 24 months — longer durations offer more savings with discounted rates.

Do you provide email accounts with hosting?

Yes. All hosting plans include free professional email accounts linked to your domain name (e.g., info@yourbusiness.com, sales@yourbusiness.com).

How do I access my hosting control panel?

After your hosting is set up, you'll receive an email with your control panel URL and login credentials. You can also access it from your client portal under Services → My Services.

Can I upgrade my hosting plan later?

Yes. You can upgrade at any time through your client area. The upgrade is prorated, meaning you only pay the difference for the remaining billing period. Upgrades typically take effect within minutes.

Can I downgrade my hosting plan?

Downgrades are handled on a case-by-case basis. Contact support to discuss your options — we'll ensure your websites and data remain intact during any plan change.

Do you provide SSL certificates?

Yes. All hosting plans include free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates for secure HTTPS browsing. We also offer premium SSL certificates (Sectigo, DigiCert) for businesses needing Organization Validation (OV) or Extended Validation (EV).

What type of websites can I host?

You can host personal websites, business sites, portfolios, blogs, e-commerce stores, forums, learning management systems, and more — built with WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PHP, HTML, Python, Node.js, or other supported technologies.

Do you offer backups?

Yes. We perform automatic daily and weekly backups of your hosting account. You can also create manual backups from your control panel at any time. We recommend keeping your own local backups as additional protection.

How do I restore a backup?

You can restore backups from your control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or DirectAdmin), or contact support for assistance with restoration. Backup restoration is free of charge.

Is my website secure on Salama Hosting?

Yes. Our servers include firewalls, malware scanning, DDoS protection, intrusion detection, and regular security patches. All plans also include free SSL certificates.

Can I migrate my website from another host?

Yes. We provide free migration assistance to help you move your website, databases, and emails to our servers with minimal downtime. Submit a migration request through your client portal or contact support.

What happens if I exceed my hosting resource limits?

You'll receive usage alerts via email, and we'll recommend an upgrade to ensure your website continues running smoothly. We don't immediately suspend accounts — we work with you to find the right solution.

Do you offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes. We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on new hosting purchases. If you're not satisfied, contact us within 7 days of your purchase for a full refund. Domain registration fees are non-refundable.

What is your uptime guarantee?

We maintain a 99.9% uptime guarantee across all hosting plans. If we fail to meet this SLA, you may be eligible for service credits.

VPS & Dedicated Servers

What is VPS hosting?

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting gives you a dedicated portion of a physical server with guaranteed resources (CPU, RAM, storage). It's more powerful than shared hosting and offers root access for full control.

When should I upgrade from shared to VPS hosting?

Consider upgrading when your website consistently experiences slow loading times, you need more storage or bandwidth, you require custom server configurations, or you're running resource-intensive applications.

Do I get root access with VPS hosting?

Yes. All VPS plans include full root/administrator access, giving you complete control over your server environment, software installations, and configurations.

What is a dedicated server?

A dedicated server is an entire physical server allocated exclusively to you. It offers the highest performance, complete control, and maximum security — ideal for high-traffic websites and enterprise applications.

Do you manage VPS and dedicated servers?

We offer both managed and unmanaged options. Managed plans include server monitoring, security patching, and technical support. Unmanaged plans give you full control with self-service management.

Email

How do I create an email account?

Log in to your hosting control panel, navigate to the Email section, and click Create Email Account. Enter the username and password, and your email is ready to use.

How do I access my email?

You can access your email in three ways: 1. Webmail — access through your browser at yourdomain.com/webmail or via the control panel 2. Email client — configure Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or any client using IMAP/POP3/SMTP 3. Mobile — set up on your phone using the built-in email app with your mail server settings

What is webmail?

Webmail lets you access your email through a web browser without installing any software. We provide Roundcube and other webmail clients with your hosting.

Why are my emails going to spam?

This can happen if your domain lacks proper email authentication records. Ensure your domain has SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records configured. Also, avoid sending bulk emails from your hosting account and make sure your IP is not blacklisted. See our Email Troubleshooting Guide for detailed steps.

Is there a limit on email accounts?

The number of email accounts depends on your hosting plan. Most plans allow unlimited email accounts. Check your plan details for specifics.

Can I set up email forwarding?

Yes. You can set up email forwarders from your control panel to forward messages from one address to another (e.g., forward info@yourdomain.com to your Gmail).

What is the email storage limit?

Email storage is part of your total hosting disk space allocation. You can set per-account quotas from your control panel.

WordPress

Do you offer WordPress hosting?

Yes. We offer Managed WordPress Hosting with pre-installed WordPress, automatic updates, enhanced security, and performance optimization. You can also install WordPress on any of our shared or VPS hosting plans.

How do I install WordPress?

You can install WordPress in minutes using the one-click installer (Softaculous or WordPress Toolkit) available in your control panel. See our WordPress Installation Guide.

Can I have multiple WordPress sites on one hosting account?

Yes, depending on your hosting plan. Plans that support add-on domains or multiple websites allow you to run several WordPress installations on a single account.

How do I update WordPress?

You can update WordPress, themes, and plugins from the WordPress Dashboard → Updates section, or use the WordPress Toolkit in Plesk/cPanel for one-click bulk updates.

My WordPress site is slow. What can I do?

Common solutions include: installing a caching plugin (e.g., LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache), optimizing images, using a CDN, reducing the number of active plugins, and choosing a lightweight theme. See our WordPress Troubleshooting Guide.

Security

How do I enable SSL on my website?

Free Let's Encrypt SSL is available on all hosting plans. In cPanel, go to SSL/TLS Status and click Run AutoSSL. In Plesk, enable SSL from the domain settings. See our SSL Guide.

How do I protect my website from hackers?

Follow our Security Best Practices guide: keep software updated, use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, install a firewall plugin, and monitor your site for malware.

What should I do if my website is hacked?

  1. Change all passwords immediately (hosting, FTP, database, WordPress admin).
  2. Scan for malware using your control panel's security tools.
  3. Restore from a clean backup.
  4. Contact support — we can help with malware removal and security hardening.

Do you offer DDoS protection?

Yes. All hosting plans include infrastructure-level DDoS protection to guard against distributed denial-of-service attacks.

Billing & Payments

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Visa/MasterCard, bank transfers, and PayPal (on request). See our Payment Methods guide for details.

How do I pay my invoice?

Log in to your client portal, go to Billing → My Invoices, select the unpaid invoice, choose your payment method, and complete the payment.

Do you offer 24/7 technical support?

Yes. Our team is available 24/7 via live chat, support tickets, and email. Phone support is available during business hours (Mon–Fri, 9AM–5PM EAT).

Can I get a refund?

Yes. We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on new hosting purchases. Domain registrations are non-refundable. See our Invoices Guide for the full refund policy.

How do I cancel a service?

Log in to your client portal, go to Services → My Services, select the service, and click Request Cancellation. Choose between immediate cancellation or cancellation at the end of the billing period.

Why was my service suspended?

Services are typically suspended for overdue payments. Check your invoices in the client portal and pay any outstanding balance. Your service will be reactivated automatically after payment. If you believe the suspension is in error, contact support.

Technical Questions

What PHP versions do you support?

We support PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3. You can switch PHP versions from your control panel at any time.

Do you support Node.js or Python?

Yes. VPS and dedicated server plans support Node.js, Python, Ruby, and other languages. Plesk also offers built-in Node.js support. On shared hosting, SSH access allows you to run many scripting languages.

Can I use SSH to access my hosting?

Yes. SSH access is available on all hosting plans. You can connect using your hosting credentials and the SSH port provided in your welcome email.

How do I set up a cron job?

In cPanel, go to Advanced → Cron Jobs. In Plesk, navigate to Scheduled Tasks. In DirectAdmin, go to Advanced Features → Cron Jobs. Set the schedule and command, and your task will run automatically.

What is my server's IP address?

You can find your server IP in the welcome email sent after account setup, or in your control panel's Server Information section.

How do I create a database?

In your control panel, go to the Databases section and click Create Database. Set a database name, create a user with a password, and assign the user to the database. See our MySQL Guide for detailed steps.

Troubleshooting

My website is showing a blank page. What should I do?

A blank page usually indicates a PHP error. Enable error display in your PHP settings, check your error logs in the control panel, and review recent changes to your code or plugins. See our Common Issues Guide.

I can't access my control panel. What should I do?

  • Verify you're using the correct URL (check your welcome email).
  • Ensure your IP isn't blocked — try accessing from a different network or contact support.
  • Clear your browser cache and cookies, then try again.
  • Reset your password from the client portal if you've forgotten it.

My website is loading slowly. How can I fix it?

  • Check your resource usage in the control panel — you may be hitting plan limits.
  • Optimize images and enable browser caching.
  • Use a caching plugin if you're on WordPress.
  • Check for poorly coded plugins or themes consuming excessive resources.
  • Consider upgrading to a higher plan or VPS if you've outgrown shared hosting.

I'm getting a "500 Internal Server Error." What does it mean?

This usually indicates a server-side configuration issue. Common causes include: corrupted .htaccess file, PHP version incompatibility, exceeded memory limits, or file permission errors. Check your error logs for specific details. See our HTTP Error Codes Guide.

Still Have Questions?

If your question isn't answered here, we're happy to help:

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