Hosting
Hostinger in Egypt: why we host on it, and what to watch
This website runs on Hostinger. How paying from Egypt works, which server to pick, what the refund rules cover, and two things that caught us out.
You are reading this page on Hostinger. dark-media-agency.net runs on one of its shared plans, and when clients ask us where to host a company site, this is what we tell them, including the parts a sales page leaves out.
Dark Media is an official Hostinger partner. If you buy through us, Hostinger may pay us a commission. Your price stays the same, and we wrote this page the way we would write it without the partnership.
What runs on it
Our old website was WordPress. When we rebuilt it in custom PHP with a MariaDB database, we kept it on the same Hostinger account, behind Hostinger CDN, with PHP 8 picked in the control panel. Each release goes up as a zip through the File Manager, and any database changes run by themselves on the first visit after the upload.
Plenty of people think of Hostinger as a WordPress host. Our site shows that a light custom build runs comfortably on an ordinary plan.
Paying from Egypt
Hostinger has an Egyptian storefront that charges in Egyptian pounds, which helps a lot if your company card struggles with dollar payments. These are the methods it lists for Egypt:
| Method | Details |
|---|---|
| Cards | Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover and JCB, including prepaid cards |
| Wallets | PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay |
| Fawry | The local payment network, useful if your company has no card that works online |
Pick the currency carefully. It can’t be changed on an existing account, and paying in another currency means opening a second account with a different email.
Where your site will live
Hostinger has no data centre in the Middle East. For web hosting it lists Europe (France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the UK), Asia, the United States and Brazil. For visitors in Egypt we pick Europe, and the CDN serves images and files from points closer to them.
There is one exception. If a contract or a regulator says your data must stay inside Egypt, international shared hosting is the wrong product, and that conversation should happen before anyone buys a plan.
What we like, and what to watch
What we like
- The control panel is clear enough for an owner to renew, add an email address or check backups without calling us.
- The Egyptian storefront and Fawry make paying easy for companies without a dollar card.
- Free SSL, and a PHP version you choose per site.
- Live chat support around the clock.
- Thirty days to get a refund on hosting plans if it isn’t working for you.
What to watch
- Renewal costs more than the first term. Compare the full price of the term you are buying.
- The CDN holds on to old files. After an update, clear the CDN cache in the control panel, or visitors may keep seeing the old version for a while.
- The one-click WordPress login in the control panel can leave small auto-login files in the site folder, and we found some in our own account. Search for files named create_autologin and delete them.
- Shared plans have resource limits. A busy web app or a high-traffic store belongs on cloud hosting or a VPS.
- Domain renewals can’t be refunded, and most country-code domains can’t be refunded at all.
When we would pick something else
- Apps that need guaranteed resources, background workers or custom server software. Those need a VPS or a cloud plan, from Hostinger or another provider.
- Projects that are legally required to keep data in Egypt.
- Any setup where the agency owns the hosting account. We say that about every provider, and it applies to us too.
How we set it up for a client
- The account is yours. We open it with your company email, or you open it and invite us. Billing and ownership stay with you.
- Plan and term. The smallest plan that fits the site, picked after we have checked what the renewal will cost.
- Location and PHP. A European data centre, the PHP version the site was tested on, and the CDN switched on.
- Security basics. HTTPS on every page, private files blocked from the web, and leftovers such as auto-login files deleted.
- Email and backups. Business email on your domain if you need it, and one backup restored as a test.
- Search and analytics. Search Console, the sitemap and GA4 connected before launch.
Refunds, in plain words
| What you bought | Refund |
|---|---|
| Hosting plans (web, cloud, Agency, VPS), new or renewed | Within 30 days of the purchase |
| A new .com, .net or .org domain | Within 96 hours of registration |
| Domain renewals and completed transfers | Not refundable |
| Most country-code domains, such as .uk, .fr or .us | Not refundable |
| Anything paid in cryptocurrency | Not refundable |
Hostinger’s published refund policy has the final word, so read it before you buy anything you might cancel.
Questions we get
Can I pay for Hostinger in Egyptian pounds?
Yes. The Egyptian storefront charges in EGP and takes cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Fawry.
Which server location should I choose for Egypt?
Europe. There is no Middle East location, and Europe is the closest for visitors in Egypt.
Is Hostinger only for WordPress?
No. WordPress runs well on it, and so does custom code. The page you are reading is custom PHP.
Can Dark Media set it up and look after it for me?
Yes. We set it up in your company name, build or move the site, and stay on call after launch. The account and the billing stay with you.