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Johannesburg - Internet search giant Google is shutting down its free website builder service Woza Online and Fin24 readers have reacted to the development.
On Monday, Fin24 reported that Woza Online is shutting down on February 28 2015 after it was launched in January 2012.
Woza Online - which provided free hosting and sub-domain internet names for small and medium sized businesses - notched up over 40 000 sites in South Africa.
Fin24 on Monday spoke to two Woza Online users who said they have already made alternative plans for their websites.
But other readers, such as Terry Ann Kalinko, have emailed Fin24 to tell of their disappointment regarding the Woza Online closure.
“Yes, I am affected by Woza Online closure, and basically have to start the arduous task of building a website again, as their alternatives are not solutions at all,” Kalinko said in an email to Fin24.
“We had a beautiful website, and the least such reputable companies could have done, was to facilitate a total substitute site with no work or cost involved.
“I think it is absurd that they can get away with it,” Kalinko said.
Another Fin24 reader, André Kriel, said he feels like he’s wasted time on using Woza Online after finding out that the service is shutting down.
“Many hours spend on this and now just gone; what a farce,” Kriel told Fin24.
Fin24 reader Andrew Johnson is unhappy about the alternatives on offer from Google regarding the imminent closure of Woza Online.
“I have tried to follow up on their new offers which are essentially selling you a platform from which you have to reconstruct the site.
“Pretty cheeky,” Johnson said.
Fin24 reached out to Google for comment, but the company has not yet responded.
