Domain and Website Hosting, What’s the Difference?

Creating a website, well first you will need a domain and website hosting.  If you’re getting ready to build and launch your website, then you will certainly come across words like, Web Hosting and Domain Name. If you want to successfully build your website you need to understand the two, how they differ and how they function. The good news is, now you know they are two different things! Let’s dig a little deeper so we can get that website rolling.

What is a Domain Name?

Let’s start with understanding the domain name and its functionality. The domain name is your assigned address on the internet for your website. Once you have established your domain name, users can type that name into their URL search bar and land directly at your front doorstep, so to speak. The domain name will consist of your brand’s name and the domain extension. The domain extension looks something like, .com, .org, .net, even . life, .gove and with a few other possibilities depending on the country.

What is Web Hosting?

Web Hosting is where all of your files and data are stored. Your hosting provider ensures the website and all of its pages are running. If you would have a domain name without a hosting server then, when your client types in your domain name, well, they wouldn’t get anywhere except for a blank page, and maybe a confused-looking icon. This isn’t at all what we’re going for. 

What’s the final difference between domain and website hosting?

The domain name and the hosting server are co-dependent. One can’t really exist without the other. But, just because they are codependent, doesn’t mean they have the same function. To get started, you would need to secure your domain name with a domain registrar company, that’s the easy part. Then you would need to purchase a hosting plan that best suits your needs to link up with your purchased domain name, and that’s it! You can purchase a domain name and link it to a hosting plan here at HosteFi.