Domain name vs. website hosting

Many people, especially from the older generations, that want to launch an internet business or a simple website have no idea what the difference is between a domain and hosting. Often these two terms are thrown in the same basket, giving a false assumption that they mean the same thing. Web hosting and domains are actually two distinct concepts.

A website consists of a variety of components that all operate together to give the final product that you see on your browser. If you are considering launching an internet business or you want to have an online presence, it is crucial to understand what domain hosting is and how it works.

In this article, we will go over all the distinctions between web hosting and domains. You will get a basic idea of what these two concepts refer to and how they are connected. Furthermore, you can go to hostadvice to look at prices for both of these services.

Domain Name

Are you wondering if all websites require a domain name? The answer is Yes! If you are running an online business, you want customers to be able to access your site easily. Having a domain name will make this happen. 

A domain name is a web address that consists of the name of the website and an extension. Most domain names consist of two components that are separated by dots. The first part of the URL needs to be your brand, corporation, or business name, this part can contain letters and digits. The second section is the domain extension, such as.com,.org,.net,.com.UK, etc.

Website address

Each domain has a unique web address, which is also known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the website. This ensures that no one else anywhere in the world can use yours, making it 100% unique.

Registration of Domains

To acquire a domain name for your website, the first you will need to do is register it. A domain on the Internet is secured for a defined period of time through a domain registration. The license typically needs to be renewed once a year, but with different domain registration, you can purchase domains for up to ten years. Domain registrars are businesses or entities that organize and manage domain databases on the Internet.

How Do Domain Names Operate?

All domain names work on the same principle, there is a web hosting server and a domain name for every website. An IP address is connected to every domain. The Domain Name System’s worldwide server network is searched by the server when a user types the specific domain name into the browser. The IP address linked to that specific domain name will be looked up by the DNS servers, and the web browser will receive the IP address information from the server. The hosting server for the domain will then be contacted for all information about the website.

All information, including files, databases, and HTML code, is kept on the web server. Users can access the website once the hosting server provides the data to the internet browser.

Web Hosting

Knowing what web hosting is necessary for everyone that wants to have a website. Once you decide on a domain name and register it, the next step is to find a web hosting provider. The quality of the web hosting provider determines the quality of your website. A web hosting provider will allow you to use the space of their servers so that internet users around the world can visit your website remotely via a network.

Conclusion

Although domains and hosting are two distinct concepts, they are nevertheless closely intertwined. You can still try to manage a website even if you don’t have a domain or web hosting, provider. However, the website won’t be accessible to visitors worldwide. To build a good and functional website, you need to require both a domain and web hosting provider.