Domain vs Web Hosting Differences

To run a website you need a domain name and a web hosting. But, what are they? Are they different or the same? Where can you get one for your site? How exactly do they work? This guide answers all your questions related to domain name and web hosting. Read this Domain vs Web Hosting differences guide to know everything a beginner needs to know.

What is Web Hosting?

A web hosting is like a special internet connected computer for your site, also known as a server that keeps your site. To make it simple for you to comprehend, consider a web hosting server as a house for your site that contains your furniture, knick-knicks, instead of course it’s has  files and data (like HTML, documents, images, videos, etc) of your site. Of course, when we say web hosting, we are not talking about a physical server, but the company that provides those services.

A company that offers you the services like backup, disaster recoveries, maintenance, root configuration, etc, and operates many different servers and rents them out to individual websites so they can store their websites files and make it accessible to the end-users or targeted audience over the internet. A web hosting typically stores digital files of your websites, but it is not limited to just that. It can also offer additional services like email hosting, website builders, domain name registration etc. This guide will further explain the working of WordPress hosting providers in detail.

What is Domain name?

A domain is the unique name given to your website. A domain name is mandatory before setting up the site. There are domain registrars, where you register a domain name for your site. They ensure that your domain name is unique and is not being used already. In simpler terms, if you think of your site as a home, your audience would use your domain name as the address to reach out. Domain name is basically a string of characters assigned to your site that works as an identity and address for your site. Remembering a domain name is easy, for instance if you want to reach our site, you can simply type: www.templatetoaster.com.

While choosing a domain name, your objective should be keeping it as simple as possible for people to find and remember your site. The working of domain names is further explained in this guide what is domain name and how it works.

Why Domain and Web hosting are related but separate?

Domain and web hosting are often confused as one service, mainly because most companies offer domain name registration and web hosting as well. However, they are very different from one another. Domain name is basically the unique name of your site whereas web hosting is the space that contains every digital resource like files, data, HTML, images, videos, etc to run your site. Nonetheless, they are both different but they work together for your site. Domain name acts as the address to your site, which helps your audience to reach your services and products. On the other hand, web hosting is basically storing the website’s files that your audience is looking for. However, you should always keep your domain and web hosting separate for following reasons:

• Better security against hacking attempts as if they are both from the same provider than the malicious attacker can compromise both your domain and web files as well.
• Web hosting  companies offer your domain name and hosting for a limited time and in case you don’t renew your plan you can lose both your domain name and hosting.

 Why we need Domain ?

As mentioned before, domain name works as an address for your site. Nonetheless, computers are connected to one another through IP addresses via the internet. An IP address is basically a combination of numbers with dots. A typical IP address looks something like this: 196.44.22.001

Then why domain names? Simple because humans won’t be able to remember IP addresses to every site and the internet would become quite complex to use if it included only numbers as website addresses. Therefore, domain names were introduced. They need to be unique just like your physical residence address, so that your parcel doesn’t land somewhere else because the address was the same. Therefore, there are domain registrars, which allocates you an available unique domain name and ensures that no other website has the same domain name as you.

Why we need Web Hosting?

To understand the working of web hosting, understand these two points-

• It is a server computer which is connected to the internet 24/7/365
• Secondly it’s customized to store and serve websites files.

Consider a web hosting server as a computer that stores all your files and data and keeps it accessible to your users 24×7. Your website is basically just a combination of files, source code, images, videos, text, etc, under the hood. Therefore,  it needs a place where it can be kept safely. Web hosting services offer you that space on a rental basis and offer other add-on services like creating backups, security checks, root configuration, etc, automatically, without your intervention.

How do Domain and Web Hosting work together?

To set up your site you need to get your domain registered. You can either do it separately or with your web hosting provider (you might get domain name free with long duration hosting plans). Register your domain on Bluehost, GoDaddy etc. No matter which domain registrar you pick, after your domain is connected to your site, visitors of your site will see your web content hosted by your web hosting provider. In case if you use multiple domains, you can still host them all on your web hosting as all domains will forward to a single primary domain.

What are some different types of Domain?

A domain name type is usually defined by the last segment of a domain name that follows the dot. They are basically known as TLD, an abbreviation for Top Level Domains, also called domain suffixes. There are four  main types of TLDs, as explained below-

• gTLD (generic TLD like .com, .org, .gov, .mil, .org, .edu etc)
• ccTLD (Country-code TLD, like .us, .ca, .au, .in, etc)
• sTLD (Sponsored TLD)
• iTLD (Infrastructure TLD)

What are some different types of Web Hosting?

There are four  main types of web hosting, as explained below-

• Shared web hosting is suitable for individual websites, basic blogging, or entry-level sites. It cuts down hosting costs dramatically as essentially you’re sharing server space with a bunch of other websites as well.
• VPS web hosting is suitable for users who need more than shared hosting but can’t afford a dedicated server. Therefore, VPS hosting uses the concept of virtualization to pull from multiple servers to create a virtual dedicated server.
• Cloud hosting is suitable for users, who need high performance, solid uptime and scalable hosting. This is a new style of hosting, where cloud server clusters offer incredibly reliable, flexible, and cost-effective hosting services.
• Dedicated server hosting is suitable for well-established websites with high traffic that require strong security and server control. Basically, you rent an entirely dedicated server that can be customized specifically for your site.
• WordPress hosting, just like the name suggests, is a web hosting suitable for WordPress sites. This hosting type offers a  server that is completely setup to help you get the most from WordPress.

What are some famous domain companies?

Do you have an interesting and unique name for your website? Here are some recommended domain registrars for your site-

1. GoDaddy is the most popular domain registrar out there, which also offers major types of web hosting related services, and a website builder. They are quite budget friendly and have plans for just about every user.
2. Bluehost is the most recommended web hosting and domain registrar. It offers highly optimized plans within affordable pricing. Moreover, you can get free domain for a year with long duration web hosting plans.

What are some famous Web Hosting services?

If you want a reliable hosting service at a discounted price, it’s better you commit to a reputable hosting firm for a year or long. Here are some reputed hosting providers we recommend-

1. Bluehost is a well-established and most popular web hosting in the market. It is one of the top recommended WordPress providers by WordPress.org for a hassle-free WordPress installation. It offers a reliable uptime, great performance, 24/7 support, frequent backups, and so much more in an affordable pricing structure.
2. SiteGround is another popular web hosting with exceptional customer support. They offer stable uptime, satisfactory load times, daily backups, SSH access, SSL, email account, and so much more.

Are there free domain and web hosting?

Yes, there are free domain and web hosting. For instance Bluehost offers a free web hosting version, which offers unmetered bandwidth and other limited web  services that are enough to run an entry-level website. However, if you choose a free hosting plan then you need to pay for domain registration. Nonetheless, if you subscribe to any of the Bluehost packages, you get a free domain name for a year. Similarly other companies like Hostgator, SiteGround also offer a free domain name for a year with their annual package. However, they don’t offer any free web hosting version like Bluehost. After getting Domain name and hosting you can create your own website. You can also move your WordPress to new host. you can check out difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

What are some pros and cons in Domain vs Web Hosting?

Pros

• Highly convenient and simpler
• Satisfactory speed, security, and maintenance
• Unified support for a single, proprietary product.

Cons

• More expensive over long-term
• Hard to set up and troubleshoot

Pros

• No additional configuration required
• Special credits and discounts
• Convenient and simplicity
• Satisfactory performance and uptime guarantee

Cons

• Some providers charge migration fee
• Renewals can be expensive

Domain vs Web Hosting differences

Domain vs Web Hosting – In Conclusion

In conclusion, a domain name and Web hosting, they both are two different things, still they need to work for your site. Whether you want to purchase your domain name and hosting together or separate, the decision is yours. We hope this article proves to be helpful to you and clears things up a bit. Please comment below to let us know your thoughts!