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What Is The Difference Between A Domain And A Host

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What Is Host And Domain Name

The Difference Between Hosting, Domains and Websites

To summarize, a hostname is a Fully Qualified Domain Name that uniquely and absolutely names a computer. It is composed of the host name and the domain name. The domain name in turn is one or more domain labels that place the computer in the DNS naming hierarchy.

Herein, what is a domain and what is a host?

When setting up your first website it’s not uncommon to get confused between domain name registration and web hosting. Your domain name is the name of your site or your url and can be purchased by going to a domain name registrar. These can be hosted at a hosting company.

What does a host do for a website?

A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed in the Internet. Websites are hosted, or stored, on special computers called servers. If you do not have a domain, the hosting companies will help you purchase one.

What is the difference between a server and a domain?

Domain is the unique name of your website such as something.tld. The server or usually called as web server is an actual place where your website files are hosted. They are identified by IP addresses.

Best Domain Name Registrars

As with the website hosting, there are a number of options for domain names as well. Domain name registration isnt something to take lightly either.

When it comes to a high quality Domain Name Registrar, you cant go wrong with NameCheap.

NameCheap provides domain names at highly affordable pricec, with a .com domain available for just $8.88/yr. It is also backed by a bunch of helpful features like personal data privacy and 24/7 dedicated support.

For alternatives to NameCheap, here are some of the standout options.

For more options, you can take a look at our article on the Best Domain Name Registrars.

How Do You Buy A Web Hosting

Web hosting is one of the prerequisites to building a website. When you are buying a hosting plan, you need to begin by identifying your business needs before you select the best web hosting plan for yourself. The following are the steps to follow when you are buying a web hosting plan:

Acquire a Domain Name Before you buy any hosting plan, you should have acquired a domain name first. The majority of the web hosting companies offer a choice to buy a domain name along with the web hosting plan. Like illustrated below, the Bluehost web hosting company offers you the opportunity to buy a domain as you buy a web hosting plan:

You can also use the domain that you have already registered in another domain registration company like GoDaddy. The slot on the right side on the image above is used for users who have already registered domains from other domain registrars.

Best Web Hosting Companies

The first step in buying web hosting is to select the company that will offer you the web hosting service. It is cumbersome to transfer from one web host to another and you should, therefore, choose the hosting company carefully.

Select a Web Hosting Company- There are several web hosting companies that you can choose to buy web hosting from. One important consideration when choosing a web host is the customer support. Good web hosting companies should offer you a round the clock customer support. Here is a list of some of the best web hosting companies:

Choosing the Best Web Hosting Plan

Don’t Miss: Transfer Godaddy Domain To Squarespace

Choosing A Website Builder

There are many website builders to choose from. Heres a handful that also include web hosting and will be the easiest to connect to a Hover domain name:

22Slides 22Slides is a light-weight portfolio builder for photographers that makes it easy to make a website, sell prints, or deliver files to clients. Its lack of complexity and personal customer support make 22Slides a great option for those looking to keep things simple.

Big Cartel Big Cartel helps makers, designers, musicians, and other artists build a unique online store and run a creative business.

Carbonmade Carbonmade helps you create and manage an online portfolio website. Show off your best design, illustration, photography, and other types of creative work.

Duda Duda is a responsive website builder that allows small and medium-size businesses and the web professionals to build beautiful websites quickly.

Dunked Build a professional online portfolio. The perfect tool for photographers, artists, designers and those who like to create.

Format Format makes it easy to build your professional portfolio website without learning to code. Tens of thousands of photographers, designers, artists and illustrators use Format to beautifully showcase their work online, attract clients and grow their career.

Jimdo Create a free website in minutes with the Jimdo website builder! Add text, galleries, videos, even create an online store.

Zibbet Beautiful websites for artists, crafters & vintage collectors.

Difference Between Registering Domain And Hosting Domain

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To a web developer, tasks like registering domains and domain hosting are self-explanatory. However, if youve never set up a website before, not understanding the difference between these concepts can make it harder to get started.

There are a number of steps to setting up a fully functioning WordPress website and getting it running. Understanding those steps and what they entail can make your life as a website owner simpler. For example, you might not know that you can register a domain without having a website to go along with it yet. You can also find web hosting and create a fully working website before you ever register your domain.

In this article, well go over the difference between registering URLs and hosting a website, and explain how both aspects affect your site. Lets get started!

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How A Domain Name And Web Hosting Work Together

Your web hosting server has its own IP address for the exact location of your websites files.

So, rather than expecting people to remember this odd combination of numbers and periods, we use domain names that point to that location, instead. When someone visits your domain, theyre actually redirected to your servers IP address.

And after that redirect happens , users are able to see your website on their device.

How To Find The Best Web Hosting Provider To Partner With

While there are several web host providers, not everyone is equal.

Each has its advantages and shortcomings, which makes them unique to each other. When it comes to making the right choice, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do they guarantee at least 99% uptime?
  • What is their market reputation, and what do past and current customers have to say about them?
  • Do they have testimonials? If yes, are they negative or positive?
  • Do they offer 24/7 support with trained and efficient personnel?
  • What kind of freebies do they offer you?
  • What are the security considerations in backup services provided?

Think of the above questions as the guidelines to choose the best web hosting provider.

Having created multiple high-traffic websites in my career, I highly recommend Bluehost. With an excellent uptime guarantee of 99.98%, fantastic 24/7 customer support, varied and affordable hosting plans, and tons of useful freebies, this is a great choice, no doubt.

Nevertheless, there are other reliable hosting providers worth giving a shot as well.

Read Also: How To Figure Out Who Owns A Domain

What Is Domain Hosting

As the name suggests, domain hosting refers to services that host domain names for your website. They sell domains and register them to an owner for a specific subscription fee. It is very different from a web host, where you can purchase both a domain and a web hosting account from the same place.

When you buy a domain from a domain name registrar, the registrar will be your domain host. This means every domain-related requirement is taken care of by the registrar, such as managing IP addresses in the DNS records.

Can I Move My Domain Name To A Different Company

Domain vs. Website: Whats the Difference?

Yes, you can. In most cases, generally, when you register the domain name, you own the right to use it and transfer it anywhere you want. For example, let us assume that you purchased your domain name from Bluehost and bought your hosting from Greengeeks.

Now, whenever you want to move your domain name to Greengeeks, you can easily do that as all the hosting provider gives the facility and detailed step-by-step instructions to move your domain name.

Read Also: How Much To Get A Domain Name

Web Hosting Vs Domain Explained

The difference when it comes to buying a web hosting vs a domain name is straightforward. Web hosting is the storage location where you will keep all your website content and the domain name is just the address to access those files.

Most of the time, beginners get confused with the definitions of both these terms, and they dont know their primary purpose. They always come together as a package to publish a website, even though they are entirely different things. Just to get a clearer idea of what is the difference of a domain versus web hosting, you should try to imagine the process as a house, where the main building is the web server where all the files are stored, and the address is your domains name.

Before you can start working on your new website, your first step should be choosing a name and registering it with a domain registrar company. Just like the previous example with the house, first, you need to buy the property, then build your house . Most domain registrars offer domains for a minimum period of 1 year, and you have to renew before it expires.

On the other hand, web hosting is responsible for connecting your URL address with the files on your server. Most companies offer both services as a package, but you can buy them separately from different companies if you want.

Lets go into details about both services to better understand the what the differences between domain names and web hosting are.

Well Then Whats A Dns Host

Once youve purchased your domain name, you have to tell it which domain name servers will be authoritative for that domain. A DNS hosting provider hosts these servers, which authoritatively respond for your domain. Sometimes domain registrars also offer DNS hosting, however the two services should never be confused.

Recommended Reading: Wix Unlock Domain

How Does Web Hosting Work

Usually, a web hosting company do more than just storing your website. Here are some value-added services and features to expect from your hosting provider:

  • Domain registration So you can buy and manage domain and hosting from the same provider
  • Website builder Drag-and-drop web editing tool to create a website
  • Email hosting To send and receive emails from
  • Basic hardware and software support

Tip: You can use our web host recommendation widget to find a suitable web host. Alternatively, use our free tool on the homepage to see what web host a particular site is running on.

You Own Your Domain Name But You Cant Own A Web Host

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Since a domain name is something you create, it follows that you own it. Again, domain names are unique, so you want to make sure you come up with something as original as possible.

As a business owner, you can use this as a branding opportunity. You can create your domain based on your business brand name. Thisll also lend more power to your marketing campaigns, like search engine optimisation.

A web host isnt something you can own unless you start your own hosting company. In that case, youd need supercomputers and an endless supply of storage equipment.

The bottom line is, you work with a web host as one of their clients. Theyll provide you with the storage you need for your site and its contents. So long as you choose a reliable hosting service, you can expect your site to be up and running 99.99% of the time.

Recommended Reading: Godaddy To Squarespace

What Is Domain Registration

A website is a collection of web pages. To make a web page available to the user, the website owner should register a domain name. This name helps to identify the website uniquely out of other websites. An individual or an organization can register and obtain a domain name from a domain registrar. It is an organization that manages and reserves domain names.

Figure 1: Domain Registration

Domain names are affordable. The user can renew them every year or every few years. Anyone can purchase a new domain name for their website or blog. After purchasing the domain name, it belongs to that registered user for a certain period of time. After that period is over, the user can renew it again. If the user does not renew, that domain name can be available to some other user.

Can I Move My Website To Hostinger

Yes. All you need to do is transfer and move your website files directly to Hostingers server through an FTP client or the File Manager of your hosting control panel.

If your website uses a MySQL database, there are several steps you need to take:

  • Export your database and create a backup.
  • Create a new MySQL database through Hostingers hPanel.
  • Import your database backup to our server.
  • Lastly, update the configuration files as well as the MySQL database details.
  • Another option is to use an FTP client like FileZilla. If you need more information on how to connect and configure FileZilla, check our guide.

    However, if you have no technical background and are not sure how to do the steps above, Hostingers support team will take care of that for you.

    and cloud hosting users can reach out to our customer success team, and theyll guide you through the process.

    Recommended Reading: What Is Io Domain Used For

    First Things First: How The Internet Works

    Before fully understanding domain names, its first important to know what exactly a website is and the way the Internet we all use actually works.

    Essentially, a website is simply a group of files that you store on a chosen web server. This web server, or host, then hosts your site and makes it visible to the public.

    A domain name is the actual address to where those website files are stored.

    The Internet as we know it is really just a huge network of computers and servers that are all connected. In order for each of these computers to be uniquely distinguished, every one gets identified with an IP address.

    Google Support documentation describes an IP address much like the way we put return addresses on physical pieces of mail.

    All activity from every computer on the Internet gets signed with that computers particular IP address. An IP address will look something like this:

    182.81.648.1

    Now, if you needed to give that string of numbers to someone in order to find your website, how effective do you think that would be?

    And thats exactly where we come to domain names.

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