Website Hosting vs. Domain Hosting

We’re often asked what the difference is between website hosting and domain hosting. While they are both important parts of having a website, they serve different purposes.

What Is a Domain Name?

Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet.

For example:

• cleverogre.com
• github.net
• irs.gov

We like to think of the domain name as similar to the street address of your home. It’s not the actual dwelling you occupy; it’s a label that helps others find you. When you pay to register your domain name with a registrar service like GoDaddy, you’re making sure that your address is published for anyone browsing the internet to visit.

The registrar will record information about you as the owner, and the name can then be “pointed” at the server that hosts your website files.

What Is Website Hosting?

Building on the analogy above, website hosting is like the house your website lives in. The hosting service saves your website files, such as the software, text, images, and documents on your site, and sends them to visitors when they type in your address.

So What Do I Need to Do?

1. Purchase and/or Renew Your Domain

First and foremost, you should research what domains are available and purchase the best one for your organization as soon as you can. We’ve talked with many clients over the years who either ended up with a less-than-ideal domain name because the one they wanted was taken, or they ended up paying an exorbitant price for the exact domain they wanted from a domain broker.

Likewise, we’ve seen many cases of organizations that neglected to renew their domain for one reason or another. This allows other parties to purchase it, and they can put it back up for sale at whatever price they see fit.

One last warning: make sure YOU own your domain name! One of the most frustrating scenarios we see our clients go through is trying to track down a former employee who originally purchased the domain under their own account rather than under the organization’s account. Even worse, we’ve seen unscrupulous web designers hold a domain hostage when they are unhappy that a client is moving on to another provider. Making sure your domain registration account is set up with the organization’s details can help avoid all of these problems.

2. Point Your Domain or Provide Delegate Access

Once you own your domain and your website files are ready to go, the domain settings need to be adjusted so it points to your website hosting server. Most domain hosting services provide directions on how to do this, but it can be daunting for a first timer. In these cases, we’re happy to make the changes for our website hosting clients; let us know, and we’ll send you instructions for providing us with delegate access.

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What Should Hosting Include?

Now that we’ve covered the difference between domain hosting and website hosting, what should you look for when comparing the many available options?

We’re proud to offer reliable, secure website hosting plans for our clients that meet these criteria and more. If you have more questions or would like to discuss your project with us, drop us a line!