Domain names vs web hosting: what is the difference?
Two separate things that work as a team. Here's what each one does, in plain English.
It's one of the questions we get asked most by new clients, and it's a fair one. A domain name and web hosting are two separate things, bought separately, that have to work together before anyone can see your website.
Your domain name is your address
Your domain name is what people type into their browser to find you, like slightlydifferent.co.nz. If your website were a shop, the domain name would be its street address. You register it for a year or more at a time, and you can keep it as long as you keep renewing it.
Computers use numbers, people use names
Every computer on the internet has an IP address, a string of numbers separated by dots. Computers are happy with numbers, but nobody wants to remember them. Domain names give those numbers a name people can actually use.
Hosting is where your website lives
Web hosting is the server your website sits on: all its pages, images and code. Back to the shop: if the domain name is the address, hosting is the building. When someone visits your site, the server sends those files to their browser so the page appears.
How they work together
The internet keeps a huge, constantly updated address book called DNS. Behind every domain name it records which server holds that website. When we ask for access to your domain, it's usually so we can point that entry at your hosting.
No domain name and people can't find you. No hosting and there's nothing there when they arrive. You need both:
- a domain name, so people can find you;
- hosting, so your site has somewhere to live;
- and a website, which is where we come in.
Keeping it simple
We host websites on our own New Zealand servers and can register or transfer your domain name, so all three sit with one local team. Still confused? Give us a ring. We'll explain it without the jargon.