Domain vs Hosting: What's the Difference?
One of the most common questions beginners ask is the difference between a domain name and web hosting. While they work together to get your website online, they are fundamentally different services.
📖 6 min read
The Simple Analogy
Think of your website like a physical store:
- Domain Name = Address: Just like a street address tells people where
your store is located, a domain name tells browsers where to find your website. Example:
example.com. - Web Hosting = Building: The physical space where your store operates—its walls, shelves, and inventory. Web hosting is the server space where your website's files, images, and databases are stored.
You need both to have a functioning website. A domain without hosting is just an address with no building. Hosting without a domain is a building with no way for customers to find it (except by IP address, which is impractical).
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a human-readable address
used to access websites. Instead of remembering an IP address like 192.168.1.1,
you type google.com. Domain names are registered through domain registrars and renewed annually.
Domain names consist of two parts: the name (e.g., "example") and the extension or TLD (e.g., .com). There are hundreds of TLDs available, including country codes like .de and new gTLDs like .io.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is a service that stores your website's files on a server connected to the internet 24/7. When someone types your domain name into their browser, the hosting server delivers your website's content to them.
Types of web hosting include:
- Shared Hosting: Your site shares a server with many others. Affordable but less powerful.
- VPS (Virtual Private Server): A virtualized private environment on a shared server. More resources and control.
- Dedicated Hosting: An entire server dedicated to your site. Maximum performance and control.
- Cloud Hosting: Your site is hosted across a network of servers for high availability and scalability.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: Hosting optimized specifically for WordPress sites.
How Do They Work Together?
When a visitor enters your domain name in their browser:
- The browser queries the DNS (Domain Name System) to find the IP address associated with your domain.
- DNS returns the IP address of your hosting server.
- The browser connects to the hosting server and requests the website files.
- The hosting server sends the files (HTML, CSS, images) back to the browser.
- The browser renders the website for the visitor.
This entire process happens in milliseconds. The "connection" between domain and hosting is made by pointing your domain's nameservers or A records to your hosting provider's servers.
Should You Buy Them Together or Separately?
Many companies offer domain registration and hosting as a bundle. While convenient, there are pros and cons to consider:
Buying Together
- Simpler setup and management
- One bill, one support team
- Often includes free domain for first year
Buying Separately
- More flexibility to switch hosts
- Specialized registrars may offer better domain management
- Clear separation of services
Our recommendation: Keep your domain and hosting separate. This gives you the freedom to change hosts without complex domain transfer procedures. Use a dedicated registrar (like Cloudflare, Namecheap, or Porkbun) for domains and a quality host for hosting.
Cost Comparison
| Service | Typical Cost | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Domain (.com) | $10 – $15/year | Annual |
| Shared Hosting | $3 – $10/month | Monthly/Annual |
| VPS Hosting | $20 – $100/month | Monthly |