What is the difference between a domain and web hosting?
Your domain is your address (yourbusiness.co.uk). Your hosting is the computer your website’s files actually live on. You need both for a website to work, and they are often bought from different companies.
Why the confusion?
Many companies sell both, bundle them together, and send one invoice, so it is easy to assume they are one thing. They are not. The domain is a yearly registration of a name. Hosting is renting space on a server that is switched on 24 hours a day, serving your site to anyone who visits.
Why it matters to you
- You can move one without the other. Unhappy with your host? Move the site and keep the domain. Your visitors never notice.
- They renew separately. A missed domain renewal takes your site AND email offline, even if the hosting is paid up.
- Ownership can differ. Some businesses own their domain but their site lives on a designer’s hosting, or the reverse. Know which is which for your setup.
A simple picture
Domain = the address on the front of the building. Hosting = the building. Website = everything inside the building. Email on your own domain is usually a separate room again, which is why it can live with a different provider entirely.
The takeaway
- Domain and hosting are separate products with separate renewals.
- You can change hosting and keep your domain.
- Know who holds each of yours; it decides who really controls your website.
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