Web Hosting vs Domain Name: What's the Difference?

A domain name is your website's address, like yourbusiness.com. Web hosting is the server space where your website's files live. You need both for a working website, and they're often sold side by side, which is why people mix them up.

What a domain name is

A domain name is the human-friendly address people type into a browser. Computers on the internet find each other by IP address, a string of numbers. The Domain Name System (DNS) translates names into those numbers, so nobody has to memorize them.

When you register a domain, you aren't buying it outright. You're renting the right to use it for a set period, usually one year at a time, from a registrar. As long as you keep renewing, it stays yours. If you stop, it expires and, after a grace and redemption period, someone else can register it.

A domain has two parts you choose:

• The name: the part you pick, such as "yourbusiness".
• The extension: the ending, such as .com, .net, .org or a country code like .uk. Each extension has its own price and, for some country codes, its own eligibility rules.

A domain on its own doesn't show a website. It's an address with nothing at it until you point it somewhere.

What web hosting is

Web hosting is a computer, kept running and connected to the internet, that stores your site and sends it to visitors. When someone types your domain, their browser asks DNS where to go, DNS returns your hosting server's address, and the server sends back your pages, images and code.

A hosting plan typically gives you:

• disk space for your website files and databases
• a control panel to manage files, email and settings
• email accounts on your domain (on many plans)
• an SSL certificate so your site loads over https://
• backups, depending on the plan

Hosting comes in different types, from shared hosting, where many sites share one server, to virtual private servers and dedicated servers. For a first website, shared hosting is the usual starting point. You can see what our plans include on the web hosting page.

How a domain and hosting work together

Think of the domain as the address on an envelope and the hosting as the building it's delivered to. The address is useless without a building, and visitors can't find the building without an address.

Here's what happens when someone visits your site:

1. They type yourbusiness.com into their browser.
2. The browser asks DNS which server handles that domain.
3. DNS answers with your hosting server's IP address, based on the records you've set for the domain.
4. The browser connects to that server and asks for the page.
5. Your hosting server sends the page back, and the browser displays it.

Step 3 is the link between the two. You make it by setting your domain's nameservers to your host's nameservers, or by adding an A record that points at your hosting server's IP address. Our guide on how to point a domain to your hosting walks through both methods.

Web hosting vs domain registration: what you pay for

The two are billed separately, even when you buy them from the same company.

Domain registration is a yearly fee that depends on the extension. A .com costs a different amount from a .io or a country-code domain. The renewal price can also differ from the first-year price, so check both before you buy. You can compare current prices on our domain search page.

Web hosting is a monthly or yearly fee that depends on the plan. Plans differ in how many websites and email accounts they include, and in the extras that come with them, such as backups and malware protection.

Some hosts bundle a free domain for the first year with a hosting plan. That's a pricing choice, not a technical link. The domain still has its own renewal fee once the offer ends.

Do I need a domain and hosting?

For a website on your own address, yes, you need both. Some situations call for just one:

A domain without hosting makes sense if you:

• want to reserve a name for a future project or brand before someone else takes it
• want to forward the domain to an existing site or social profile
• only want email on your domain through a separate email service

Hosting without a domain is rare for a public site. You might use it briefly while you build and test a site before connecting a domain, or for a project that never needs a public address.

If you're starting from scratch, a common order is:

1. Search for a domain and register the one you want before it's gone.
2. Choose a hosting plan sized for the number of sites and email accounts you need.
3. Point the domain at the hosting.
4. Install your website, such as WordPress, and set up email.
5. Check that SSL is active, so the site loads over https://.

Should you buy both from the same company?

You don't have to. A domain registered with one company can point at hosting from another.

Keeping both in one place has practical advantages:

• one account and one set of invoices
• renewal dates in one dashboard, so neither one lapses by accident
• one support team to ask when the site doesn't load, without working out whose side the problem is on

Keeping them apart has its own advantages. If you ever change hosts, the domain stays where it is and you only update DNS. Some people prefer that separation.

If your domain is already registered elsewhere and you'd like it alongside your hosting, you can transfer it. A transfer to a new registrar usually adds a year to the registration.

Common mix-ups

"I bought a domain, so where's my website?" A registered domain doesn't come with a site. You still need hosting and a website built on it.

"My hosting is paid, but my site is down." If your domain expires, the site goes offline even though the hosting is still active. Visitors can't reach the server without a working address. Check both renewal dates.

"Can I move my website and keep my domain?" Yes. Your domain belongs to you, not to your host. When you move hosts, you copy the site to the new server and point the domain at it.

Next step

If you're ready to get started, search for your domain and see which extensions are available. When you've found one, our hosting plans list exactly how many sites and mailboxes each one includes. For more guides like this one, see the ResellerBytes blog.