[FAQ]

Hi, good day.

I’m planning to make my first website for a school project. I’m looking at different guides, and they all say I need a “domain name” and “web hosting.” I’m getting confused because many companies sell them together in one package.

Are they the same thing? From my understanding, the domain is the address, like mywebsite.com, but what is the hosting then? Is it the company that sells the domain? I’m trying to budget for my project, so I want to understand what I’m actually paying for with each one.

I hope you can explain it in a simple way. Thank you!

[Jeff Bullas]

It’s a common point of confusion, but getting this distinction right is the first step in building a website.

Short Answer: Your domain name is the address of your website, like a street address, while web hosting is the actual house where all your website’s content files are stored.

You need both for a website to work: an address for people to find you and a physical place for your site to live.

Let’s break down the analogy. First, the domain name is the unique, human-friendly text like yourwebsite.com that you register and rent on a yearly basis; it’s what people type into their browser to find you. Second, web hosting is the service you pay for, usually monthly, that provides the physical storage space on a server for all your website’s content, including your text, image, and video files. Finally, you connect them by pointing your domain name’s settings to your web hosting provider’s server, which is like telling the post office where your new house is located. A crucial piece of advice is to always register the domain name in your own name to ensure you maintain full ownership of your address, regardless of who hosts or builds your site.

Cheers,
Jeff

[Author]

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