A website can be defined as the combination of related web pages, as well as multimedia content, with a mutual domain name, published on a single web server. A website is one of the essential tools used by various brands and individuals for the promotion and expansion of their businesses. Most people lack the basic understanding of how a website works and usually misunderstand its terminologies. In this article, the differences that exist among a website, domain, and web hosting will be thoroughly discussed.
The popular terms, web hosting and domain name can be confusing to beginners, but there is a need to possess web hosting and domain name to have your website. The first step is to explain the meaning of domain name and web hosting to offer an in-depth analysis of the topic. A domain name is the website’s address on the internet. Examples of domain names are Facebook.com, Google.com, and Microsoft.com. Your domain name is the name that your web visitors type into their web browsers to gain access to your site. When you want to create a website, the first step is to buy a domain name and web hosting simultaneously. Registration of a domain name offers you the opportunity to make use of the name for a year, and there is a need for you to renew your domain registration as much as you are still using the domain name. The price of a typical domain with “.COM” TLD is about $14.50/yr. You check out our domain page to search for domain pricing and availability.
Let us move to the topic of web hosting. Web hosting is the place where individuals who own websites preserve and save the files and contents of their websites. When web visitors want to gain access to your website by typing your domain name, they will be directed to the data saved on your web hosting server. Web hosting is a term used for a firm that offers its servers for the hosting of your website and provides you with the internet connectivity to make sure your site is available online every hour of the day. Hosting your website should cost around $9.99 per month depending on your choice of web hosting provider. you can also see our hosting page to learn more about different types of hosting and their pricing
Choosing a WordPress hosting service is a smart idea if your website is a WordPress website. However, the expenses of shared and WordPress hosting are almost the same.
Web hosting and a domain name are closely related as a simple description for these terms are that a domain name is the house address, while the web hosting is the main house that bears the address. A domain name can be also be likened to an address forwarding service because as web visitors type the website address of their choice, the domain name leads to the IP address that hosts your website. However, there are various categories of web hosting you can choose from. Examples are dedicated server, VPS, shared hosting, WordPress hosting. As a beginner, it is advisable to select the shared hosting or WordPress hosting as these plans are the best packages for bloggers and website owners when we consider the costs and other valuable factors.
Choosing a WordPress hosting service is a smart idea if your website is a WordPress website. However, the expenses of shared and WordPress hosting are almost the same. It is critical to know that the WordPress hosting has a WordPress pre-installed on your hosting account, and this is an added advantage because there is no need to install WordPress on your web hosting account manually.
Purchase of Domain Name & Hosting
As you are aware, the first step of creating a website or blog is by buying a domain name and web hosting. The expenses of purchasing web hosting and domain name can set your purse back a few dollars, but some providers offer discounts especially when you are purchasing domain names and hosting your website with them. Examples of providers that provide domain name and web hosting services are as follows: ZAB Design, Hostgator, LiquidWeb, etc.
Your website files must be uploaded to a server provided by a domain name registrar to enable your website appears on the internet. The hosting service is provided by a hosting company that charges you a monthly or annual rate based on the choice of your server, bandwidth, and space you want to purchase. You decide to purchase your domain name and the hosting from the same provider to avoid complications. If you have obtained your domain name from other providers, zab design offers domains transfer service where your existing registration length is honored and an additional year is automatically added once you transfer your domain.
In the case where you have already bought a domain name from a service provider, and choose to host the website in another place; you may need to login to your domain registrar and modify the DNS. Engaging in this will inform your domain registrar that another service provider hosts your URL. Ensure you speak with your web developer or IT department about the development to avoid loss of valuable information in your electronic mail.