Today, an online presence is very important for most companies. To be able to represent your company online, some basic terms need to be understood correctly. Hosting and Domain are two of the most common terms while establishing a new website.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is actually a web address. To access a certain web page, you need to type the domain name in your browser’s URL bar. A domain can be confused with a web site, however, the domain is only the address of the web site. You can think of it as the address of a house.
Every computer on the internet has an IP address. Without domain names, uses would have to remember those numerical IP addresses to reach a website. To make it easier for everyone, we are using memory-friendly domain names instead of complicated numbers.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a server where your content and files stored in. When a visitor tries to access your website by typing the domain name, the visitor is redirected to the stored files. Your domain name is translated to an IP address of your web hosting companies computer.
Shortly, you can think of it as an actual building, where all your belongings placed. The visitor needs to know the address to the house, then when accessed, the visitor can see the house and everything inside.
In conclusion
Web site needs both a domain name and web hosting to operate properly. You can buy both of them from the same provider or you can buy them from different providers but you have to edit DNS settings in such cases. They both need to be renewed periodically.