We are often asked by our clients to explain the difference between a domain name and web hosting.

Many beginners don’t know that these are two separate things. In this beginner’s guide, we will explain the difference between a domain name and web hosting.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is the address of your website that people type in the browser’s URL bar to visit your website.

In other words, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address.

What is web hosting?

Web hosting is the place where all the files of your website live. It is like the home of your website where it actually lives.

A good way to think about this is if the domain name was the address of your house, then web hosting is the actual house that address points to. All websites on the internet need web hosting.

How are Domain Names and Web Hosting Related?

Domain names and web hosting are two different services. You can buy them from different providers. However, they work together to make websites possible.

Basically a domain name system is like a massive address book that is constantly updated. Behind each domain name, there is an address of the web hosting service storing the website’s files.

What do you need to build a website? 

Without domain names, it will not be possible for people to find your website and without web hosting you cannot build a website.

Also, you can have more than one domain name pointing to one hosting account. To build a website you will need both a domain name and web hosting account. Buying a domain name alone only gives you right to use that particular domain name for a specific period (usually 1 year).

You need web hosting to store your website’s files. After you get hosting, you need to update your domain name settings and point it to your web hosting service provider.

Does this sound complicated?! Don’t worry. We provide both domain registration and hosting services in convenient packages, along with free support and maintenance!

Some of this article content is from wpbeginner.com as well as Kinsta.com