Domain, Website, Hosting Oh My!

What is a domain, a website and website hosting?

These are the cornerstones of what is required to have a business online these days. I think it’s super important for everyone to consider that just like how computers and printers and email all became relevant to business and business owners had to know how to use those tools nowadays it’s just as relevant and important to know how to use a domain, website and website hosting. Knowing what a domain is what a website is and what hosting is and how they all relate to each other, is crucial. So in this article, I’m gonna break down what those three elements of online marketing are how they relate to each other.

Domain

The first one is a domain. A domain is an address on the web, that is all it is, it is not a website. Many people get confused when they think if they have a domain, then they have a website and that is not the case. All you have is just an address. It would be like buying a piece of land with an address, but not having a house on it yet.

Website

One can go to GoDaddy, Namecheap or many other places on the web and register any available domain like yourwebsite123 .com or anything like that that would be considered a name that you have. There is no website currently connected to that domain. In order to get a website connected to that domain, there has to be a website built and that has to have hosting.

Hosting

Hosting is a spot on a server where the website can be live. Without a spot on a server (a specialized computer), the website cannot be live on the web and no one can access it anywhere around the world, and this is super important. Websites have to have a domain and they have to hosting, where they can actually be live on the web. Those are the two ingredients that are required to have the website.

Now domains and hosting alone are not a actual website, that would be like having the land and having the construction materials, but they haven’t been assembled together to an actual house yet. A website is like the house. It’s similar to how one would put everything together using the materials, a.k.a. the hosting and then the property or the address a.k.a. the domain.

So these are all the different elements that go together and not surprising that someone are confused. People get them mixed up and they think oh I have a domain so I have a website or I have a website so I have a hosting, and all these things are all different. They all have different requirements and they have different costs.

One has to pay to register a domain, pay for hosting and then have to usually pay someone to maintain or update the website, regardless of who does it. Even if you do one of those website builders that you’re gonna run yourself like a SquareSpace, Wix or a GoDaddy Website Builder, you’re still still paying a monthly fee for that website service. So there is no such thing as just a free website builder that you have to pay for all of them unless you can learn how to code yourself and build your own website.

Getting Help

Otherwise you are paying someone for that website service whether professional web developer or a service like Wix, Square or a GoDaddy website builder. If you need help with your website or if you need help with domain or hosting or all three of them, I’m here for you as a resource. That’s why I want to make this post in the first place. You can certainly get a hold of me here at this number 406-208-8733 or you can fill out the contact form located here and I’ll be glad to help you out!

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Written by: Jophiel Silvestrone

Jophiel Silvestrone has written 326 posts in the Tech Blog.

Jophiel grew up on a ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana near Chico Hot Springs. Working on the ranch instilled work ethic and self motivation. Filled with this drive, Jophiel started mowing the local school's yards twice a month throughout the summers, at the age of 12. He moved to Billings in 2004, where he has been deeply involved in the local business community ever since. A serial entrepreneur, Jophiel has ran multiple businesses in our local community. The first business, a janitorial and carpet cleaning company, founded in 2005, has employed over 50 locals. Moving on to the media industry, Jophiel and several partners founded Green Directory Montana in the spring of 2007. Green Directory's sustainability ranking software awarded points based on sustainable or "green" actions. These points counted towards a business's total "Green Score," which in turn ranked them against other businesses in their category and throughout the entire site. It also featured a limited edition print version distributed annually. A business acquisition allowed Jophiel to focus on new projects, and a few close business colleagues and Jophiel started Rocky Mountain Mr. & Ms. Magazine, a lifestyle publication for men and women in the Magic City. After a year and a half at the helm of RM3 Magazine, the business was purchased. He now runs a web development company SkyPoint Studios and fathers his son Jaoquin, who plays football, basketball, soccer, and is learning snowboarding from his dad. Recently, has expanded to locations in Havasu, Arizona & Vegas. SkyPoint Studios is a market leader in both Billings & Havasu and Jophiel is working on building that same level of market dominance in Vegas. Specialties: Extensive experience in online and offline business. Especially savvy at WordPress, and operate several sites, one example is the blog: skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com/tech-blog. Check out skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com for the latest projects from SkyPoint Studios.