Beginners often ask questions like what a domain is, how do domains work and why are they needed. Basically, domains are needed to make websites, but many individuals also confuse domain names with other terms like website or web hosting service. At the start all of this can sound extremely technical but this guide will help you understand what is a domain, what is web hosting, what are the differences between both of them and how are both of them important for your website. Hopefully by the end of this you’ll be mastering your own domain.

What are domain names?

Domain names are the addresses of websites that people will type in the URL bar of their computer browser to visit that website. Basically, if the website is the house the domain name is its address. The internet is a sprawling number of connections and links where computers link with each other and with other areas on the internet. For identifying each of them each computer has an IP address and that is the unique address that identifies that computer. Typically IP addresses look like this:

192.249.45.1

Look at that adorable little IP address, doesn’t it just make you get lost in it? Now most IP addresses are difficult to recall and these numbers are what would need to be typed into a URL bar if domains and domain names did not exist. Domain names eliminated the need to remember the IP address and now websites can be visited by just typing in a unique and easy to remember domain name. 

All domain names are unique and there can never be another domain with the same name, that is the reason the world has only one Google, one Yahoo and one Instagram. And that’s enough for anyone considering all the data they steal!

How to register a domain?

From the point of view of someone who wishes to create a good name for their website domain registration would work something like this:

1. Think of what name you want your website to have.
2. Think of a name that is unique enough that it will be available and create contingencies in case the first choice is taken.
3. Search a website registration service for the domain.
4. If the domain you want is available to can place an order for it.
5. This is followed by paying fees for registering the domain and associating it with your website.
6. This is the end of the process of registration and now simply connect the domain name and web hosting. 
7. Have fun!

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a computer where people store their websites. Basically it can be thought of as a house where all the assets are stored however, as opposed to something tangible like a car or clothes it stores computer files like images and videos. The term web hosting often refers to companies that provide services for renting out their computers for storing website assets, providing internet connections and allowing others to access the files on their websites. Better keep all the cat videos private, huh?

How does it work?

In most cases web hosting companies do not just store your website and its assets they a lot more work such as:

• Registering, managing and helping you buy your domain from the service provider.
• Allows you to build your website through easier processes like drag and drop editing or more complex website building tools.
• Allow hosting emails and sending or receiving emails from your particular domain email like jack.roberts@xyz.com. 
• Allows support and basic setup of your hardware like servers and the software like server operating systems or CMS. 

What are the types of web hosting?

Four different types of hosting servers exist : shared, virtual private servers, dedicated servers and cloud hosting services. While most web hosting has the job of acting as storage for your website they have differences amongst storage, control, knowledge and speed. Efficiency is just clever laziness, after all.

Shared Hosting

In this case your website is placed in the server same as other web sites and the number of sites on a server can range from hundreds to thousands. All the websites also share a common pool of resources like processing power. The cost for this is low and most websites with moderate traffic are hosted on this server and often is used as an entry level hosting option. You’re better than that.

Advantages: Low cost, low technical knowledge requirement

Disadvantages: Cannot handle high traffic, site performance is dependent on other sites on the same server. 

Virtual Private Servers

This service divides a server into multiple virtual servers where all websites are hosted on their own smaller server but in reality they share the server with a few users. The users often have root access to the virtual space and have a more secured hosting environment. While it allows for more control it is still not a dedicated server.

Advantages: Better traffic handling compared to shared hosting, allows for root access

Disadvantages: Ability to handle traffic spikes is still limited and other websites on the server can still affect the website performance. 

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated servers offer the most control on the web server and basically the website rents an entire complete server with only your website being stored on the server. 

Advantages: Great ability and can basically handle most traffic spikes, complete control and a completely dedicated server.

Disadvantages: The cost is extremely high and these servers are extremely expensive with only big corporations often being able to afford them. 

Cloud Hosting

Cloud Hosting offers the most ability to handle traffic spikes and basically it involves multiple servers also known as a cloud working together and hosting a group of websites. Since multiple servers work together to handle massive spikes in traffic for a website. Think the Canadian immigration site in 2016, after Trump was elected.

Advantages: Basically unlimited ability to handle spikes in traffic, manageable costs since they charge on per use basis

Disadvantages: Most cloud servers have not root access and costs can escalate if usage spikes.

Domain names and Web hosting are two of the most important aspects of starting a website. It helps to not only give your website a unique name that anyone could visit easily but also helps in selecting a hosting package that will allow you to manage the traffic to your website. Both these aspects are essential to your website being recognizable, unique and putting user experience above everything else.