Explaining the Difference Between Domain Names and Web Hosting

It is very common to be confused between a Domain Name and Website Hosting

It is very important to be clear on the differences between the two before you decide on your first Website or Domain

Every Website on the Internet, no matter what type will have a Domain Name and Web Hosting

Simple put a domain name is like the address of your home
A website is the actual house you live in

What is a Domain Name

A domain name is what a person enters in their Internet browser’s address bar to access a website
Simply put a domain name is the mechanism that helps identify and locate websites and resources connected to the Internet. Same as you would input a name into your smart phone to find the nearest Walmart

You can do the same with a website address commonly called a Domain Name or URL

One of the greatest feature of a Domain is that it is unique. Which is to say that no two websites can have the same domain name
You will need to register a domain name that will then serve as your unique online address. Visitors will find you using this name by your website or even by email

When you Register a Domain Name it gives you sole ownership and rights to the name of your Website. No one else has the access to the actual Domain besides you

Since millions of domains have already been registered it can be difficult to Find a Good Domain that is still available. One suggestion is that you do not add on unnecessary words or use incorrect spelling just to find an available domain

People need to be able to remember your Domain. You should aim for something that is short, easy to spell and catchy. Additionally your domain will typically be a person’s first impression of your website, so you want something that will make them confident that they will find trustworthy content on your site

If the Domain you want is already taken remember that you can use a different Domain Extension than just .com

There are hundreds of domain extensions available today and they all work just the same as the .com. Some companies even register the more popular extensions of their domain name so that no one else can

Computers or Web Servers on the other hand use an IP address, which looks something like this: 162.255.161.46
Web Servers also use the IP address that is associated with your Domain Name when you type it into your web browser

What is Web Hosting

Web hosting or a website
Is a collection of web pages accessed by a domain name
Once you created a Website you will need to store all of its files somewhere
You would not want to store them on your home computer, this would be much to slow and unreliable for today's demands

This is where a Website Hosting Company comes in. A web host will, as its name suggests, host all of your content (files, images, data bases) for people to access over the Internet. Your website may be Digital, but its files still need to be stored on a physical hard drive (web server) and accessible on the Internet using a Browser

There are many types of Web hosts, so you want to find the one that’s easiest for you to work with

Some hosts offer Dedicated Servers which used mostly for large companies

Others offer Virtual Servers These are Dedicated Servers broken up into smaller “Virtual” Servers. Less expensive as bigger Servers

Most websites are hosted on what we call Shared Web Hosting Which is just as it sounds. You share the space with other websites on a dedicated or virtual Server

Which type is best for you depends on how much traffic you anticipate sending to your website and how much extra room you need for files and such

What type of Website will you need?

Websites come in all different shapes and sizes. And many different types or combination of types. Which you choose will depend on what you want to achieve with your website and the functionality you will need

We have listed a few of the different types of Websites
Personal Websites
Weblogs — Blogs
Online Diaries
Business Card Website
Portfolio Website
Social Networking Website
Product Brochure Website
Company or Organization Website
Ecommerce Website
Search Engines
Forums
File Sharing or Downloading Websites

Originally published at https://rshweb.com.