Every website needs both web hosting and a domain name. It is common to need clarification on the two. They are two different things.
When someone starts their first website, buying a domain and Web Hosting in Lahore from the same provider is common. It is thus assumed that the two services are identical.
Let’s see what each service is for and why keeping them separate is best.
The difference between web hosting and domain hosting
What is domain hosting?
Domains are categorized into levels. The most common are top tier, generic top tier, and second tier. All web hosting providers offering domain hosting have all top-level domains, some generic top-level domains, and some second-level domains. The familiar domain names are .com, .net, .org, and .fr.
Speciality domain hosting providers offer all sorts of second-level domains and generic top-level domains like .photo or .media.
Some top-level domains, like country-code top-level domains, are only used for websites from certain countries. In some cases, you can use a country domain outside of the country where it is located as long as the website owner is authorized to do so. For example, bit.ly uses the country code top-level domain for Libya. Bit.ly permission allows using this domain even if they are in the United States.
By purchasing a domain from a domain host, you acquire ownership of that domain for as long as you pay the annual fee. But you can only build a website with web hosting; an environment only gives you an address.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is a service that provides space to keep all your website files. To be able to purchase web hosting, the provider will require that you already own a domain. If you don’t already have one, the web hosting provider may sell you one. We will see later why it is better to keep them separate.
There are different types of web hosting;
the most common are shared, managed and dedicated. Depending on the type of web hosting you purchase, you will have other tools at your disposal. Some web hosting offers services that allow you to operate your website without requiring much technical knowledge.
Other web hosting services give the owner partial or complete control of the servers, thus requiring a skilled technical team. There is also managed hosting, which can make it easier to handle any web hosting with the help of the hosting provider’s developers and technologies.
Shared web hosting
In shared web hosting, several websites are hosted on the same server. It is the best option for small websites, newbie bloggers, and young entrepreneurs.
In a shared server, all websites use the exact RAM and CPU, which means that if all websites are kept small, there should never be a problem. On the other hand, if one of the websites on a shared server receives a surge of visits and crashes the server, all other websites hosted on it will also be affected.
Dedicated web hosting
Unlike shared web hosting, dedicated web hosting hosts each website on its server. Since the websites do not share a server, they can have much higher bandwidth for high traffic. Dedicated servers also offer a large amount of file storage for websites with lots of information.
The customer has the direct root and admin access to a dedicated server. Therefore, it is a good choice if the company has a qualified technical team. Nevertheless, Dedicated Web Hosting can also be Dedicated Managed Hosting for large websites without technical teams.
While there can be confusion between domain and web hosting, there is also confusion between shared/dedicated hosting and managed to host.
Managed hosting adds a full suite of tools to install and run WordPress, manage files, and manage emails, plus a team of developers always on hand to keep your site running smoothly.
Hosting management saves time and potential headaches if something goes wrong. Shared managed hosting is the most common web hosting for many small businesses and blogs. However, dedicated, cloud-managed hosting is best for large companies with websites that receive much traffic.
You can use Your domain with any web hosting.
Why Keep Domain and Web Hosting Separate
It’s only sometimes a good idea to buy your web hosting and domain from the same provider for several reasons.
Better security against hacking.
Separate domain and Web Hosting in Karachi help protect a website from complete hacking. If a hacker gains access through your domain, they can access your files. Then they could lock down the website and transfer the domain wherever they want. You would lose everything.
You are less likely to lose a domain if it is not hosted with the same provider. Of course, as long as you don’t use the same usernames and passwords for both.
Prevent domain loss.
Suppose you pay for web and domain hosting on the same day with the same provider. Then, a year later, your subscription expires, and your part goes on hold. You may lose the domain altogether if you haven’t changed hosts before.
We hope this article has given you a clearer picture and understanding of the difference between domain and web hosting.
