I bought a domain, why does my site not work — a question we hear weekly. The difference is simple once you see it like this:
The house analogy
- The domain is the address — what people type to find you: yourcompany.mk
- The hosting is the house — the space where your files, images and mailboxes live
- The website is the furniture — what the visitor sees when they walk in
An address without a house leads nowhere. A house without an address cannot be found. You need both — and they work together through DNS (the road sign linking the address to the house).
What costs what
A domain is paid yearly and is only a RENTAL of the address — do not renew and you lose it. Hosting is paid monthly or yearly, based on space and resources. Together, for a small business, less than a coffee a week.
The questions that follow
- Can the domain be at one place and hosting at another? — Yes, via DNS pointing. But when both are in one place, there is one support desk and problems get solved faster.
- If I change hosts, do I lose the domain? — No. The domain is yours; you just point it at the new server.
- Do I need email too? — Email on your domain (info@yourcompany.mk) comes with the hosting.
What first
Pick a domain (short, easy to say, no dashes if possible), get hosting, connect them — we do that part free for clients. Then the site.