The difference
between web hosting and domain registration
The process of creating a website and getting it online can
be a tricky one, especially for the non-technical community. And this surely
isn’t helped by the common misconception that domain registration and web
hosting is one and the same thing. So let’s clear things up. Domain
registration and web hosting are two separate processes, both of which need to
be completed in order to create a website and make it live on the internet. Put
simply the process is as follows: a domain must be registered by a domain
registration company and then that domain name must be hosted on the internet
through a web hosting company. And here’s where the confusion comes in. Many
companies will offer both domain registration and web hosting, whereas others
will only offer either web hosting or domain registration. Therefore you can
choose to register your domain and host your website with the same company or
register your domain with one company and host your site with another.
It really as simple as that, but is something that causes a
great deal of confusion and unnecessary stress to many people wanting to set up
a website.
Domain Registration
To use the Internet to communicate with others or to look up
information, you have to type an address into your computer. These addresses
are a name or a number and are more commonly known as domain names. Every
domain name has to be completely unique so that the internet knows the correct
website to bring up for the user.
If you wish to create your own website, you need to devise a
name you wish your website to be known as. This name then needs to be
registered with a domain registration company to ensure that it is unique and
that you become the legal owner of that domain name.
You also need to pick a domain extension to attribute to
your domain name. By this we mean .com, .co.uk, .org, .net etc. You should give
careful consideration to the domain extension you choose to ensure that your
full domain name best represents that of your business or project. For example
if you are a UK business and are only selling to the UK, it would be most
effective to choose a .co.uk domain extension - especially for achieving good
UK search engine rankings
It is imperative that before registering a domain
name with a domain registrar that you check that they are a credible domain
registration company. One method of doing this is to check that the domain
registrar’s website is featured on the
ICANN (The Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers) Accredited
Registrars list
Web
hosting
Once you have registered your unique domain name
with an accredited domain registrar, you need to get your website live on the
internet. To do this, you need to buy a web hosting package from a web hosting
company. The process of putting your website on the internet is completed by
the web hosting company you sign up with and will involve placing your website
on a web server which is then linked to the internet. The type of web server
your site is hosted on will depend on the requirements of your website. The
most common web hosting plans are Shared Web Hosting and Dedicated Server Web
Hosting.
Shared
Web Hosting
If you have a simple website which requires a
regular amount of web space and bandwidth, then it is likely that your web
hosting company recommend you choose a shared web hosting plan. With this
hosting plan your website will be placed on one of the web hosting company’s
shared web servers. Here your website will reside alongside a number of other
similar sized websites where it will share all the server’s resources and
features. Each web hosting company differs in the hosting features they offer
with their shared web hosting plans. With Storm Internet (
www.storminternet.co.uk),
you will receive as standard:
A specified amount of web space depending on your
chosen package
Easy to use web site control panel
Online account management facility
Full 24/7 ftp access to upload your web files
Free domain transfer
Unlimited domain aliases
Webmail
Send and receive emails using Microsoft Outlook or
other email programs
Dedicated
Server Web Hosting
If your website has grown to a size which cannot be
accommodated on a shared server or if you require the flexibility to add
software or other features to your site, then your web hosting company may
recommend that you purchase a dedicated server.
With a dedicated server, you own the rights to the
whole server; thus giving you complete control over what is installed and run
on your server. Space and bandwidth usage will also no longer be a problem as
there will only be your site (or sites) using the servers resources.
With a dedicated server you also have peace of mind
that your site(s) won’t be at the mercy of other websites and their potentially
corrupt code - which could cause downtime and other problems to your site.
When choosing a dedicated server you can opt to have your server
managed or unmanaged by the web hosting company. With a managed server, you may
receive services such as site administration, certain software installation,
maintenance and upgrades. The major plus of having your dedicated server
managed is that you have an expert on hand should your server suffer any
failure – guaranteeing your site a high uptime percentage. Although
significantly cheaper, unmanaged server hosting is only really recommended for
those with a high degree of technical knowledge in server administration and
management.
At Storm Internet, we provide domain registration and a range of
web hosting plans. For more information please visit
www.storminternet.co.uk
