When it comes to web services, there is much confusion between web hosting and domain name. Beginners are usually uncertain whether web hosting or domain names are the same thing. Should they buy just one of them, or which one should be chosen first, a domain name or a hosting service? Is it necessary to have both?

Here is the complete guide to answering these questions. What is web hosting, and how is it different from the domain?

Web hosting

What is web hosting?

A web host is considered as a computer or a server where the websites or web pages are stored. In simple words, it is like a house where a person stores his stuff (furniture, electronics, clothes). But a web host is a place where computer files (videos, images, documents, HTML) are stored.

Web hosting is a necessity for websites. Different people and institutions use web hosting services to post their websites, data, or only web pages online.

When the user enters a website onto their browsers, they are connected to servers. These servers translate the website into its IP address, and the individuals are redirected to the webpage of the website on their browser.

Types of Web Hosting

Web hosting can be of different types. It may include:

1. Shared Hosting

In shared hosting, a single server is shared among different websites. The number of websites sharing a server for shared hosting can range from hundreds to thousands. Thus, it makes shared hostingthe most budget-friendly comparatively. Especially for sites with average traffic, small business, or individuals running a blog, shared hosting is most convenient.

2. VPS (Virtual Private Server)

VPS hosting comes next to shared hosting. In VPS hosting, a server provides virtual servers to the websites. Even though websites still share the server but the number of websites sharing is less than in shared hosting

3. Dedicated Server Hosting

It provides an exclusive server to the website. The server is not shared among any other websites.

 4. Cloud Hosting

It is the latest type of hosting where a group of different servers work together to manage different websites. It is best for managing sites with high traffic.

Web hosting companies technically provide web hosting. Check this site for the best web hosting companies.They did the hosting research.

Domain

If web hosting is a house where one stores their stuff, then the domain is simply the address of that house. Users type the domain name of the website on their browser to reach the website.

The internet needs an IP address to connect to a website. IP addresses are a complex combination of numbers or letters. 44.229.44.1 is an example. Domain names are easier to remember in contrast to IP addresses. Examples of different domain names are amazon.com, whitehouse.gov, yale.edu.

For setting up a website, a domain name registration is important. Each website has a unique domain name. Various domain hosts provide services like domain names and domain registration.

After reading this piece, we hope you can now differentiate between the domain and web hosting. Both are different but essential parts for setting up a website.