When you run a business, a website is an essential marketing tool in the digital age. As such, in order to operate a website, there are two things that are needed, a domain name and web hosting. In this article, we will discuss what these are, and whether you should get them from the same provider.
What is Domain Registration?
Domain registration is the process by which a domain name is registered through a domain registrar. Domain name registration is not ownership of a domain name. Rather, domain registration gives you the legal right to use a domain name for a specific period of time. Domain names can be registered for a minimum of 1 year and up to 10 years, if so desired.
For example, let us say that today, you register an available domain for 3 years. This means that you have paid the domain registrar a fee for the right to use that domain for the next 3 years, after which your domain registration expires. At any time during the domain registration period, you can choose to extend the domain registration by paying the additional fee associated with the length of time by which you would like to extend the domain registration.
Please note that when register a domain name, you can also usually purchase domain privacy to hide public access to your personal details as the domain registrant.
What is Web Hosting?
Simply put, web hosting is a service that enables you to store website files and database on a web server so that they can be accessed on the internet. Many web hosting providers also include a free SSL certificate with their hosting plans. By the way, we recommend that you do not let your web designer host your website.
4 Reasons You Should get your Domain and Hosting from the Same Provider
Whether you own an existing website or plan to have a website built for a new business venture, we recommend that you register your domain name and get a web hosting plan from the same provider. Why?
It is More Convenient
Having your domain name and web hosting at the same provider is simply convenient, especially when it comes to keeping track of domain and web hosting renewals and credit card expiration dates (billing) to facilitate auto renewals for such services.
In fact, we have found that many website owners usually cannot even remember who their domain and hosting providers are, let alone find their login credentials. This is exacerbated when clients have their domain registered at one provider, while their hosting plan is at a different provider.
This can lead to a lot of confusion on the part of clients who just want to run their business and not have to chase down login usernames and passwords at different domain registrars and hosting companies.
It is More Economical
Many companies that provide domain and hosting services sometimes have special offers when you buy both from them. So, for example, a company might offer you a free or discounted domain (for 1 year) when you purchase a hosting plan from them. Or some companies, may even offer a free email plan (for the first year) when you get web hosting from them.
It is Less Work
When you register a domain name and purchase a hosting plan with the same provider, some companies might provide automated integration tools such that your nameservers (and hence DNS records) are typically set up automatically to that same provider. This means you most likely will not have to manually change or update your name servers (if your hosting provider is different from your domain registrar) or update DNS records (e.g. A records, MX records, CNAME records, etc.) when you are ready to launch your new website.
It is More Time Efficient
If and when you need to contact technical or customer support to troubleshoot a potential issue with your domain or hosting, it is a much more efficient use of your time to have both services managed within a single account at the same provider. That way, you only need to contact a single company to discuss any issues with both your hosting and domain.
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