Web design: domain registration and hosting types explained

We received a question from one of our clients earlier about the difference between domain names and hosting. Might as well share it here…

• Your Domain – Registering a domain is similar to registering your address with the Post Office or Phone Company; you’re telling people that you exist as a certain name/entity and where they can find you. They find you by using the…
•     Domain Name Service – The Domain Name Service is a system of computers that is similar to a large, shared address or phone book. When you register a domain name, you tell the DNS where to find you, usually via a numeric IP address. When people look up your site, their computer automatically finds the IP address, which is assigned to your host.
•     Web Host – Your Host is where the files for your website actually “live”. This is usually a computer of some type, running special software called a Web Server, which takes your files and “serves” them up to a browser (or whatever device).

There are different types of “Web Hosts” available though, the most common for small websites is usually on a “Shared” server. With a Shared server, it’s similar to living in a large apartment building where everyone “technically” has their own space but, if your neighbour cooks something unpleasant or throws a bowling ball at the wall, it might affect your space. While this isn’t ideal, it’s usually the most economical option and will suit the majority of small websites that you’ll deal with, at least at first.

Once a site is a little more complex, getting more traffic, needs more space, etc., then you might have to consider moving to a VPS or even a Dedicated Server. A VPS is sort of like a small house in a gated community; you have much more freedom as to what you can do and aren’t sharing your resources with as many people, though still a few. However, the walls are much thicker and it would take something like a flood or tornado (bad hard-drive, power supply failing etc.) to really affect you.

A Dedicated Server is like having a ranch in Alaska or a compound in South Africa; you can do pretty much anything you want and no one else is going to be affected by it, nor are you going to be affected by your neighbour.

Don’t worry though, if you contract us to do any web design work, we’ll find the best option for your needs and budget.