The two most important aspects of operating a website are domain name registration and web hosting. A domain name network is nothing more than a huge contact list that is continually being upgraded. The URL of the web hosting company that contains the website’s files follows each domain name. Without a domain name, it is hard to find a website.
Domain vs. Hosting
The main difference between a domain and hosting is that a domain name (e.g., Flipkart.com) is a human-readable term that leads users to specific website files via a browser, while web hosting is a user account on a computer (sometimes known as a server) that allows you to store and deliver website files via the Internet.
A domain name is a website’s online location that others can access. Web-users enter the URL into their browser’s address bar to view the site. A dot separates the two elements of a domain name. The first component is the brand name, which could be any arrangement of characters and digits, such as Naykaa, and the second component is a domain extension. A domain is a unique web address.
The place where all of the site’s contents is kept is referred to as web hosting. When a domain name is typed into a browser, it is converted to the IP address of a web hosting company’s machine. This machine saves all of the website’s information and transmits information to the user’s device.
Comparison Table Between Domain and Hosting
| Parameters of comparison | Domain | Hosting |
| Definition | A domain is similar to an address that internet users may use to discover your website. | Hosting is a sort of service that enables any website to be accessed over the internet. |
| Registration and Storage | It is a name that is registered in the DNS and is universally recognised by the application server and web regulators. | Hosting is having a space online to store your website and serve visitors who are looking for it. |
| Use | A domain name is a one-of-a-kind designation for online sources including computers, networks, and services. | You may launch your website online with web hosting. |
| Examples | Twitter’s domain name will be Twitter.com. | Some examples are Hostgator, VPS hosting, and WordPress hosting. |
| Transferability | A domain name can be easily transferred from one party to another. | Transfer of hosting is more complex and time-consuming and can only be done via the File Transfer Protocol. |
What is Domain?
The term “website” means an accumulation of online pages. To make a website available to users, the site’s owner needs to have a registered domain name. A domain registrar can register and get a domain name on behalf of an individual or a business. It’s a company that maintains domain names and holds them in reserve.
The Internet is a huge cluster of computers. Each computer is given an IP address, which allows them to be readily identified. Dots separate the series of IP address digits. IP addresses usually look like this: 96.495.26.1. Computers can quickly recognise and memorise these numbers. However, people rarely remember and use these codes to connect to online sites. To address this issue, domain names were created. Therefore, website URLs are easy to remember by the domain name.
So there is no need to input a string of digits to access a website on the internet, just enter the domain name, such as Naykaa.com. The domain name is registered on DNS, which is widely recognised by web servers and online organisations over the Internet. The DNS serves as the address book for web users.
What is Hosting?
A website is kept on specific high-power computer equipment linked to the WWW in order to make it available to visitors. They’re also known as “web servers”. Website hosting companies host multiple web servers in a data centre. These organisations offer their customers the opportunity to store their website files on their web servers so that visitors may access them on the World Wide Web.
The website’s space and IP address are assigned by the web hosting firm. The Domain Server converts a user’s domain to the IP address affiliated with it. Visitors can then view the website.
A web hosting provider offers several benefits. It provides adequate memory capacity for website files. It also offers the requisite bandwidth or data transfer rate to link the website to the World Wide Web. It also has advantages like versatility, confidentiality, and protection.
An enormous number of websites exist on the World Wide Web (WWW). Each website is identified by its domain name. The files for the website are kept on a central server so that users can view them. These servers are maintained by web hosting companies, which also provide website support.
Main Differences Between Domain and Hosting
- A domain is an identifier that web users may use to access a website. Web hosting service allows you to view any website from anywhere on the planet.
- The domain name is registered in the DNS and is universally recognised by the application server and web regulators. Web hosting is the use of an internet area to hold a website and serve users that come seeking it.
- A domain is an IP address or URL that may be employed to find a specific website online. Hosting ensures that the computer remains operational and that the internet connection is active at all times.
- Domain name registration refers to the procedure of getting a web address from a domain name registrar. Web hosting is the system for collecting website data on a central server and making them accessible to WWW users.
- Domains assist customers in obtaining distinctive names for their websites. Web hosting allows for the storage of files as well as the maintenance of such files.
Conclusion
Domain names are inexpensive. They can be renewed every year or every few years by the user. Anyone may buy a new domain for their blog site. For a set length of time, once the domain name is purchased, it belongs to that registered user. After the given time, the user has to renew it. If a person fails to renew their domain name, it may become accessible to another user.
It is easy to understand that the domain is an address whereas the web hosting is the actual residence to which that address leads. Websites cannot operate on the internet without a hosting service.
Web hosting allows users to store website files and provides support for maintaining those files, while domain registration assists customers in obtaining distinctive domains for their websites. It gives the bandwidth necessary to access the website on the internet while also protecting data.
References
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3308558.3313664
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2987443.2987463
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jsebl4§ion=12