In the world of getting a website for your company, hosting and domain are very important. While they are often used interchangeably which confuses you, you may comprehend to know their price so that your web developer/designer cannot overcharge you. In this article, I’ll delve into the price difference between hosting and domain.
If you read this article till the end, you will realize how much you will need exactly to get a website for your company. You can both your domain and hosting by yourself before contacting a web developer (doing so reduces your charge) and importantly, you have rest of mind (you get to use your email address and contact details to order everything). If you have already gotten a domain and hosting, you may get in touch with us to help you set up your website.
Before we get started, let’s define hosting and domains for you in a nutshell maybe this is your first time hearing their name.
What is a Domain
A domain is your company’s unique address on the internet (e.g., www.yourcompanyname.com). It serves as a user-friendly identifier for your online presence instead of IP address. You may see our expert step-by-step guide on how to register a .com domain for your website.
A website can be accessed without a domain. People can directly visit your website by entering your website IP address into the address bar of their web browser, for example, entering “http://192.168.0.1” directly accesses a web server with that specific IP address.
Let us assume my website IP address is http://192.168.0.1, can you memorize it so that anytime you want to visit my website you enter it in your web browser? Probably you can’t because you can’t remember it. But you can remember and recall Fastknowers.
The companies that help convert your website IP address into recallable keywords (domain) are called domain name registrars. Their services are technical and that is why people pay for them.
Using a domain name instead of an IP address offers several advantages in terms of convenience, accessibility, and branding. In a nutshell, you can’t proudly say “Visit our website at http://192.168.0.1”.
Domains are addresses in digital space. Once you secure it, you have gotten that online address. Domain ownership involves a cost, typically billed annually. The price can vary depending on factors like the domain extension (e.g., .com, .net, .org). You may see our guide on the list of top domain extensions and their examples.
However, keep in mind that failing to renew your domain registration can lead to loss of ownership.
Benefits of using a keyword as your website address instead of an IP address
If you want to build trust between your company and your client, don’t use an IP address for your company website. Before I continue to explain to you the meaning of hosting, let me show you some benefits of using a custom domain name instead of an IP address.
- Ease of Remembering: Domain names are designed to be human-readable and memorable. Remembering a domain name, such as www.yourcompany.com, is much easier than recalling a complex series of numbers, known as an IP address.
- User-Friendly: Domain names are more user-friendly and provide a better experience. People are more likely to click on a link with a recognizable domain name than one with an IP address.
- Branding and Identity: A domain name allows organizations and individuals to establish a brand identity on the internet. It provides a unique and recognizable address that can contribute to brand recognition and trust.
- Flexibility: Domain names are more flexible than IP addresses. If the IP address of a server changes, users don’t need to be aware of it as long as the domain name remains the same. This is especially important for businesses that may change hosting providers or servers.
- Easier to Communicate: Communicating a domain name is simpler and more practical than communicating an IP address, especially in marketing materials, business cards, and promotional content.
- Scalability: You can host your domain on multiple servers or locations for redundancy and load balancing. Using a domain name allows for seamless transitions between different IP addresses based on server availability and load.
- Global Accessibility: Domain names provide a consistent and global method of accessing websites. IP addresses might change based on geographic location or network configurations, making them less reliable for global accessibility.
- Domain Name System (DNS): The Domain Name System (DNS) translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses. This system allows for a hierarchical and distributed structure that simplifies the management and organization of internet addresses.
- Email address Integration: Domain names are not limited to websites. They are commonly used for email addresses and other online services. Having a consistent domain name across various services contributes to a unified online presence.
What is a Hosting
Hosting is the space on a server where your website’s files, data, and content are stored. When users access your domain, the hosting server delivers the requested information to them.
When you get hosting, you need to update your domain name and point it to your web hosting service provider. You can also buy both the domain and hosting from the same company. Some companies give their customers a domain name for free for some time and some discount as an offer. You may our guide on how to buy Namecheap hosting and domain and get a 65% discount.
To keep your website accessible to users, you need both web hosting and domain domain. Hosting services come in various plans such as shared hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), cloud hosting, and dedicated servers. Each plan offers different levels of performance and resources, hence, their prices are influenced.
A shared hosting plan is the most economical plan suitable for small to medium-sized companies. At FastComet, share hosting place prices range from 1.5 dollars per month. VPS, cloud hosting, and dedicated hosting are for big companies that have multiple files and audiences and are suitable to provide more resources and control but come at a higher cost.
If you are looking for the right hosting plan you need to buy for your domain (company), consider the following tips:
- Evaluate your company’s needs
- Know a domain name extension of your choice (the one that relates to your company niche or location)
- Ask a web development consultant to know the hosting plan you need to buy based on your company’s needs and the domain name extension you are going to use.
You may see our guide on factors bloggers consider before buying a domain and hosting. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any questions you may to ask us about the web hosting plan you need to buy for your company. If you are lucky, we can set up your website for you for free. Contact us.
Now, that we have shown you the definition of domain and hosting, let us go ahead to talk about their price differences (which is costlier than others and why).
The price difference between hosting and domain
The hosting price is costlier than the domain name price. The reason is that hosting registrars typically charge their customers every month based on the plan chosen by the customers.
From the screenshot below, the shared hosting plan price for a month is $1.98 per month ($23.76 for the first year). Note that this company was offering a 56% discount for their customers at the time of creating this article. That is to say that after the first year, customers will be paying $4.48 per month which is approximately $53.76 per.
Shared hosting is the least plan of web hosting for medium-sized companies. Different companies have different prices for their hosting plans. We love FastComet because they offer you affordable hosting services and other features such as addon domain, cPanel, automatic daily backup, and a lot more. You may check their website now at www.fastknowers.com/fastcomet.
Why is domain cheaper than hosting
Most domain name registrars charge their customers annually for their services. From the screenshot above, this domain registrar offers a 57% discount on their .com domain name extension. They charge annually. That is to say that, after one year, customers are to pay 100% which is $13.94.
Frequently Asked Questions
When people want to get a website and they are told that they need domain and hosting, below are some of the questions they frequently ask.
You can buy your domain and web hosting from different companies. Many people do that for different reasons such as to reduce the cost, to get a unique domain name extension, and lots more.
For example, at the time of writing this article, NameCheap, FastComet, Bluehost, etc. don’t offer a .ng domain name extension that companies in Nigeria want to buy, hence, you can buy your domain from a Nigerian domain registrar such as UpperLink, WhoGoHost, DomainKing, etc. and host it on your NameCheap web hosting. You may see our expert step-by-step guide on how to add an add-on domain to your web hosting.
While domain and hosting are prerequisites to getting a website, you can decide whether you want to pay for your hosting every quarter or every year. The price of the domain name is fixed to be paid annually. You can buy your domain first before buying hosting or vice versa. 
If you have hosting that provides cPanel, of course, you can host any domain. Many hosting registrars provide room for their customers to host multiple domains (this is called an add-on). One of those companies is NameCheap, with their least plan of shared hosting (Stela plan), they give you an offer to host three domains. Any plan higher than that on NameCheap will allow to host multiple domains.
Hosting alone can not help you get a website. You need hosting which gives you room (cPanel) where you can host the domain. You may see our guide on how to get a cPanel (step-by-step).
Conclusion
Hope this article has shown you that the domain name price is cheaper than the hosting price and the reasons why they are so. You may also see our guide on how to search for an available domain name.
If you know that this article has helped you know the price difference between hosting and domain, then subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates. You may also connect with me on Facebook.
