The difference between Web Hosting and Domain Registration

The process of creating a website and get online can be tricky, especially for non-technical community. And this certainly is not helped by the common misconception that the registration of domain and web hosting is one and the same thing.

So let's clear things up. Domain name registration and web hosting are two separate processes, each of whom must be completed in order to create a website and make it live on the Internet.

In simple terms the process is as follows: a domain must be registered by a domain registration company and then that domain must be hosted on the Internet through a web hosting company.

And that's where the confusion comes in. Many companies will offer both domain registration and web hosting, while others only offer both web hosting or domain registration. So you can choose to register your domain and host your site with the same company or register your domain with a company and host your site with another.

It 's really that simple, but it is something that causes great confusion and unnecessary stress to many people who want to create a website.

Domain Registration
To use the Internet to communicate with others or to seek information, you must type an address into your computer. These addresses are a name or number, and are more commonly known as domain names. Each domain name must be fully knows the only way to retrieve the correct website for the user.

If you want to create your own website, it is necessary to devise a name that you want your website to be known as. This name must be registered with a domain registration company to ensure that it is unique and that you become the rightful owner of that domain name.

You must also choose a domain extension to give the domain name. With this mean.com,. Co.uk. Org,. Net etc. You should carefully consider the domain extension you choose to ensure that the full domain name that best represents your business or project. For example, if you are a UK business and are only sold in the United Kingdom, would be more effective to choose the domain extension a.co.uk - especially for the UK to achieve good positioning in search engines.

It 's essential that before registering a domain name with a domain registrar to verify that they are a credible company domain registration. One way to do this is to verify that the site is described on the registrar ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Accredited Registrars list

Web hosting
Once you have registered your domain name with a domain registrar accredited, you need to get your website live on the internet. To do this, you must purchase a web hosting package from a hosting company.

The process of putting your website on the Internet is supplemented by the web hosting company you sign up with and involve placing your website on a web server which is then connected to the Internet. The type of web server hosting your site will depend on the needs of your website. The most common web hosting plans are shared Web Hosting and Dedicated Server Web Hosting.

Shared Web Hosting
If you have a simple website that requires a set amount of web space and bandwidth, then it is likely that your hosting company should choose a shared web hosting plan.

With this plan your site will be placed on a web server's shared web hosting company. Here your website reside alongside a number of other similarly sized sites, where you share all the server resources and characteristics.

Each hosting company is distinguished by the hosting features they offer with their shared hosting plans. With many companies will receive as standard:

o A specified amount of web space depending on the package chosen
Ø Easy to use control panel web site
or online account management facility
or guaranteed access 24/7 FTP to upload files to Web
or free domain transfer
or unlimited domain aliases
or Webmail
o Send and receive email messages using Microsoft Outlook or other email programs

Dedicated Server Web Hosting
If your site has grown to a size that can not be hosted on a shared server or if you require the flexibility to add software or other features to your site, then your web hosting company may recommend purchasing a dedicated server.

With a dedicated server, you own the rights to the entire server, giving you complete control over what is installed and running on the server. The space and the use of bandwidth also will not be a problem because there will be only your site (or sites), using server resources.

With a dedicated server you also have the peace of mind that your site (s) will not be at the mercy of other websites and potentially corrupt the code - which could cause downtime and other problems with your site.

When choosing a dedicated server you can choose to have your servers managed or not managed by the web hosting company. With a managed server, you can receive services such as administration of the site, some software installation, maintenance and upgrades. The great advantage of having your managed dedicated server is that you have an expert handy if your server suffer any failures - ensuring your site a high percentage of uptime. Although considerably cheaper, unmanaged server hosting is only really recommended for those with a high degree of technical knowledge in the management server and management .......