The difference between domains, hosting and website builders is one of the biggest things that confuses our clients when we start working on their website. We like to use a house as an analogy.
A domain serves as the address to your website. You can think about domains like street addresses. Using our website as an example:
www.shamelesspromotion.com is the domain. Our domain was purchased through GoDaddy, which is the most common. But domains can be purchased from other companies as well.
Hosting is like the land. You are paying to keep your website (house) on it. Our hosting is WP Engine, but there are lots of options out there. Common hosting platforms for our clients are GoDaddy, BlueHost and Network Solutions.
Finally, your website needs to be built. Most of our clients use WordPress. If you are using Wix, Squarespace or something similar, it is possible that the domain, hosting and website is accessible with one login. Other times, separate accounts exist for each.
It is important that you know what your situation is and how to access each account. A lot of clients will let their developer set up their hosting account or purchase their domain, etc. because they aren’t that technical. We do that for our clients as well. However, we always recommend creating the accounts with our client’s email and contact information so that they retain ownership.
Getting access to a domain or hosting account that is not associated with your contact information can be difficult and sometimes, impossible. If your developer goes out of business or you need to stop the relationship for any reason, not owning these critical components can create a lot of problems.
Let us know if you have any questions. We are here to help! Contact Lindsey Krogle, Shameless Promotion, 253-432-4931 ext. 2.
