Domain, Hosting and SSL Explained for Business Owners
By Website in Gurgaon · · 2 min read
Three terms come up in every website conversation. You do not need to be technical to understand them, and knowing the difference protects you from the most common problems.
Domain: your address
The domain is the name people type, such as yourbusiness.com or yourbusiness.in. You rent it from a registrar, usually a year at a time, and it must be renewed. If it lapses, your website and email stop working and someone else can register it.
Hosting: where the site lives
Hosting is the computer that stores your website and sends it to visitors. It is a separate service from the domain, though one company may sell both. Quality varies: good hosting is faster and goes down less often.
SSL: the padlock
An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your site and the visitor, and gives you https and the padlock in the browser. Without it, browsers warn visitors that the site is not secure. Many hosts now include a certificate at no extra cost.
Business email
An address like name@yourbusiness.com uses your domain but is usually a separate service. When you change website hosts, make sure email settings are carried over so mail does not stop.
Keep everything in your own name
- Register the domain with your own email address and phone number
- Keep the login details somewhere safe, with a second person who knows where they are
- Turn on auto-renewal and keep the payment card up to date
- Give your web company access as a user instead of handing over ownership
What you pay each year
Expect a yearly charge for the domain and for hosting, and possibly for email. Ask for these to be listed separately from the cost of building the site so you know what is recurring.
