Domain Hosting Explained

Sometimes it’s the little things that trip us up, things that we take for granted because they have always been there. Things like electricity and TV’s and mobile phones and now the internet. My youngest daughter who is now very inquisitive bombards me with questions that as a dutiful parent I try to explain or try to find out myself. For example have you tried to explain to a six year old how mobile phones work? My usual response has been to say ‘Let’s Google it!’
What Is A Domain Name?
Simply put a domain name is the technical term for the ‘address’ of a particular website on the internet. Furthermore, domains can be more specific s, telling us where sub-folders are. Most of the time we are just trying to remember the exact main address of a website. Getting the wrong web address is like arriving late for a party and you’ve forgotten the address. Going to 23 Bennington Lane instead of 23 Rennington Lane or even 32 Bennington Lane will take you to quite different places!
You usually register a domain by registering with a services registrar. The industry is regulated and overseen by regulatory body called ICANN, which is an organization responsible for providing standards and procedures for certifying companies as domain name registrars.
Registration has grown over the years. Network Solutions was the first registrar to ever provide such a service. That was over ten years ago but today there are many accredited registrars such as GoDaddy and Name Cheap. Only a domain name registrar is permitted to access and modify the master database domains that are on InterNIC servers.
What is Web Hosting?
Simply put web hosting is the process of storing all the files of your web pages somewhere where then everyone around the web can have access to. A web hosting service provides a service that allows individuals and businesses to post web pages to the internet.
A web hosting company like JustHost or Hostmonster will offer clients access to a server that will provide the clientsí content to individuals on the World Wide Web after they make a URL or domain name request. To view pages on the web, you must have a web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator to request the web page from the server after you have purchased internet access.
Web sites are pages that are stored on a computer called a server. The server is a part of a network of computers on the internet or World Wide Web that allows users of the internet to reach your site anywhere in the world at anytime. The internet is open 24 hours, seven days a week around the clock.
Host computers are configured so that when your URL or domain name is typed in, the address will use a pointer routine (look for the address from terminal to terminal) until it reaches the computer that hosts your web-site. Then, if all is okay, your web site should display itself on the users screen.
Hosting companies require that you buy your URL or domain name first before you purchase hosting services. Most hosting companies have a package that will allow you to buy the domain name and hosting at the same time.
The main thing is 1) get informed and 2) Shop around! It’s amazing how prices for domain hosting and name registrations have dropped in the past couple of year! I hope that goes some way to explaining the difference between Domain Names and Domain Hosting! It’s been a pleasure writing for you.


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