A domain is the address where you can be found on the internet. Web hosting is the place where your website technically lives. You need both: the domain tells visitors where to go, the hosting makes sure something is actually there when they arrive.
Think of it like this: the domain is the sign on your street, and the hosting is the building behind it. Without the sign, nobody can find you. Without the building, the address leads nowhere.
What exactly is a domain?
A domain is the name of your website, for example webdrift.io. It is what you type into the address bar and what your customers remember. Domain names carry an annual fee, and every name can only be registered once: if someone else already uses yourbusiness.com, you need to find an available alternative.
On its own, a domain is just a name, not a website yet. To turn the name into a reachable site, you need two things: hosting that stores the pages, and an entry in the DNS.
What is web hosting and what does DNS do?
Web hosting means a provider gives you a computer (a server) where your website's files live, texts, images, code. Every time a visitor opens your address, the server sends them the page.
In between sits the DNS, the "directory of the internet" (Domain Name System). It translates a name like webdrift.io into the technical server address behind it. If the server changes, the DNS entry changes, but your domain stays the same. That is why a website can move to a different server without your visitors noticing.
Why do I need SSL and what does email have to do with it?
SSL (today usually TLS) is the encryption between a browser and your server. You can see it as the padlock in the address bar and the https:// in front of the address: the connection is encrypted, so nobody can read what passes between a visitor and your site. That is essential for forms, logins and payments, and it is standard on professional websites by now.
Your email addresses such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk often run on the same setup. Domain and email go together: without a domain there is no such address, and whoever loses the domain typically loses the email addresses as well.
Managed hosting or cheap shared hosting?
With shared hosting, many websites share the same server, which is cheap, but you usually have to take care of updates, security and backups yourself, and your options are limited. With managed hosting, a provider looks after the server and website for you: updates, security, backups and response times are part of the package. You save effort and pay a fair monthly price.
| Shared hosting | Managed hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Who handles updates and backups? | Usually you | The provider |
| Control over the technical setup | Limited | Medium |
| Effort required from you | High | Low |
| Typical price | Very low | From 59 EUR/month at WebDrift |
For small and medium-sized businesses that would rather focus on their customers than on servers, managed hosting is usually the better choice.
What WebDrift takes care of for you
At WebDrift, your website is not left to fend for itself: we handle hosting and your domain from 59 EUR a month or both are simply included in our monthly website plans. We set everything up, manage the SSL certificate, and take care of updates and backups. You get one dedicated contact in Dresden, and you can get back to your customers, whether they are in Germany, Europe or worldwide.
To see what a website costs in total, one-time or monthly, read our website cost guide. And if you are ready to get started, talk to us and we will work out what makes sense for your project.
