Many years ago, before I started building websites, I had no idea what any of this meant. Domain names? Hosting? Content management? It all sounded like tech speak designed to confuse normal humans.
Now I build websites for a living, but trust me, it took a long time to make sense of it. So if you’re confused too, that’s totally fair. In this post, I’ll break it down in the most human way I can, just a straight-up explanation using one of my favourite comparisons.
Let’s say your website is a house.
What Is a Domain Name?
Your domain name is like your postcode. It’s how people find you. If you tell someone to go to solositestudio.com, you’re giving them the address to reach your online home. You usually pay for your domain name once a year to keep hold of it. If you stop paying, someone else could claim it.
What Is Hosting?
Hosting is the land your house is built on. Without it, your website can’t exist online. It’s where all your files, images, and pages live. When someone types in your domain name, hosting makes sure your website shows up. Hosting is usually paid monthly or annually, and if you don’t renew it, your site disappears from the internet.
What Is the Website Itself?
Your website is the house. It’s everything people see when they arrive. The colours, the layout, the content, the pages, this is the structure that sits on your hosting (your land) and gets found via your domain (your postcode).
What Is a CMS (Content Management System)?
This is your interior designer. It’s the tool that helps you build and decorate your website without having to get deep into coding. WordPress is the most popular CMS, but there are others too. It lets you move furniture around, hang up artwork, and rearrange the rooms without knocking down walls.
What Is SSL?
You know that little padlock you see in the address bar when you visit a site? That means it has SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). In house terms, it’s your alarm system or the padlocks on your doors and windows. It keeps your site secure and gives your visitors peace of mind. You’ll need to renew it yearly to keep that lock in place.
What Is Professional Email?
Instead of using something like [email protected], professional email means having something like [email protected]. It looks more credible and helps build trust, especially if you’re running a business. These are usually set up through your hosting provider and renewed each year too.
Conclusion
- Domain = your postcode
- Hosting = your land
- Website = your house
- CMS = your interior designer
- SSL = your alarm system
- Professional email = your branded postbox
Each plays a different role, but they all work together to get you online and keep you running smoothly.
If you’re still finding it all a bit much, that’s completely normal. You don’t need to figure it all out alone. Contact me now using the WhatsApp button or via the Contact Page.
Want to see what is on offer? Head to the Pricing Page and have a look.
You can learn more about how domains work over on WordPress.com.