Looking to update, create, or change a website? Let’s define the terms you’ll need to understand:
Web Hosting:
The is a server with a hard drive physically in a building somewhere in the world that holds your website data and code. Lots of people don’t realize that everything online needs to be stored somewhere in the world. It doesn’t just magically exist somewhere. Skycomp has a data center and server room where we host our clients’ websites. It must be cooled 24/7 and maintained, hard drive swapped etc. by our team. That’s why website hosting can cost a certain amout of money per year. It takes resources and space to make it happen!
Web Design/Development:
This is part of the process to getting your site online and working. A Web Developer is someone who creates a site from scratch. Lots of people use a website designer platform like Wix, Web flow or other resources. These allow you to drag and drop code, create from templates, and customize your site without the need to understand the backend coding. It’s up to you which route you take, either a web developer or customizable platform. Whatever makes sense for you.
Domain Names:
A domain name is giving a way for people to find your website on the server in a catchy – marketing savvy way. A domain name (often simply called a domain) is an easy-to-remember name that’s associated with a physical IP address on the Internet. So Skycomp Solutions domain name is https://Skycomp.ca – this would take you directly to our homepage. For example, if you look at the top of your screen and the URL of this page is:
“https://skycomp.ca/learn/article/website-hosting-design-domain-names-whats-the-difference”
For some reason, Web Hosting and Domain names have been separate things, most times businesses only do one or the other, if you’re looking at a web design platform like Wix or Webflow, usually they provide options for hosting and Domain names all for one price. Sometimes if you do your research, you can get it for cheaper from another provider.
Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or long-time business owner just starting in the website world, knowing your options in web hosting and design is important. Knowing that it does cost money to make happen and the internet and web hosting is not like Wi-Fi floating through the airwaves. You need a physical building with hard drives and a hardwired connection.
Some people forget that internet is made up of cables that span across the world and go under the oceans…
Making sure you know this difference between who does what and splitting up your website services can be confusing. Hopefully this article Skycomp put together helped you define where your budget is going and who to contact about storage upgrades, design changes and website domain name changes. All these people can be different.
Skycomp Solutions Inc hosts websites and can set you up with a domain name, but we do not do any website design. We do have lots of connections in the Niagara Region of some great web developers. So, if that’s what you’re looking for our team will be able to connect you to the right people.
Most people have websites, and if you don’t you should probably get on that train. Most people need help transferring a domain name to a new website host, or changing a domain name, or switching hosting packages/moving hosting companies.
If you are having trouble with any of this issue, remember this article. It might help guide you through it and help you understand where to begin when looking to make a change. Web Hosting, Design, and Domain Names can get tricky, make sure you either pay a pro to help you, or use a full online resource to get you started! That’s our advice!
Looking to get started on a website – contact us for hosting today! Skycomp.ca/contact