White Paper - Web Hosting Versus Domain Hosting

Understanding the difference between a web hosting provider and a domain hosting provider is crucial to managing your business or personal web presence. While web hosting and domain hosting packages can and sometimes do come from the same provider, often they are sold by separate companies due to the disparate nature of the services. For example, AIS Solutions Group is a web hosting provider, not a domain host provider (sometimes called a domain registrar). To illustrate the difference, it is helpful to first define an internet domain name.

A domain name is your web site's address on the internet. The computer hosting your web site has a unique number called an IP (internet protocol) address which allows other computers (and their users) to find and access your web site, much like your personal mailing address allows your family and friends to find their way to your home.

Your web site's IP address, while adequate for computers and technicians, leaves something to be desired for the average internet surfer (imagine, for example, having to remember 25.67.122.143 instead of google.com). To solve this problem, ICANN (The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) manages a list of domain names and accredits domain name registrars who are authorized to sell access to these names. Examples of domain name registrars are GoDaddy, Network Solutions, 1and1, Register.com, and many others.

When you've thought of the perfect name for your web site, the first step in developing the site is to register your domain name with ICANN, through one of the aforementioned domain registrars. Typically, ICANN allows you to rent the domain name for a period of one to ten years, and the domain registrar charges an annual fee (usually less than $50.00) which allows you exclusive use of the domain name.

To secure a domain name, you'll need to create an account with the registrar of your choice, and store the account user name and password in at a safe location. Various web maintenance tasks over the life of your site will require access to this account, often referred to as the domain account. AIS Solutions Group can register your desired domain name with ICANN on your behalf, but it is important to remember that we do not actually control the domain name, which is why we need access to your domain host account.

If you are transferring your existing web hosting to AIS SG from another firm, we will ask you for your domain host account credentials so as to facilitate the transfer of address information from your previous host's servers to our servers.

Once your domain name has been purchased and you have access to your domain hosting account, it is time to select a web host provider and 'point' your newly acquired domain name to the physical location of your web site files on a host's server. This is where AIS Solutions Group can help. We are a full service web host provider, meaning that we help you post your web page on the internet and make it available around the world and around the clock. You rent our technology and our server space in order to find a permanent home for your site on the World Wide Web.

In a nutshell, your domain host provider sells you access to your preferred web site domain name, allowing you to display a user-friendly address to the world instead of a string of numbers. Your web host provider rents server space and the software tools necessary for you to build and maintain your web site, and in the case of AIS Solutions Group, also provides technical support, as well as design and custom development services.

Questions? Call 678.783.0138 or visit our help desk for more assistance.

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