Hosting cost pays for the server and services that keep your website running, while domain cost pays for the registration of your website name (like yourbusiness.com) so you legally control it.
Think of your domain as your street address and your hosting as the building. The domain is rented through a domain registrar, usually billed yearly, and it comes with access to DNS settings (the “phone book” that points your domain to your website host and your email provider). You can own the domain without having a website at all, and you can change where it points anytime.
Hosting is the infrastructure that stores your website files and database and delivers your pages to visitors. Hosting plans vary because they can include different amounts of storage, speed, security tools, backups, email, and support. If you run WordPress, managed hosting can also cover updates, malware cleanup, caching, and daily backups so your team is not stuck troubleshooting at 9 pm. If you want that “we handle the messy stuff” style setup, our WordPress hosting is built for small business sites that need steady uptime and fast load times.
| Item | What it is | What you actually get | Typical billing | What happens if it lapses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | Your website name (example.com) | Right to use the name, DNS control, domain management portal | Usually yearly (sometimes multi-year) | You can lose the name, your website and email can stop working |
| Hosting | The server that runs your site | Storage, bandwidth, performance resources, security features, backups (plan-dependent) | Monthly or yearly | Your site goes offline, the domain still belongs to you |
Here’s the part that trips Orlando and Central Florida business owners up: your domain controls more than your website. The domain’s DNS records also control how messaging services are routed. That’s why we like the domain to live in an account owned by the business (not a former employee or vendor), with billing and recovery details tied to the company.
You can buy your domain and hosting from the same company, but you do not have to. Bundling is convenient, but separation has one big benefit: if you ever switch hosts, you keep the domain where it is and just update DNS to point to the new server. That keeps your brand name and email stable while the website moves.
If you’re new to WordPress and want a clearer picture of what you’re actually hosting, our FAQ on what WordPress is and why businesses use it breaks it down in plain English.
Quick practical tips we give clients: keep a simple spreadsheet with your domain registrar login, hosting login, renewal dates, and who on your team has access; turn on auto-renew for the domain so you do not lose the name; and set a calendar reminder 30 days before renewals so expired cards do not take your site down. If you want, we can review your current setup and tell you whether you’re paying for extras you do not need, or missing basics like backups and security monitoring.
