Short answer
A domain name is your address on the internet, such as yourbusiness.com. Web hosting is the space your website files live in. You need both: the domain points visitors to the hosting, and the hosting sends them your pages.
The simplest way to tell them apart
The domain is the address. The hosting is the building. Someone can read your address off a business card, but there is nothing to visit until the building exists.
They are also billed differently: domains renew once a year and belong to you for as long as you keep renewing, while hosting is a monthly or yearly subscription for space and resources.
What a domain name gives you
Registering a domain reserves a name that nobody else can use while you hold it.
- A web address people can type or share.
- The ability to create email addresses on that name.
- Control over where the name points, through DNS.
- First right to renew it each year.
What hosting gives you
Hosting is where the website itself runs.
- Storage for your pages, images and database.
- A server that answers visitors day and night.
- A control panel to install WordPress, manage files and set up mailboxes.
- Security, backups and an SSL certificate for https.
Can you buy one without the other?
Yes, in both directions. You can register a domain now and add hosting when the site is ready, or host a site on a domain you bought elsewhere by pointing its nameservers at us. Most people buy both together because it is one order and one renewal date to remember.
Get the name and the space in one order
Search for your domain, add hosting at checkout, and both renew on the same date so nothing gets forgotten.
Search for a domain