Domains, Websites and Hosting

If you own a business today and don’t have a website, you’re likely missing out on new customers due to a lack of online presence and perceived legitimacy. In an era of social engineering scams, having a .com.au website adds an extra layer of trust for people searching for your services.

Carving out a little space on the internet for yourself is a lot less daunting when you’re familiar with the terminology and a basic understanding of the process (as well as knowing what questions to ask should you hire a professional!)

So, let me break down the essentials:

• What is a domain?
• What is a domain registrar?
• What actually is a website?
• What is a hosting provider?

What is a Domain?

A domain is a unique web address that belongs to you. It’s the web address of your website, such as JasonIT.com.au – and can also be used for emails, such as my email address – Hello@JasonIT.com.au. A domain is made up of two components:

Name: “JasonIT.”
Extension: “.com.au”

Name + Extension (“JasonIT” + “.com.au”) = your domain (JasonIT.com.au). It’s important to note that only the combination of the two is unique, meaning you can have multiple companies with the same name but with different extensions. For example, I own JasonIT.com.au, but JasonIT.com or JasonIT.net.au are freely available for anyone to purchase. Some companies may choose to buy up several popular extensions to secure their ownership – it’s completely up to you.

There are a huge variety of extensions these days, but the most common and most secure within Australia is the .com.au extension. This extension requires a registered business name to match (or be similar) to their domain, which prevents individuals, or international companies without an Australian business name from having one.

If you are an Australian business I highly recommend having a .com.au extension!

What is a Domain Registrar?

Flowing on from Domains, we now have a Domain Registrar, which is a company authorised to sell and manage domain names. They help you registrar your domain and ensure it remains active and unique to you (and prevents anyone else from taking it without your authorization!) When you buy a domain from a registrar, they usually handle all the technical details, including details of where your website is located (we’ll get to this when we take about hosting providers),

Popular domain registrars include companies like GoDaddy and Crazy Domains. Their names may appear a little strange, but they are legitimate and are probably the two most popular domain registrars used. Domain registration (and the yearly fee to own it) is quite similar no matter what registrar you use, so feel free to shop around (but pay close attention to the ongoing fee as they often have very cheap introductory rates ).

One thing to keep in mind is that you can always transfer the management of your domain from one registrar to another, if need be, so don’t feel like you are permanently stuck – and don’t forget, keep your account details secure and do not share them with anyone.

One of the most important tasks of the domain registrar, is keeping details of where your website stored. This is because when someone wants to go to your domain, the computer will ask your domain registrar where your website is located, and your domain registrar will respond with the address (kind of like asking someone for directions) so once you have a website, you’ll need to provide this to your domain registrar Which brings us to our next point… websites!

What is a website?

A website is digital space on the internet that people can view and interact with. It consists of  pages with text, images, video and other content (like products and shopping carts!) Simply put – a website is a collection of files and folders that are saved to a computer sitting in a warehouse somewhere

When someone visits a website, such as JasonIT.com.au, they are typing that URL address into a web browser (such as Google Chrome , Edge, or Safari) or clicking on a search result from Google. Doing this sends a request off to a giant phonebook, which essentially tells your browser who your domain registrar is, and where your website files are. When the browser gets this information back, it then asks the computer in the warehouse for your website files, which is then displays on your screen!

Where is my website stored?

You might be thinking at this stage that your website is sitting on a USB drive connected to a random laptop in the corner of a large warehouse, but that’s not quite the picture!

Your website is on a computer, or more specifically, a server. Servers are powerful computers that store all your website’s files and make them accessible to anyone who types in your website’s address. When someone visits a website, the browser sends a request to the server, which then delivers the websites content back to the browser. This process happens in a fraction of a second, depending on how responsive your hosting provider is, and how fast the server which stores your website is.

Fun fact! Whenever you hear people talking about ‘The Cloud’ they aren’t really talking about files being in the sky, they are just referring to computers in a warehouse – Which are usually accessible from anywhere that has an internet connection.

What is a Hosting Provider?

We’re nearly at the bottom of the rabbit hole I promise! Okay, so a hosting provider is a company that owns and maintains these servers. They rent out space on their servers to store your website’s files. In addition to storage, hosting providers offer various services like domain registration, email accounts, security features, and customer support. Essentially, they ensure your website is up and running smoothly and accessible to visitors around the clock.

They are kind of like the landlords of websites, you pay an monthly or yearly fee to rent a room on the server, where your website can live.

Unlike domain registrars, not all hosting providers are equal, so it’s worth shopping around and choosing one that is going to best suit your website needs. Generally speaking,…. You get what you pay for – and security and customer support should be your highest priority. Don’t be fooled by a cheap introduction offer by an overseas hosting provider because as soon as something goes wrong, trying to resolve issues and communicate back and forth across challenging time zones while your website is down and inaccessible is not worth saving $10 a month over.

Security is also a major consideration . Unfortunately, I have had clients whose website hosting provider account has been compromised, which lead to them needing a total business rebrand as a result of reputation damage from a compromised website and email – so make sure to keep your account details secure!

I personally use VentraIP, which is an Australian Hosting provider with affordable rates and great customer support (If you are looking for a new hosting provider or want to transfer from an existing provider feel free to get in touch with me for a referral code)

Summary

You don’t need to be a professional to understand the basics of website infrustructure. By having a rough idea of the terminology and general interconnected relationship of the multiple pieces, you’ll be better informed and will avoid the beginner pitfalls!

To quickly recap:

• A domain is a unique address that belongs to you
• A domain is used for both websites, and emails.
• A domain registrar is the company who manages your domain.
• A website is a collection of files that are stored on a server.
• A server is a powerful, physical computer in a warehouse.
• The server is owned and managed by a hosting provider.
• A hosting provider rents out space on the servers for you to use.

I really hope this article has given you some more confidence to explore and navigate the digital world of domains, websites and hosting. If on the other hand, you’d rather hand it all over to someone to look after – then I’d be more then happy to help.