Domain
Your Address
Your domain name is the address people use to find your website online.
yourbusiness.co.zaIt is separate from the website itself.
Important Information
Understand What Keeps
Your Website Online.
A website is more than the page you see in your browser. Your domain name, website hosting and website files all play different roles — and some of these services continue to have ongoing costs after your website has been built.
We believe customers should understand what they are paying for and what they control.
The essentials
Your Website Has Three Different Parts
Hosting
Where Your Website Lives
Your website files need to be stored on internet-connected infrastructure so that people can access your website at any time.
Hosting provides that infrastructure.
Website
What People See
Your website is the actual design, content, images, pages and code that visitors see and interact with.
Domain = Your AddressHosting = Where It LivesWebsite = What People See
Domain
What Is a Domain Name?
A domain name is the unique online address used to reach your website.
For example:
Registering a domain does not usually mean purchasing it permanently.
You normally register the right to use the domain for a period of time and renew that registration when it becomes due.
The domain and the website are separate.
You can change where your domain points without changing the domain name itself.
Renewal
Why Do I Keep Paying for My Domain?
Domain registration is an ongoing service because your right to use the domain needs to remain registered and active.
The registration is normally renewed periodically through a domain registrar.
If the domain is not renewed, it can eventually stop working and may ultimately become available for someone else to register.
This is why it is important to know:
- Where your domain is registered
- Whose account it is registered under
- When it expires
- Who is responsible for renewing it
Hosting
What Is Website Hosting?
Your website consists of files and code.
Those files need to be stored on infrastructure that is connected to the internet and available when visitors want to access your website.
Website hosting provides that infrastructure.
When someone visits your domain, the domain directs them to the hosting environment where your website is stored and served.
Ongoing service
Why Is Hosting an Ongoing Cost?
Building a website is normally a once-off development project.
Hosting is different.
The infrastructure that keeps your website available continues operating after the website has been built.
Depending on the hosting service, ongoing infrastructure may include things such as:
- Server resources
- Storage
- Data transfer and bandwidth
- Platform infrastructure
- Security services
- Deployment infrastructure
- Backups or other hosting features
This is why website hosting is normally an ongoing service rather than a once-off purchase.
If service stops
What Happens If I Stop Hosting?
Your domain and your website hosting are separate.
If hosting stops, your domain may still remain registered to you.
However, the website stored on that hosting service may no longer be available online.
Owning a domain does not automatically keep a website online.
A clear comparison
A Simple Way to Think About It
Domain Name
The street address
Hosting
The property or space where everything is kept
Website
The actual business people experience when they arrive
The address tells people where to go.
The hosting provides the online space.
The website is what they see when they get there.
What About My Business Email?
An address such as:
uses your domain name, but business email is not necessarily the same service as website hosting.
Email may be provided through a separate email hosting or email service provider.
Your domain's DNS settings are used to connect the domain to services such as your website and email.
This is why changes to domain settings must be made carefully.
DNS
What Is DNS?
DNS is the system that helps direct your domain name to the correct online services.
For example, DNS records can tell the internet where to find:
- Your website
- Your business email
- Other services connected to your domain
Most business owners do not need to manage DNS every day.
But it is important to know where your DNS is managed and who has access to it.
Ownership
Know What You Control.
Before your website is handed over, you should understand where the important parts of your online presence are managed.
You should know:
- Where your domain is registered
- Who has access to the domain account
- Where your website is hosted
- Who has access to the hosting account
- Where your website files or code are stored
- How your business email is provided
- Who is responsible for renewals
Your Business Should Not Depend on Information Only Your Web Developer Knows.
BuildStack support
How BuildStack Helps
BuildStack helps customers understand how the different parts of their website fit together.
Depending on the project, we can assist with:
- Connecting a domain to a website
- Website deployment
- Basic DNS configuration related to the website
- Explaining hosting options
- Helping customers understand where their website files are stored
- Website handover information
- Ongoing website support where agreed
Clear costs
Why Does a Website Have Ongoing Costs?
The Website Build
The work involved in designing and developing the website.
This may be a once-off cost depending on the service selected.
Domain Registration
Keeps the website address registered and active.
Usually renewed periodically.
Website Hosting
Keeps the website available on internet-connected infrastructure.
Usually an ongoing service.
Business Email
May require a separate email service depending on how the business email is configured.
Ongoing Support
Optional website management, updates or support may have an ongoing cost if the customer chooses that service.
More control
Why This Matters If You Want More Control
If you choose BuildStack's Build Your Own Website option, understanding domains, hosting and website files becomes especially useful.
You do not need to become a technical expert.
But understanding the basic structure makes it much easier to manage your website responsibly and know what you actually own and control.
Ask BuildStack
Still Not Sure How It All Fits Together?
Tell us what you already have — or what you are planning to build — and we can help you understand the next step.