What is the difference between Domain Hosting and Web Hosting?
Well, while they are closely related, web hosting and domain hosting are two different services. Web hosts store content, like a website, on internet servers. Domain hosts provide domain names, which are the addresses that help visitors access website content.
What is Domain Hosting?
A domain name is the address that people type in the browser’s URL bar to visit your WordPress website.
In other words, if your website were a house, then the domain name would be the address that helps people find and reach your website.
Domain hosts store domain names and facilitate their registration. If you’re using a domain registered through a third-party provider, like GoDaddy or Hover, they're your domain host, and you'll manage your domain through them.
When you create a Squarespace site, you're automatically assigned a built-in domain, like yoursite.squarespace.com. You can also transfer supported domains to Squarespace or register a new custom domain.
What is Web hosting?
Web hosting is the place where all the files of your website are. It is like the home of your website where it actually lives.
A good way to think about this is if the domain name were the address of your house, then web hosting would be the actual house that the address points to.
All websites on the internet need web hosting.
When someone enters your domain name in a browser, the domain name is translated into the IP address of your web hosting company’s computer.
This computer, also known as a hosting server, contains your website’s files and sends them back to the users’ web browsers.
Web hosting companies specialize in storing and serving websites. They offer different types of hosting plans to their customers, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, managed WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, eCommerce hosting, and more.
What happens when your domain is breached?
Losing your business identity through transferring the ownership of your domain to someone else, effectively gaining control of the domain.
Website could be redirected.
Emails could be redirected to a different mail server, affecting the ability to receive external emails.
How Are Domain Names and Web Hosting Related?
Domain names and web hosting are two different services. However, they work together to make websites possible.
Basically, a domain name system is like a massive address book that is constantly updated. Behind each registered domain name, there is an address of the web hosting service storing the website’s files.
Some domain registrars may provide temporary domain hosting. However, it is still not a website.
Without domain names, it will not be possible for people to find your website, and without web hosting, you cannot build a website.
This is why many top domain name registrars also offer web hosting services.
How Are Domain Names and Web Hosting Different?
The main difference between domain names and web hosting is that domain names point users to the location of your website, while web hosting is where your website lives.
Think of it like this. Web hosting is the house where you store your website files, and the domain name is the address of that house.
They are two different but related services.
So what security measures should I put in place to protect my Web Host and Domain Host?
#1: Secure your domain hosts login.
You can secure your domain hosts login by 1) changing your password, and 2) using a strong password that is unique to this site (not a password that is used for other logins)
#2: Enable domain privacy protection
You should enable domain privacy protection with your domain host.
#3: Conduct thorough assessments
Conduct a thorough assessment of the compromised data and affected systems to determine the full extent of the breach. This will help identify any potential risks and vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
#4: Implement enhanced security measures
The following measures will help ensure early detection and prevention of any further security breaches.
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA)
Implementing strong password
Regular password updates
Security audit
Malware scans
Backup and recovery
Website monitoring
Enhanced monitoring systems
#5: Continuously have ongoing vigilance
Continuously monitor your website, user activity, and network traffic to promptly identify and respond to any suspicious behavior. Regularly update your security protocols to stay ahead of emerging threats.