A domain name is the name of a website. Internet users type this name to the URL bar in web browsers to access the website. The name can be a combination of different letters and numbers. Besides, they include extensions such as .com, .io, .org, etc. For example, Webzool.io is the domain name of this website. Each domain is unique.
People sometimes confuse domain names with hosting services. The name only identifies the website. Technically, internet addresses are in the form of IP addresses, which consist of a long series of numbers. For humans, entering these numbers to access a website is not convenient. Hence, domain names identify and route people to IP addresses.
The name itself cannot provide access. Registering for the best name for the company only gives people a right to direct the domain to a hosting account. Hosting is an account on a server that stores the website files such as HTML, images, videos, or documents. Besides, they provide Internet connectivity for visitors to access the website files. Usually, website owners get a hosting account from a hosting company. This company owns several pre-configured servers that they lease out. Also, they provide other services, namely maintenance, backup, root configuration, etc.
There exist several website builders that offer domain names for free. One of the famous ones is Wordpress.com. However, their offers can be categorized more as a sub-domain. The reason is that any website built with Wordpress will have a name like “example.wordpress.com.” This type of sub-domain is beneficial as it is free.
On the other hand, for long term businesses, it is better to have a unique domain name without the website builder’s name. Besides, such sub-domains do not ensure ownership. Switching to another provider will not be possible as the domain is not portable.
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