If you’re going to launch a hosted WordPress site, it’s important to separate your web hosting from your domain registrar. It may seem easier to just have the two tethered in one space, especially since many services offer them as a sort of bundle. However, this isn’t actually the best way to go about things.
What is Domain Registration?
Your domain registrar, or DNS registrar, provides the domain name you want to take ownership of. When you have a domain name, a specific section of the URL of choice will redirect users to your website and associate the name with your space. It is different from the URL because it is only the part that has your access information. The domain name can be found in the URL string and will also be associated with domain extensions like .com, .net, .org, and more.
This is not to be confused with your actual website. Your domain registration will simply designate the sort of address users online follow to find your digital space.
What is Web Hosting?
A web hosting service basically provides a platform that enables you to have a website. Instead of building your own website from scratch, you can make utilise user-friendly tools and resources made available by the web hosting provider. There are numerous ways to go about this, like dedicated servers, cloud hosting, and most popularly, WordPress hosting.
This should not be confused with establishing your domain, as that is simply a part of creating your space. Your web-hosted platform is the actual container that has all the assets needed to create your website. Think of the structure as building blocks that are also storage containers.
Your web host keeps the data online on the servers, and online users can easily access this on the internet.
Risks of Not Separating Hosting and Registration
It’s important not to lump these two into one despite their interconnected functionality. Why?
- You Are At a Higher Risk of Data Loss
You can have multiple domains that can each be linked to a differentiated hosted webpage. If you keep the two services separate, you’ll have the freedom to manage different domains from one account.
- Your Domains Are Limited
You can have multiple domains that can each be linked to a differentiated hosted webpage. If you keep the two services separate, you’ll have the freedom to manage different domains from one account.
- You’ll Have a Harder Time Changing Web Hosts
If you ever need to change up your web hosting provider, it will make things harder if you also need to transfer domain registrations. When separated, the transition becomes much smoother as it’s just a matter of transferring files and choosing a new address for the domain to redirect to.
- You May Have Less Efficient File Management
If you keep things combined, you risk muddling up your file management system with different backups and features. You’ll find that keeping things separate leads you to a more comprehensive operation.
Conclusion
So, if you’re going to set up any website or hosted WordPress platform, you need to separate those two elements. By knowing their differences and functions, you can have a better understanding of the whole system. This also allows you to make the proper choices that will best contribute to security and performance.
If you’re looking for a simpler and more reliable way to set up a hosted WordPress in Australia, reach out to HostedWP. We specialise in hosting and managing WordPress sites with super high-performance servers and ultra-secure sites.
How to change your Domain name: https://www.hostedwp.com.au/how-to-change-your-wordpress-websites-domain-name/