The Absolute Best Website & Domain Hosting Services in 2024

Updated Jul 27, 2023.
The Absolute Best Website & Domain Hosting Services

Have you thought of domain hosting as just another complicated thing that you have to deal with while building a website?

As a business owner, it is crucial in today’s world to have a website for your business, and having a domain name is the first step in that direction. Choosing the best domain hosting service can be confusing as there are so many service providers out there.

It might get even more confusing when you see that web hosting services also offer domains for free. So is a domain more important or is it the hosting service you choose? Or are both the same.

Let us help you get a clear idea of what domains are, and why you need them. We will also help you understand the difference between a domain host and a website host so that you make the right choice for your business.

Our guide will also help you identify the best domain registrars and the best website hosting services in the market and make it easy for you to get started.

Ready?

Let’s begin!

Best Domain Hosting Services for Domain Registration

1. NameCheap

Best domain hosting service with the most affordable domain options.

NameCheap is the Best domain hosting service with the most affordable domain options

Namecheap is a good domain registrar for businesses that do not want to spend a lot on domain registration. Although they mainly provide domains there are also a host of other services that you can get from Namecheap.

They have a domain generating tool called Beast Mode which lets you look up different domains that you desire and lets you know whether the one you are looking for is available.

It lets you look through thousands of domains and prioritize them according to the order you want to see. If you already have a domain, you can also very easily transfer it to Namecheap.

You get some additional features like domain hacks that help you get innovative with your domain. If the domain you are looking for has been taken, it will provide you with good alternatives.

Before choosing your domain, if you would like to consult with your team members, with Namecheap’s collaboration tool you can share the results with your colleagues. The best part is that you can use Beast Mode on your desktop as well as your phone.

In case you want to block multiple domains that your competitors might want to use, you can even buy multiple domains at once.

If you have never purchased a domain before, Namecheap’s resource center will guide you through the entire process. They also have a very responsive customer support team that is available 24/7.

When you sign up with Namecheap, you can be assured that your contact information is safe due to Namecheap’s domain privacy protection service that keeps domain owner contact information out of the public Whois database.

For those who choose a personal domain rather than one for their business, Namecheap also lets you personalize your email which helps you establish your credibility.

Pricing

NameCheap Domain Pricing Plan

Namecheap’s domain services are one of the cheapest ones available. You can get a .com domain for as low as $5.98 which is a discounted price. Their add-ons are also relatively cheap.

2. Domain.com

Best domain host for small to medium-sized businesses looking for premium domains.

Domain.com is the Best domain host for small to medium sized businesses

Domain.com is very well known as a domain registrar and provides a lot of options to choose from. It offers more than three hundred unique top-level domains (TLDs) to choose from and many country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) as well.

The process to get started with domain.com is very easy. All you have to do is look at whether the domain you are looking for is available and then follow the steps on their page. It even shows you premium domains and other suggestions if your domain name is taken.

When you register your domain, domain.com lets you register domains similar to yours so that your brand image remains unique. It also lets you register the common spelling mistakes of your registered domain.

Creating a professional email that matches your domain name is also very easy with domain.com.

With domain.com’s Domain Privacy + Protection package you can make sure that your contact information does not show up in ICANN’s database. Instead, when anyone looks for the contact information of your page, it shows Domain.com’s details.

You can also transfer your domain very easily and at a low price with domain.com. The only conditions are that it must have been registered somewhere else for sixty days and you must have the authorization code.

Pricing

Domain.com Pricing Plan
Source: Domain.com

The cost of a domain name with domain.com starts at $2.99 if you choose .me and for other options like .com, .org, .tech, it costs $8.99 and can go up to $12.99. It all depends on the quality of the domain name and the specific TLD you choose.

3. Dynadot

Best domain hosting service for a simple domain registration process.

Dynadot is the Best domain hosting service for a simple domain registration process

Dynadot has a very easy-to-use interface and a very simplified domain registration process which makes it very easy for beginners to get started.

All you have to do is enter the domain name that you are looking for, add it to the cart if it is available and make the payment. In case the domain you are looking for is already taken, you can use the suggestions tool to get other relevant ideas on the domain you are looking for.

Suppose your desired domain has been taken and you want to find out the contact details of the owner so that you can negotiate with them. Dynadot’s Whois Lookup feature can come in handy to find their information.

With Dynadot, you have a wide range of TLD options as they have over four hundred TLDs, right from high-level TLDs to country-specific TLDs as well as category-specific TLDs.

While you can choose a professional email that matches your domain name, Dynadot also offers domain privacy so that your contact information does not show up on the Whois database.

They also offer mail, email, and call protection where they filter out spam and send you only genuine messages so that your inbox does not get bombarded with junk.

Dynadot also has two-factor authentication in place which prevents your account and domain from getting hijacked and prevents unauthorized domain transfers.

It also offers a grace deletion service where you can return a domain if it does not work for you. However, it has to be done within the grace deletion period or else you will have to keep your domain. If you have registered multiple domains and want to return just a few, it’s possible.

While Dynadot’s interface is quite easy to use, it might not be the best choice for beginners as there are no prompts or steps to follow once you are done registering your domain. So if you have never registered a domain before and set up a website, you might feel lost.

Pricing

Dynadot Domain Pricing Plan

While Dynadot offers a low price for first-time registrations, it might seem costlier than a few other great domain registrars. However, the renewal rates are low and they also offer the same rates for domain transfers.

4. GoDaddy

Best feature-rich domain host for small businesses.

GoDaddy is the Best feature rich domain host for small businesses

GoDaddy is one of the most renowned domain registrars and is also very well known for its domain registration and hosting services. They manage more than eighty million domains and are a great choice for small business owners with low first-year pricing.

Not only can you look for your desired domain and register it if available, but GoDaddy also lets you add domain extensions if you want to make your domains specific to regions.

With their bulk domain search feature, you can search and register up to five hundred domains at once.

If you already have an existing domain, you can also get it transferred to GoDaddy within 7 days. Along with your domain, it also lets you transfer your existing contacts, emails, and folders associated with it.

They also offer different domain privacy protection packages that offer different levels of domain privacy and keep your contact information out of the WHOIS directory and protects you from spam.

In case the domain that you are looking for is already taken, GoDaddy also lets you use their WHOIS service to look for the contact details of the owner. There is also a domain broker service that negotiates with the owner on your behalf to get you the domain name.

You can also use their domain backorder service that informs you when a domain becomes available.

GoDaddy also has a domain auction service where you can buy domains that other people have listed or purchase domains that have expired and haven’t been renewed.

You can also use their domain value appraisal service where they help you evaluate whether the value of a domain you already have is more than you know.

Pricing

GoDaddy Domain Pricing Plan

Find out more GoDaddy pricing

GoDaddy’s pricing plans offer some of the lowest rates for the first year when you register your domain, after which the renewal charges may be comparatively higher. You can also get a 30% off if you choose one of the new domains.

5. NameSilo

Best domain hosting for cheap and safe domains.

NameSilo is the Best domain hosting for cheap and safe domains

NameSilo is one of the cheapest domain registrars out there and unlike most domain registrars, when you renew your domain name you will not be paying a higher fee in the next year. NameSilo promises to give you the price that you first bought your domain for.

They have a wide variety of TLDs to choose from. You can either search for a single domain or do a bulk search.

Transferring an existing domain is also very easy where you get an added year of registration to your expiration date within the price that you pay for transferring your domain. You can also transfer multiple domains at once if you need the option.

They also have a marketplace where you can buy the domains that people have not renewed or have put up for sale. This feature is similar to the domain auctions that some other service providers have.

They also have the WHOIS lookup feature that lets you look for the contact information of other domain owners.

Pricing

NameSilo Domain Pricing Plan

NameSilo offers some add-ons like WHOIS privacy, email forwarding, domain defender protection, custom WHOIS records, and DNS management. The best part about these add-ons is that you get them free of cost with your domain registration.

Unlike many other service providers, their pricing is very transparent and the cost of every TLD is mentioned clearly on their page.

6. Gandi.net

Best domain registration service for easy, simplified domain registration.

Gandi.net is the Best domain registration service for easy, simplified domain registration

Like all other best domain registration services in the market, Gandi.net lets you buy, transfer and renew domain names as per your requirements. When looking for the desired domain, their search suggestions tools also help you with suggestions relevant to your search.

When you choose a domain with Gandi.net, you get two inboxes with each domain. They have extensive mailbox management features and offer 3GB storage with each mailbox. You also get a thousand aliases using which you can forward and redirect messages.

With each domain, you also get an SSL certificate free. It also lets you connect your domain to any third-party app that you may be using with the click of a button.

Gandi.net also offers Gandi corporate services to its users where their team of experts takes care of the legal and technical aspects of their users’ domains and provides constant support to users.

They also take care of the privacy of your domain so that your sensitive information is never available to anyone. Some of their other domain-related services include DNS management, DNSSEC, and many resources to help you get the most out of your domain.

Pricing

Gand.net’s domain pricing starts at $9.88 and can go up to $42.18. It all depends on the domain extension that you choose. You also get 50% off when you first purchase your domain from them.

7. Name.com

Best domain hosting services for small businesses looking for a basic domain registrar.

Name.com is the Best domain hosting services for small businesses looking for a basic domain registrar

While you can get all the complimentary services that you need to build a website from Name.com, they specialize in domains. Name.com’s interface is very easy to use which makes it very easy to search domains.

However, the purchasing process for a new domain may be a bit lengthy.

There’s a bulk search feature where you can set filters and search for multiple domains at once without typing them one at a time. Depending on your business needs, you can search from a list of more than five hundred TLDs and not just the generic ones.

It is also very easy to transfer your existing domains with Name.com. They have a marketplace where you can search through thousands of aftermarket domains and domains that have been deleted or are about to be.

Even though Name.com offers security features for domains, one of the drawbacks is that you will have to purchase it separately as an advanced security package.

Their package includes WHOIS privacy, an SSL certificate with each domain, and protection against telemarketers.

You can even protect your domain from being hijacked by utilizing their domain lock plus feature which can help you from unauthorized transfers.

Pricing

You can get all the pricing information on Name.com’s page where they let you know the purchase, renewal, and transfer fees clearly so that there are no surprises later. The renewal fees might be comparatively higher.

Often, people get started with Name.com for the first year and then transfer their domain to a cheaper service provider.

Best Website Hosting Services to Host Your Domain

1. Bluehost

Best all-in-one domain hosting service for small businesses.

Bluehost is the Best all in one domain hosting service for small businesses

Bluehost hosts over two million websites globally and provides all web hosting services that businesses might need, like dedicated hosting, shared hosting VPS, and WordPress hosting. It is also the one of the three hosting services endorsed by WordPress.

For businesses looking for a complete package that can help them set up their websites from scratch. When you sign up for their hosting, you get a domain name free for the first year. But it’s also alright if you already have a domain.

You also get a free SSL certificate, free Office 365, free domain privacy, and free automated backup for your website depending on the plan you choose.

Bluehost is known for 99.99% uptime though some customers have reported that they have faced downtime issues. If this happens, Bluehost allows users to cancel their plans without charging them an extra.

They have a Cloudflare integration which helps them make sure their pages load fast. Their interface is also very easy to use and they have an excellent customer support team that is easily reachable.

When you sign up with Bluehost, you can build your website by using their design tools and custom themes. Their website builder is integrated with WordPress and has drag and drop functionality.

If you choose the VPS hosting, you get up to 120 GB storage, 8GB RAM, 3 TB bandwidth, and two IP addresses depending on your plan. You can also add other VPS, shared, or dedicated hosting services and manage them all centrally.

Pricing

Bluehost’s pricing plans let you choose between shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and VPS. The price of each plan varies depending on the type of hosting you choose.

However, for small businesses that are just starting and require only one website, the basic shared hosting plan is ideal.

2. Shopify

Best web hosting service for eCommerce websites.

Shopify is the Best web hosting service for eCommerce websites

If you are looking for a web hosting service for your online store, Shopify is a great choice that will help you get started easily. You can purchase a domain if you don’t have one already, or you can simply make some DNS setting changes and use your existing domain name.

Every website on Shopify is hosted on Shopify servers so you do not have to bear any additional cost for external hosting. Unlike many other service providers, with Shopify, you get unlimited bandwidth so you don’t have to worry about increasing costs as your traffic increases.

They are also great at handling large volumes of traffic and are known to have 99.99% uptime. They have a large network of servers across the globe that helps in ensuring that all stores on Shopify load quickly.

All stores hosted on Shopify are PCI DSS Level 1 compliant so you can be assured that the security of your website will not be compromised.

When Shopify launches new updates to their software, you also do not have to do anything automatically. All the updates are automatically installed so that you do not miss out on any new features.

You also get unlimited forwarding emails which you can use and get all the emails sent to your addresses directly to your original inbox.

If you have never created an online store before, Shopify is an ideal platform to get started with an eCommerce website as they guide you through the process and have lots of resources that can help.

Pricing

Shopify’s pricing plans are created keeping in mind the different needs of eCommerce store owners. With every Shopify plan, you get their unlimited bandwidth hosting included. For small businesses just starting their online stores, the Basic Shopify plan would be a great choice.

3. WP Engine

Best Managed WordPress hosting service.

WP Engine is the Best Managed WordPress hosting service

WP Engine is the best WordPress hosting service. Along with cloud hosting, you get many website management tools, integrations, and optimization tools for your website.

Unlike most web hosting services, WP Engine does not offer domains. So you will need to look for a domain beforehand from a domain registrar. You will also have to look for email services elsewhere since they do not provide them.

With WP Engine, you get excellent uptime for your website. Some other features that you get are WordPress-specific security, daily backups, cloud flexibility, real-time threat detection, and others.

When you create your websites using WP Engine, you also get a staging environment where you can test your website before it goes live. Their CDN ensures that all your pages load quickly.

Once your website starts growing, with WP Engine, it becomes very easy to scale your website due to the high scalability that it offers. When there are minor updates to the platform, all changes get applied automatically eliminating manual efforts.

In case there is a security breach on your page, WP Engine acts quickly and makes sure your website is quickly secured. Its real-time threat detection ensures that your websites are secure from hackers. With every page, you also get an SSL certificate for free with WP Engine.

Pricing

Depending on the type of hosting that you choose, there are different pricing plans for WP Engine.

4. SiteGround

Best web host that accommodates businesses of all sizes.

SiteGround is the Best web host that accommodates businesses of all sizes

SiteGround offers different types of hosting services that can be suitable for different types of businesses. They provide shared web hosting, managed WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting as well as cloud hosting and reseller hosting.

There are three different plans through which they target startups, growing businesses, and large corporations. Accordingly, the features of each of the plans also differ depending on what businesses usually need.

With SiteGround you get great uptime and high-speed hosting due to the advanced hardware and software they use. Their servers are spread across four continents and ensure that all your websites hosted on SiteGround load quickly.

You do not have to worry about the traffic coming to your website if your site receives a lot of it as SiteGround offers unmetered traffic. You also get unlimited FTP accounts, email accounts, and bandwidth from them.

If you choose the startup plan, you can even store up to 10 GB of data on their servers and for the GoGeek plan, you get 40 GB.

Their interface is easy to use and very intuitive which makes it easy to set up your website. Using their interface you can also install third-party applications that you would like to use for your business.

SiteGround takes security very seriously. It offers a free SSL certificate with each plan and also lets you enable two-factor authentication so that no one can hack into your SiteGround account.

Depending on the plan you choose, you also get the white labeling feature, a backup copy of your site, a staging environment, and priority support.

Pricing

SiteGround has three shared hosting plans for different sizes of businesses. While all three plans include all the important features, if you are looking for features like website backup, staging environment, priority support, and others, the StartUp plan might not be the best choice.

5. Hostinger

Best cheap hosting service for experienced WordPress developers.

Hostinger is the Best cheap hosting service for experienced WordPress developers

From shared hosting to cloud hosting, VPS hosting, cPanel hosting, WordPress hosting and Minecraft hosting, Hostinger offers a long list of options to different types of website owners. For small business owners, their shared hosting is the best choice.

While they are known to have a good reputation for their uptime, sometimes they may be inconsistent and the uptime may fall to 97.5%. They have an easy-to-use and centralized control panel from where you can access everything related to your account.

With every website that you host on Hostinger, you get a free SSL certificate. Depending on the plan that you choose, you can get free email services, a free domain, unlimited bandwidth, free CDN, unlimited FTP accounts, and others.

Your website also gets backed up daily or weekly depending on your plan, so you can be assured that all your changes will be saved.

Some other features that you get on using Hostinger are GIT access, Cloudflare protected nameservers, access manager, DNS management, up to a hundred sub-domains, managed WordPress, and WordPress acceleration.

If you are not satisfied with their service, Hostinger also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pricing

Hostinger’s pricing plans might look very cheap at first look. However, the catch here is that you will get these prices only if you sign up for forty-eight months. If you are willing to continue with a hosting service for that long, Hostinger’s plans might help you save a lot.

6. HostGator

Best web host for small business owners new to website building.

HostGator is the Best web host for small business owners new to website building

Whether you are looking for shared hosting, dedicated hosting, or hosting for WordPress, HostGator has a lot of options for small businesses and business owners new to the digital world. You get a lot of feature-packed hosting plans with HostGator.

If you are building a website from scratch and do not expect a lot of traffic to your website initially, HostGator’s Hatchling plan may be a great place to get started. If you are expecting a huge load of traffic then the dedicated hosting plans might be ideal even though more costly.

Depending on the plan you choose, you get a free SSL certificate, a free domain, unmetered bandwidth, and more. If you are going for the dedicated web hosting plans, you also get a choice between Linux and Windows which is not commonly offered.

For Linux users, you can also utilize their cloud hosting services. One of the features that HostGator is well known for is its incredible uptime. With each of their plans, you also get access to their website builder which is again very easy to use.

For WordPress users, you can even set up your site with HostGator even without opting for the managed WordPress feature. It is easy to set up your WordPress site within minutes and manage your website through a dedicated interface.

Apart from WordPress, you can use other CMS platforms as well like Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, Tiki, and many others. Third-party application installations are also very easy with HostGator. You can manage them from dedicated interfaces through the Quick Links option.

The reason HostGator is ideal for newbies is that they send you emails and guide you through the setup, unlike most other service providers where you feel lost after purchasing a plan. They have tonnes of resources to help you as well.

Through their control panel, you can access everything about your website centrally like website building tools, statistics, installed applications, and others.

Pricing

Find out more Hostgator review

Depending on whether you choose shared or dedicated hosting there are different plans under each. Their shared hosting plans are quite cheap and let you go on a month-to-month basis. But if you are looking for an even cheaper price, you can choose to commit for longer.

For small businesses that have more than one website, the Baby Plan is ideal because it lets you include unlimited websites, unlike the Hatchling Plan where you get only one website.

7. DreamHost

Best website hosting service for a hundred percent uptime.

DreamHost is the Best website hosting service for a hundred percent uptime

DreamHost is a great website hosting option for users who want to build Linux-powered websites. With DreamHost, you can choose between shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and VPS hosting.

If you are looking for shared hosting for your website, there are two plans to choose from. One of them offers only one website while the other offers unlimited. Along with it, you get access to the WP website builder and can also migrate your existing WordPress websites to DreamHost.

You also get a free SSL certificate and free SSD storage. The only thing missing is the email service. However, you can purchase it for an additional price or buy other email hosting services.

If you are looking for hosting for your WordPress website, there is a separate plan for that which includes unlimited emails, 30GB SSD storage, WordPress migration, unmetered bandwidth, pre-installed SSL certificate among others.

You can easily manage all your websites from DreamHost’s custom control panel. Installation of third-party applications is also very easy and can be done with just one click.

DreamHost also has the option of dedicated hosting and cloud hosting and offers some good packages for the same.

Pricing

DreamHost offers monthly and yearly plans where you might even be able to get heavy discounts. Under each of their plans, they have further options that have more features like CDN, increased SSD storage, on-demand backups, and others.

8. A2 Hosting

Best web hosting that is user-friendly and easy-to-use.

A2 Hosting is the Best web hosting that is user friendly and easy to use

Right from shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting and reseller hosting, A2 Hosting has all the hosting features that one may look for from a hosting service provider. However, it is not as well known as most service providers.

This does not mean that their services are inferior. They have great uptime, a very responsive customer support team, and good security features. Their page loading speed is in fact one of the fastest.

Their security features include HackScan that runs continuously throughout the years and scans websites for malware attacks and keeps them secure. A2 Hosting also has several other features that protect your websites from crashing and security breaches.

Depending on the plan you choose, you also get a free SSL certificate for your website. If you already have a website, you can transfer it to A2 Hosting at no extra cost and you can even migrate multiple sites at a small extra cost.

Not only can you install different content management systems on your website but it also lets you speed them up with their Turbo Boost plan. Every A2 Hosting plan also comes with free CDN so your sites are quick to load.

Pricing

There are five plans to choose from on A2 hosting. Their Turbo Boost hosting is the most recommended hosting plan because of its promise of high speed. You can choose between a monthly, annual, or three-year plan.

After signing up, if you feel dissatisfied, A2 Hosting also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Web Hosting vs Domain Hosting

With many domain registrars offering web hosting services and vice versa, you might be wondering if there is any difference. So it makes sense to understand the difference between both web hosting and domain hosting.

What is domain hosting?

A domain is basically the address of your website just like you have your house address. If people want to visit your site, they type your domain name in the URL bar. A domain name has two parts.

For example, in founderjar.com, the first part, i.e., founderjar is our brand name and the .com part is the domain extension. You can get different types of extensions like .org, .net, .in, .uk, or anything you find suitable and is available.

Every domain name is unique and there can be only one of each domain name all over the internet i.e. there cannot be another founderjar.com.

Now, domain hosting is a service that provides these domains at a cost. These are businesses that host your domain name.

What is web hosting?

Your website will have content, images, videos, and other things that you will need to store somewhere. All of this gets stored on a server. So a server is basically the house of your website.

When someone looks for your website using your domain name, information is gathered from the server to present it to the server. Businesses that host your websites are called website hosting services.

You can choose to get shared hosting or dedicated hosting. If you choose shared hosting, you will be sharing server space with other websites. The best shared hosting services offer cheap and reliable service along with great uptime.

Whereas for dedicated hosting, one entire server is yours and only your website is hosted on it.

Dedicated hosting services give you better control since no other website’s performance can affect your website’s performance. However, it is quite expensive than shared hosting because the web hosting service provider needs to maintain the server.

In short, domain hosting provides your website an address, and web hosting provides a place to store your website.

Reasons Why Separating Domain Registrar and Web Host Makes Sense

We always advise our clients to keep their web hosting and domain hosting services separate. You may wonder why, especially when domain providers also provide web hosting and the other way around. So why go to two separate providers?

In fact, there are pretty good reasons why you should keep the two separate.

1. Your domain and hosting will be tied together

You might have seen that almost every web hosting service comes with a free domain in their plans. So you can get a free domain name from a website hosting service which might seem attractive since you will not be paying for the domain separately.

But when you purchase such packages, your hosting and domain get tied together.

After a year if you would like to change your web host, you will also have to move your domain. Suppose you want to keep your domain with the same host, but just switch the web host, you will not be able to do so because both of them are bundled.

Or you might also see that web hosts offer domains free for the first year. When the renewal date comes, the cost of renewal is often very high.

2. Service providers do not specialize in both the services

Very rarely you will be able to find a service provider that excels both with domain hosting and web hosting. They excel at only one of the two options.

So you want to look for a service provider that offers the most amount of storage space, security features, SSL certificate, DNS settings, CDN, unmetered bandwidth and everything else related. Most commonly, you will find the best web hosting services and the best domain registrar to be separate.

3. Many more options

Suppose you find the best web hosting service provider that has the best uptime, largest storage capacity, and everything else you desire, but their domain registration is below mediocre. You do not have any compulsion to choose both their services.

Your domain and hosting are both equally important for your website, so you do not want to compromise on any of them. Instead of limiting yourself to mediocre service, you can choose the best domain registrar from one provider and a web host from somebody else.

4. Lesser risk of losing data during security breaches

When your domain and web hosting are handled by the same company, during a security breach, you might lose everything. Suppose the server your website was located on was attacked or your domain provider locks your account.

Having both at the same place increases the risk of the losses suffered. You might even lose complete access to your entire website, and months or years of hard work will get wasted.

5. Easy to switch hosting provider

Generally, people do not face any problem with their domain hosting service but they might face slow page loads, website downtime, poor customer support, high renewal fees, and others.

If your domain hosting and web hosting are separate, all you have to do is simply change your hosting service provider. You just have to transfer all your files to your new host and make changes to the DNS setting.

6. Reduces the risk of going out of business

What happens when your hosting service and domain registrar are the same and the service provider goes out of business. You lose your entire website. Keeping them ensures that you just lose one of them if your service provider shuts shop.

Often business owners get tempted to choose the same service provider because they get the domain name free for a year. However, both your domain and hosting services are equally important. So you need to be cautious while choosing both.

Domain Hosting FAQ

What is domain hosting?

Domain hosting is a service where businesses host the domain of your website. Such businesses specialize in selling domains for a subscription fee.

What are the best domain registrars?

Depending on what you are looking for there are many great domain registrars. If you are looking for cheap domain names, Namecheap is the best choice after which comes NameSilo. GoDaddy is a good choice for small businesses.

Name.com is the best basic domain registrar and if you are looking for a simple domain registration process, there is Gandi.net and Dynadot.

Can I host my own domain?

Yes, you can host your own domain but it will be much costlier than purchasing a hosting service. You will still have to purchase a domain name from a domain hosting service like GoDaddy, NameSilo, Dynadot, or others.

Then you will need to have a strong business-level internet connection. There also has to be a server where you host your domain, so you will need to purchase and maintain a server, and the cost of that can be very high.

You then need to choose an operating system and then a DNS server software. You will then have to configure the entire system.  In other words, it is going to be a very complicated process. Buying the best cheap website hosting service is a wiser choice.

Can I buy a domain name without hosting?

Yes, you can buy a domain name without hosting. However, you will need to buy a hosting service also since you will need to store the content of your website somewhere. Your domain name is just an address of your website but for creating a website you will need hosting.

Can I buy a domain from GoDaddy and host elsewhere?

Yes, you can buy a domain from GoDaddy and then host it elsewhere. This is actually a good decision as you should keep your domain host and your website host separate

After you purchase a domain from GoDaddy, you can buy a hosting plan from one of the best all-in-one website hosting services, Bluehost

Who owns a domain name?

A domain name can be owned by anyone who has or does not have a website but has purchased it from a domain registrar. The domain registrant can use their domain name to make their website or park it until you create your website.

How much does a domain cost?

A domain name can cost you anything from $2 to $30 and above depending on the domain registrar you choose. It also depends on the TLD you select and the domain extensions that you want your domain to have.

Which Domain Hosting Company Should I Pick?

Your domain name includes the name of your brand and is one of the most crucial factors that help customers find your business. While it is easy to purchase a domain name, you do not want to get started with the wrong name and start all over again.

So after you have decided on what you want your domain name to be, you might also want to look for other domains that you want to target so that your competitors cannot target the same name.

Once you are done with that step, it’s time to choose the best domain hosting service.

For affordable domains, Namecheap and NameSilo can be great choices. If you are looking for a simple domain registration process, Dynadot, Gandi.net, and Name.com are good choices.

After you are done selecting the domain host, you need to evaluate the best website hosting services. You can compare Bluehost and Hostgator and choose the one that fits your needs the best. For eCommerce websites, Shopify is the ideal hosting service.

If you plan on having a WordPress website, you can choose WP engine.

Before you finalize on any service provider, it might be a good idea to read some customer reviews to understand the experience that others have had. You should also look at available resources that will help you build your website.

With all this information in your arsenal, you are all set now to get started on building the best website for your business.

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Martin Luenendonk

Editor at FounderJar

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.