Website & Hosting · October 2026 · 4 min read
Two things are needed to put a website online: a domain name and hosting. Here is how to choose both without wasting money.
Domain name vs. hosting
The domain is your address, like yourbusiness.com. The hosting is the place where your website files live. You need both, and they can be bought from the same company or from different ones.
How to pick a good domain name
- Keep it short and easy to say and spell.
- Avoid numbers and hyphens when you can.
- Choose .com if it is available, because people trust and remember it.
- Make sure the name is not too close to an existing brand.
Types of hosting
- Shared hosting: cheapest, good for new sites and blogs.
- Cloud or VPS hosting: more power and control, for growing sites.
- Website builders: hosting and design tools in one package.
What to check before you buy
- The renewal price, which is often higher than the first-year price.
- Free SSL certificate (the padlock in the browser).
- Backups, support quality and uptime.
- Whether you can upgrade later.
Free option for simple sites
A simple static website can be hosted for free, for example on GitHub Pages, and then connected to your own domain name. This is how this website is run.
Browse options on our Web Hosting and Domain Services pages.
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