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When starting a website, many beginners wonder about the differences between domains and hosting.
In short:
- A domain enables people to reach your site files.
- Web hosting stores the files that make up your website.
Since this topic is such a fundamental one to understand when starting a website, it’s a good idea to make sure you grasp it fully. So to help you do so, we’ll discuss exactly what web hosting and domains are, how they differ, where to acquire each, and how they work together to make your website available online.
What is a domain name?
Your domain name is the unique address people type into their
browser to visit your site. It’s your site’s name and location on
the internet. For example, wordpress.com is the domain
of this website.
Every website lives on a physical server, or a computer connected to the internet. That server has a unique address, called an IP address, which looks something like this: 192.0.2.1. You can think of it like the street address for a website; just like you need an address to send someone a letter, your browser needs an IP address to find and load a website.
But since strings of numbers aren’t easy to remember, we use
domain names instead—a simple, human-friendly shortcut
that points to the website’s IP address behind the scenes. So when
you type in a name like wordpress.com, your browser
uses that to look up the correct IP address and bring you to the
right website.
Besides making websites easier to reach, having a custom domain name also:
- Signals ownership over your domain.
- Strengthens your website’s or company’s branding.
- Describes what your business or website does.
- Establishes trust with your customers.
Because domains express so much about your website, it’s important to know how to choose a domain name that’s memorable and clearly reflects what your site is about.
It’s also important to note that owning a domain name doesn’t automatically publish a website or display content; it’s just the address that points visitors to your content, wherever it’s hosted.
For more details, we have an entire article on domain names and how they work.
How to get a domain name
If you want your own domain name, you need to purchase it through a domain registrar, or a company that manages the reservation of domains.
You’re in luck because WordPress.com is a domain registrar for
over 350 domain extensions (like .com,
.shop, and .blog). Simply type in your
desired domain name into our domain finder
tool to check for availability and price.
If it’s already taken, the tool will propose alternatives.
When you find a domain you like, simply add it to your shopping cart and go through the purchasing process.
When you register a domain, you’re not actually buying it forever; you’re essentially renting the right to use the name. To keep it, you’ll need to renew it annually or set it to auto-renew.
While it’s possible to use a registrar just for your domain and connect it to a site hosted elsewhere, you can purchase a domain as part of a website-building plan that includes hosting.
Case in point, if you get an annual hosting plan on WordPress.com, you can get most domains for free for the first year (with free privacy protection for as long as you keep your domain registered with us). After checkout, your domain will be connected automatically to your site—no extra setup required.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is the service that stores your website files on an internet-connected computer (i.e., a server) to make them accessible to visitors. A hosting provider gives your website space on a server and handles the technical setup that connects your domain to your website.
Without hosting, your domain doesn’t display any content. But hosting isn’t just what makes your website available online; it also affects speed, uptime, security, and overall reliability.
What’s more, hosting plans vary in features like storage space, bandwidth, support, scalability, and price depending on the type of hosting you choose.
Types of web hosting
There are several kinds of web hosting, each suitable for different needs and budgets:
- Shared hosting: Shared hosting is often the most affordable hosting option because multiple websites share the resources on one server. Shared hosting is sufficient for smaller websites and hobby blogs but can quickly become a handicap if your site starts getting more traffic.
- VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting: With VPS hosting, your website still shares a server with others, but everyone only uses their own assigned resources. This makes it a good middle ground for growing sites.
- Dedicated hosting: With dedicated hosting, your website has an entire server just for itself. Dedicated hosting is powerful but can be costly and requires you to manage the server yourself.
- Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting is a type of hosting in which multiple servers work together to provide processing power on demand. You can easily scale your site as needed.
- Managed hosting: In managed hosting, your provider takes care of technical tasks like updates, security, and backups for you. This is the kind of hosting we offer at WordPress.com.
Choosing the right hosting type depends on your website goals, traffic expectations, and how hands-on you want to be.
Managed hosting vs unmanaged hosting
Let’s take a closer look at the differences between managed and unmanaged hosting.
With unmanaged hosting plans, you primarily just rent web space. Everything else that has to do with running a website and keeping it safe and functional is on you, especially software updates, performance, and security.
With managed hosting, your provider actively manages tasks like updates and security and has an active role in making your website run well.
For example, when you host your website on WordPress.com, your plan includes:
- Automatic software updates to the latest WordPress version so you benefit from security and performance improvements as well as new features.
- Built-in security features like malware scans, a firewall, and DDoS protection to keep your site safe from threats and unauthorized access.
- HTTPS/SSL certificates that encrypt traffic between your site and visitors’ browsers and protect sensitive information.
- Speed optimization out of the box through optimized servers, caching, a content delivery network, and image acceleration. On our Business plan and above, you can also take advantage of additional features like the CDN that speeds up file and image loading.
- Your plan handles plugin and theme updates for you (unless you manually switch them off), so you’re not left with outdated or vulnerable software.
- On our Business plan and above, your website is automatically backed up, and you can restore it to an earlier version with just a few clicks if something goes wrong.
- Friendly support is included with every plan, so you’re never on your own if you get stuck.
Because of the extra help, managed hosting is often most suitable for anyone who doesn’t want to handle the more technical aspects of running a website, especially beginners. Instead of worrying about admin tasks, you can focus on creating content, connecting with your audience, building your business, and growing your website.
Get WordPress.com managed hostingDomain vs hosting: Why you need both
As you’ve probably figured out by now, domains and web hosting are separate services but work hand in hand to bring your website to life.
A domain name helps people find your site, but it doesn’t hold any of your content. On the other hand, web hosting stores everything that makes up your website—text, images, layout, and everything else—but it’s useless if nobody can reach it without a domain.
Because domains and hosting are so closely intertwined, it can seem like they are the same thing or that they overlap significantly. And while that technically isn’t the case, both are required to make your website accessible, memorable, and functional.
Should you get a domain and web hosting together?
As we have established, you can often get your domain and hosting at the same place, eliminating your need to connect the two.
In fact, WordPress.com allows you to get hosting and domains separately or together. Both approaches offer different benefits and downsides.
When you get your domain and hosting from the same provider, it’s often more convenient. You don’t have to manually connect the two through changing nameservers and other technical steps—the provider sets everything up for you.
Renewals, billing, and support will also happen in the same place, and in the case of WordPress.com, you can even save money by getting a free domain for the first year of your hosting plan.
Keeping your domain and hosting separate can make it easier to manage each one individually, but you don’t need to transfer your domain to switch hosting providers. You can simply update your domain’s DNS settings to point to your new host.
If you don’t want to deal with that and prefer to streamline the process, bundling domain and hosting is often the easier path.
Final thoughts: domain vs hosting
Understanding the difference between web hosting and domain hosting is a key first step in building a website. In the end, you are going to need both—one without the other won’t get your site online.
Whether you keep your hosting and domain together or separate depends on how hands-on you want to be and how confident you are in your technical abilities. For most beginners, having them in one place makes the process faster, easier, and less error-prone.
Get your WordPress.com hosting plan and benefit from first-class managed hosting and a free domain for the first year.
Get a domain and hostingDomain vs hosting FAQs
Still have questions? Here are some of the most common ones people ask about domains and hosting:
Why do you need hosting for a website?
Hosting is what stores your website’s files and lets people view your website online. Without hosting, your domain name wouldn’t have anywhere to point and no content (like pages or images) to display.
Are domains and hosting the same thing?
No, they’re different. Your domain is the web address people use to find your site (like mygreatnewblog.com), while hosting is the service that stores and delivers your actual website content.
How much do domains and hosting cost?
Domain names typically cost around $10–$20 per year, depending on the extension. Hosting prices vary more widely, anywhere from a few dollars a month to much more for renting your own server.
Can you have a domain name without hosting?
Yes, you can register a domain without web hosting, but it won’t show a website until you connect it to a hosting provider.
Can I use my domain with a different host?
Yes, you can. If you’ve bought a domain from one company and want to host your site at another, you can connect the two by updating your DNS settings. You can also transfer your domain from one company to another.
Does domain hosting include email?
Not always. Some providers offer email hosting as an add-on, or they may bundle it with your domain or hosting plan, but it differs from provider to provider.
How to buy a domain permanently?
You can’t buy a domain forever, but you can register it for multiple years at a time and set it to auto-renew so you don’t lose it.
If you want long-term ownership, WordPress.com offers a 100-year domain option and a 100-year hosting plan that includes domain registrations for a century.
Can I get a free domain and hosting?
Some platforms offer free subdomains and hosting plans. For example, you can use the free WordPress.com plan to create a site with a domain like example.wordpress.com. Annual paid plans include a free custom domain for the first year, along with reliable hosting and powerful features.
How often do you pay for a domain name?
Most domains are registered and renewed on a yearly basis. You can often prepay for several years or set up automatic renewal so you don’t accidentally let it expire.
Read more https://wordpress.com/blog/2025/04/21/domain-vs-hosting/
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Laravel Toaster Magic is a powerful, lightweight, and flexible toast notification library designed for modern web applications.
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Think of a WordPress maintenance plan as your website’s safety net; it protects your site against unexpected downtime, security threats, and costly technical issues.
These care plans give website owners peace of mind, knowing someone is actively looking after their online presence. And for WordPress agencies, they’re a way to create valuable long-term client relationships through ongoing support.
So let’s explore what’s included in a good WordPress maintenance plan and how to select one that truly fits your business needs—and why your hosting plan might already cover the essentials.
Key inclusions in a WordPress care plan Budget Business sizeWebsite complexityRange of services offeredExperience and reputation Benefits for individual site owners- Achieve peace of mind
- Maintain consistent uptime
- Optimize website performance
- Gain protection against threats
- Build stronger client relationships
- Create a recurring revenue stream
- Maximize customer lifetime value
- WordPress.com advantage: premium features at your fingertips
- Care plan features without the care plan
What are WordPress maintenance plans?
A WordPress maintenance plan keeps your website secure, up-to-date, and functioning optimally. A care plan takes a 360-degree approach to things like optimizing site performance, installing and testing updates, and performing security checks.
Key inclusions in a WordPress care plan
Most WordPress maintenance plans include services like:
- Backups: Most care plans include automated backups of your entire website. These regular backups are stored off-site, so you can easily restore any version if something goes wrong.
- Core updates: Your service provider should implement core WordPress updates (both minor and major version upgrades) promptly. This maintains site stability and security while giving you access to new features.
- Plugin updates: These plans may include regular updates for all plugins used on your site and testing updates in a staging environment to fix bugs and patch security issues before publishing changes to your production site.
- Uptime monitoring: Service providers should continuously monitor your website’s availability and get immediately alerted if your site goes down. Advanced monitoring also includes performance tracking to analyze load times and identify slowdowns.
- Security insights: Providers proactively monitor suspicious activity and vulnerabilities on your website. They also configure a firewall, perform security scans, and offer recommendations to mitigate risks.
- Technical support: A care plan should give you quick troubleshooting support. You get access to WordPress experts for strategic guidance and problem resolution.
- Database optimization: This service includes regularly cleaning and optimizing your WordPress database to improve performance. It removes unnecessary data that accumulates over time, like spam comments.
- Analytics and reporting: You’ll get monthly or quarterly reports about your WordPress site’s health. These reports indicate tasks completed and their impact on your traffic and security.
This is what a maintenance timeline could look like for each of these services:
How to choose an ideal WordPress care plan for your site
Don’t treat your WordPress site like a one-time project. You need a care plan to continuously update, protect, and optimize your site.
Here are some crucial factors to weigh your options and choose the right plan.
Budget
Your website’s growth can stall without proper maintenance. So your budget for a care plan can’t just be what you can afford. You have to estimate the right value-to-cost ratio.
Before setting a budget, ask yourself two questions:
- What is my site’s function—a small blog or a full-fledged business?
- How much does downtime, bugs, or security issues actually cost me?
The first question allows you to assess your website’s risk tolerance.
If your site generates direct revenue (like an ecommerce storefront), you want to invest in a comprehensive plan. Let professionals take care of your site and save yourself the trouble of breaking and fixing things.
However, if you have a purely informational site, it may be sufficient to choose a more basic care plan. You can start there and look for upgrade options as your site structure changes.
The second question gives you a clear picture of what’s at stake.
For a software website driving sign-ups worth $1,000 daily, even a few hours of downtime is a huge loss compared to paying an extra $100 monthly for premium support.
Estimate the cost of poor maintenance and factor in your risk tolerance to arrive at a realistic budget.
Tip: If you want to go for a cost-effective plan, remember to read the fine print and question the service provider to check whether it meets all your requirements.
Business size
A freelancer running a personal website probably doesn’t need the same support as a brand offering a subscription membership with regular payment processing.
The size of your business (and website) can impact your maintenance needs. Here’s how:
- Solo creators: Your blog or portfolio needs the essentials without the overhead. You may want to look for a plan with basic support like core, plugin, and theme updates, backups, and security monitoring.
- Small businesses: Limited in-house tech resources mean you can benefit from a more extensive care plan. Choose a reliable service provider to act as your outsourced IT support.
- Medium-sized businesses: These sites may benefit from highly customizable plans that complement your in-house resources. For example, you might have staff for backups but need external support for performance optimization. Find plans with space for such flexibility.
- Enterprise businesses: Downtime or security lapses translate to lost revenue and damaged reputation. You need a plan with dedicated support, fast response time, security layers, and higher levels of technical expertise.
It’s equally important to consider what role your website plays in your business.
Think about it: A growing ecommerce store losing $1,000 every hour due to downtime needs enterprise-level care, even if they’re small. Meanwhile, a large company with a one-page site might need less intensive support.
Evaluate your website’s actual role, in addition to your business size, to find the right maintenance plan.
Website complexity
Some WordPress sites are sleek and simple. Some others are more complicated with multiple plugins, custom code, and other elements.
The way your site is built determines the kind of maintenance it requires.
For example, a photography portfolio with lots of media assets needs a care plan focused on performance checks and speed optimization.
On the other hand, a site using WooCommerce, membership plugins, and custom payment integrations might need a more specialized plan for uptime monitoring, payment gateway testing, and security scans.
To assess your site’s complexity, you have to inventory its components:
- How many plugins are you running?
- Do you use custom code or themes?
- Do you handle sensitive customer data?
- How frequently does your content change?
- What integrations connect to external services?
Here’s a framework to choose a care plan based on website complexity:
Range of services offered
At first glance, most maintenance plans might look the same, including updates, backups, security, and so on.
However, these services can look different on paper and in practice. Before you sign up for a plan, you should understand exactly what’s included in every service.
Here are a few questions to evaluate the finer details of a care plan:
- Are backups daily or real-time? Where are they stored?
- Is support unlimited or capped? Can you email, call, or chat?
- Does the plan include malware removal or just security scanning?
- What performance optimization tactics are offered, and how often?
- Are updates tested on a staging site first or directly implemented live?
This exercise will also help you shortlist plans that closely align with your pain points.
If you’re constantly struggling with slow load times, prioritize performance optimization. If you’ve lost revenue to security breaches, find providers specializing in security monitoring and risk mitigation.
Remember that the ideal care plan offers both preventative maintenance and responsive support, so be sure to look for services in both brackets when finalizing your plan.
Experience and reputation
Lastly, you want to work with a credible service provider who helps you understand what’s happening on your website behind the scenes.
Do your due diligence to evaluate each provider’s background. It’s best to start with general verification and collect details like years of experience maintaining WordPress sites.
You also want to see client testimonials to assess their reliability and actual results beyond the sales pitch.
Go a step further and review case studies from your industry if you can, as this will highlight their backend process and knowledge of your vertical.
You can also ask about their team structure. It’s important to know how many clients a member typically handles. Check if you’ll get a dedicated account manager, or someone who will be your single point of contact.
Finally, trust your communication experience during the buying process.
If a provider is responsive, thorough, and transparent while trying to win your business, they’re likely to maintain those standards afterward.
How can WordPress maintenance plans benefit you?
Both care plan providers and site owners have skin in this game. The right maintenance partnership delivers value on both sides of the table. Let’s see how.
Benefits for individual site owners
Individual site owners will experience plenty of benefits from WordPress maintenance plans, provided they choose a provider who’s proactive, reliable, and transparent about what’s included.
Achieve peace of mind
If you’ve ever found yourself in a state of panic about the upkeep of your website, a care plan can take away this tension.
You don’t have to worry about breaking something or lose hours trying to roll back a failed update.
The payoff? When you’re not stressing about whether your site might crash tomorrow, you can focus on high-value tactics that actually grow your business.
Maintain consistent uptime
Downtime can damage your credibility, create friction for potential buyers, and lead to lost revenue.
These plans typically offer 24/7 site monitoring to catch issues before they turn into crises. The difference is reactive versus proactive care—instead of waiting for frustrated customers to report problems, your service provider prevents them in the first place.
Optimize website performance
Visitors will quickly leave your site if it takes more than a few seconds to load.
That’s why performance audits are a key aspect of WordPress maintenance plans. Your service provider will set up your website for optimal performance through services like caching configuration, image optimization, and database cleanup.
All of this adds up to a faster, more responsive site with a delightful user experience.
Gain protection against threats
When it comes to site security, prevention is always better than a cure; that said, a WordPress maintenance plan offers both.
Care plans secure your website with IP blocking, malware scanning, firewall configuration, and more. And if a security breach does occur, your provider can respond immediately to contain and mitigate the threat.
Benefits for agencies
Maintenance plans are more than just routine check-ins; they’re a way for agencies to build recurring revenue, deepen client relationships, and offer ongoing value.
Build stronger client relationships
Instead of taking one-and-done projects, this ongoing care can help you transition into a long-term partner. You’re actively checking in, sharing performance reports, fixing issues, and more to demonstrate the ongoing value of your work.
Put simply, offering these maintenance features can create regular touchpoints to deepen your relationships beyond transactional exchanges.
Create a recurring revenue stream
Another critical benefit for agencies is creating more predictable revenue.
With this kind of support, you can maintain (and increase) your monthly recurring revenue so you can add more stability to your cash flow and create breathing room for your business to grow.
Maximize customer lifetime value
Maintenance plans extend your client relationships beyond the website launch. With regular support, you can stay top-of-mind for future opportunities like a redesign or site expansion.
WordPress.com advantage: premium features at your fingertips
Many of these service inclusions in a premium WordPress maintenance plan are built right into WordPress.com managed hosting plans, benefitting users and agencies alike:
- We automatically update your sites to the latest WordPress version and install all the theme and plugin updates effortlessly
- Security monitoring and malware scanning are already baked into regular audits of your site’s security, and if your site is hacked, we’ll fix it for free
- Daily backups ensure you can restore your site to a previous version if something goes wrong*
- Built-in caching boosts site performance and improves page-loading speeds without extra caching plugins
- Free SSL certificates for all WordPress.com domains to encrypt your data and enhance protection against malicious attacks
- Jetpack’s CDN setup speeds up your site by loading images and other assets from servers closest to your visitors*
- Dedicated customer support is available around the clock, where experts answer your queries, troubleshoot issues, and offer guidance**
* Available on our
Business plan and above
** Available on paid plans only;
free plans have access to public forums
for support
WordPress.com hosting builds a strong foundation for your website without the extra cost of a care plan. We manage infrastructure, updates, backups, and security so you can focus on content and building your site, not upkeep.
And if you’re an agency, WordPress.com gives you a head start. Many of the infrastructure tasks you’d typically handle in a care plan—like plugin updates, security scans, or daily backups—are already built into our platform. That means less manual work for your team and more time to focus on the strategic, creative, or high-touch elements your clients actually notice.
Care plan features without the care plan
Whether you’re building your own site or managing many for clients, WordPress maintenance plans provide reliable peace of mind—and with WordPress.com, that protection comes built in.
Of course, maintenance plans come at a cost. But at WordPress.com, you can get hosting, domains, security, and speed all for one, predictable price.
Get WordPress.com hostingRead more https://wordpress.com/blog/2025/04/18/wordpress-maintenance-plans/
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JetBrains released the stable version of PhpStorm 2025.1 this week with new AI features, PHPStan annotation code completion, debugging improvements, code completion for nested variables in .env files, and more.
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Read more https://build.prestashop-project.org/news/2025/upcoming-live-update-april-2025/
