iFastHostingDo I need both a domain and hosting?
Yes. A domain is an address; hosting is what the address points to. A website needs both before it can go live.
Yes, a working website needs both a domain and hosting — they do two completely different jobs and neither one substitutes for the other. A domain is the address people type; hosting is the server where your actual files live. Buying one does not include the other, and this is the single most common point of confusion for anyone setting up their first website.
What each one actually does
- A domain is a name registered for a period of time, renewed annually, that acts as a human-readable address instead of a numeric one. On its own, a domain is just a name pointing at nothing — a reservation, not a website.
- Hosting is the server storing your website's files and serving them to visitors. On its own, hosting is a working website that nobody can reach by a memorable name, only by a technical address nobody would type.
Neither is useful alone for a public website. Together, the domain tells visitors' browsers where to find the server, and the server does the work of actually showing them your site.
Can you buy them from different companies?
Yes, and it is common. Plenty of people register a domain with one company and host the website with another — the two are connected afterwards through a DNS setting rather than needing to be under one account. If you already own a domain elsewhere, see adding a domain to your hosting account for how to connect it here.
Can you get away with only one?
Hosting without a domain is possible short-term — you can build and test a site using a temporary server address before a domain is connected, which is useful while a site is still in progress. A domain without hosting is not really usable for a website at all, though some registrars offer a basic parking page just to show the domain is registered while nothing else is built yet.
What to do if you have neither yet
Order both together where that is simplest, or separately if you already have a preference for one. Either way, the two need connecting once you have both — what is web hosting covers how the pieces fit together if you want the fuller picture before choosing.
Related reading
A website is files sitting on a computer that never turns off. Here is what a host actually does and why you need one.
How to add a domain to your hosting accountA domain has to exist inside your hosting account before DNS can point at it. Here is where that setting lives and how to use it.
How to choose a domain nameThe practical rules that separate a domain name people remember and spell correctly from one that quietly costs you traffic for years.
Eight mistakes people make launching a first websiteThe same handful of mistakes account for most first-launch problems. Here they are, and the simple way to avoid each one.