"I Have a Domain, So Where Is My Website?"
Few questions come up more often from Kenyan business owners taking their first steps online. Buying a domain does not give you a working website, and the domain name vs web hosting question trips up many people at the start. The good news is that the difference is simple once you see it.
The Domain Name: Your Address
A domain name is the address people type to reach you online. A few examples:
- kisumulawyers.or.ke
- mybusiness.co.ke
- nairobitravel.com
Typing that address into a browser sends the visitor to your site, but only when hosting is connected to the domain.
Web Hosting: Where the Site Lives
Hosting is the storage on a server that holds your website's files. If the domain is the address, hosting is the plot and the building standing at that address. A domain with no hosting behind it leads to an empty plot.
Putting the Two Together
- Register your domain, for example
mybusiness.co.ke - Buy a hosting plan, which gives you server space for your files
- Set the domain's nameservers to point at that hosting
- From then on, anyone who types your domain lands on your website
Must You Buy Them from Different Places?
No. With SiteBoma, your domain and hosting sit in the same account. Your domain, hosting and email are all managed from one dashboard, and you can pay for everything by M-Pesa or card.