Domain vs hosting: what is the difference?

An easy way to think about it

• Domain = your address. It tells people where to find you.
• Hosting = the building. It is where your website actually lives.
• Website = what’s inside. Pages, photos, products.

You can own an address without a building (a parked domain), but a building with no address is hard for anyone to find.

Side by side

	Domain	Hosting
What it is	The name people type	Server space for files, databases, email
Paid	Yearly, renewed	Monthly or yearly
Example cost	Ksh 1,300 a year for .co.ke	From Ksh 2,180 a year
Where it comes from	A registrar (like Hostnali)	A hosting provider (like Hostnali)
Can be moved	Yes, transfer	Yes, we migrate for free

Do you need both?

• For a website: yes.
• For business email only: yes, a domain plus email hosting.
• To protect a brand name: a domain alone is enough.

Same company or different ones?

You can register the domain in one place and host somewhere else, then point the domain to the hosting. Keeping both at Hostnali is simpler: one account, one renewal date, one support team, and the domain is connected to your hosting automatically.

Free domain with hosting

Every Hostnali web hosting plan except Starter includes a free domain for the first year, so you can get both in one order. See web hosting plans.

What happens if one expires?

• Domain expires: your website and email stop working even though the hosting is paid.
• Hosting expires: the domain still exists, but there is no website or email behind it.

Keep both on auto-renewal. More in renewal and expiry.