Domains, hosting, DNS and email: how they fit together

Getting online usually involves a few separate services. Here’s what each one does.

Domain name

Your address on the internet, like yourcompany.co.bw. You register it for a year at a time and must renew it every year or you’ll lose it. A domain on its own doesn’t give you a website or email: it has to be pointed at a service that provides them.

Nameservers

Nameservers tell the internet which provider is in charge of your domain’s settings. You can change them yourself in the Client Area. See Change your nameservers.

DNS hosting

DNS records are the detailed instructions for your domain: where the website lives (A record), where email is delivered (MX record), verification codes (TXT record) and so on. To manage these records with us you need DNS hosting, or a web hosting plan, which includes it. See Nameservers vs DNS hosting.

Web hosting

Server space where your website’s files and databases live. Our web hosting plans include cPanel, free SSL, DNS management and email accounts.

Email hosting

Mailboxes for addresses like [email protected]. You can get email with a web hosting plan, or as a standalone email service with more storage and features. See Which email service do I have?

What do I need?