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Domain, DNS and Hosting: What Each One Does

Understand registration, DNS records and website hosting so you can connect a domain without accidentally disrupting your email.

Domain, DNS and Hosting: What Each One Does

Three separate services

Domain registration reserves a domain name for a registration period. DNS tells clients where services for that name are located. Hosting runs the website or application. These services can be provided by different companies.

Pointing a domain is not transferring it

You can change DNS to connect an existing domain to new hosting while keeping the registrar unchanged. A domain transfer changes the registrar and is a different process. Choose the existing-domain option when you only want to connect a name you already own.

Preserve email records

Before replacing nameservers, inventory the existing DNS records. Website records, mail routing records and email-authentication records serve different purposes. Recreate the records needed by your email provider; a website migration should not silently move or break your mail service.

Plan the preferred hostname

Choose one public website address, arrange a valid TLS certificate for both the preferred and redirecting names, and redirect the alternative to the preferred version. Keep canonical tags and sitemap URLs consistent with that choice.

Verify after changes

Check the website, HTTPS, email sending and receiving, and any subdomains used by applications. DNS caches can retain earlier answers until their cached lifetime ends. Keep the old service available through the planned transition.

Use domain services for registration needs, web hosting for the site itself and business email when you need mailbox hosting.

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