One of the most common points of confusion for those who are starting to build their online presence is thinking that a domain and hosting are the same thing. They are not, although they are closely related.
The domain: your address on the internet
The domain is the name people type in their browser to reach your website. For example: bacan.com.
It works like the postal address of a house: it identifies a place and allows others to reach it. Without a domain, your website would not have a recognizable address.
Domains are registered for periods of 1 year or more. As long as you renew them on time, the name is yours. Bacan offers registration of .com, .es, .net, .org and many other extensions, with transparent pricing and DNS included.
Hosting: the space where your website lives
Hosting is the server where the files of your website are stored (pages, images, databases, email). It is like the building whose postal address is the domain.
Without hosting, the domain exists but leads nowhere. You need both to have a working website.
How do they connect?
The domain and hosting connect through DNS servers. When someone types your domain in their browser, the DNS redirects that request to the correct server where your website is hosted.
If you sign up for both domain and hosting with the same provider — like Bacan — this connection is configured automatically. If you have the domain elsewhere, you just need to change the nameservers to point to Bacan.
Do I need both?
To have a website with its own address, yes. But there are options depending on your situation:
- Domain + hosting at Bacan: the most convenient option. Everything in one panel, DNS configured automatically.
- Domain at another provider + hosting at Bacan: perfectly possible. You just need to change the nameservers at your domain registrar to point to Bacan.
- Domain at Bacan + hosting at another provider: also works. You can manage your DNS from the Bacan panel and point to whatever server you want.
If you sign up for a hosting plan at Bacan, you can get a free .com domain in the first year.