What Is The Main Difference Between DNS Hosting and Web Hosting

There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to the difference between web and DNS hosting. The different types of hosting all act as a storage place for your website, and they differ in the amount of storage capacity, control, technical knowledge requirement, server speed, and reliability. 

What is DNS Hosting?

DNS stands for Domain Name System, and it is used as a hierarchical system that was designed to translate certain information, such as the  domain name of your website, into an Internet Protocol (IP) address. As a type of network, DNS hosting acts as an “internet traffic controller”. To say it another way, many describe the DNS as a type of old-fashioned phone book which you can use to find the “contact information” of a website. SImilar to phone numbers, computers communicate with each other using their IP addresses, which are codes  consisting of 16 numbers. Because these numerical strings can be hard to memorize for users, domain names are used instead. Therefore, DNS acts like a translator between you and the internet.

The DNS hosting service runs the DNS, and it can be provided by a domain name registrar, like 101domain. It is located on a DNS server which holds the DNS records that tell the browser where to find its location by translating a domain name into an IP address. The DNS hosting provides the service of pointing to the web site; it does not host it.

Now that we have a better understanding of the DNS Hosting let’s move on to Web Hosting. For a functional website, you need both. 

photo/ Winmax IT

What is Web Hosting?

When viewing a website in a browser, we can do so because the browser has downloaded files filled with code and converted them into something we can actually see. Just like on a computer, these files were stored somewhere else in order to be accessed later. But instead of being saved on a computer’s hard drive, they are on another computer: the server.

The web hosting provider of the server rents it out to the person who owns the website and provides other services like server management, support, backups, and more. The process of providing this infrastructure is called web hosting. 

The 3 Web Hosting Types

When you need a place to house your website, picking the ideal type of web hosting can be tricky. There are lots of factors to take into account. Many website owners that are just starting out choose shared hosting but grow to exceed the limits of their plan. It’s always possible to transfer to a more powerful setup later, but if you research your options ahead of time, you might find that shared hosting cannot fulfill the requirements your site will demand. Recognizing this earlier rather than later will help you save time and narrow down your options from the start. 

Shared Hosting 

With shared hosting, you get exactly what you’d expect from the name: it refers to a setup where your site is located on a server that is also shared by multiple other websites. The greatest advantage of this type of hosting is that you share the cost of a server with many people (think of it like getting roommates to help cover the cost of your rent). Since a hosting provider like 101domain can put several hundred clients on one server, this reduces the operating cost by spreading it among many customers. However, sharing a server is also the biggest disadvantage of this form of hosting because all websites on a shared host put a demand on its resources, which can cause problems like downtime (periods where your website is inaccessible due to technological malfunctions or overwhelming traffic) or reduced loading speed. We call this the “bad neighbor effect.” Every server host tries to avoid this issue, but it’s always a risk you take with this hosting setup.

In general, shared hosting is the most affordable hosting version and ideal if you are on a tight budget. It allows you to create your own web presence and, therefore, is the best choice for personal sites that don’t get a lot of traffic, as well as blogs, startups, and small businesses, or websites where uptime is not a big issue. Shared hosting setups are easy to use, even for website owners with no experience in web design or development.

Dedicated Hosting

With this hosting option, you rent out the entire server for yourself and your site. It is a powerful solution for experienced users who want to ramp up website performance with control over a whole server. Dedicated servers are best for businesses that use highly intensive web applications and handle large numbers of users. 

Since there are no neighbors, you will never have to suffer from the bad neighbor effect. Nobody can steal your resources, put your site at risk, or cause other issues. As the only user on a dedicated server platform, you have unlimited resources at your disposal to ensure optimal website performance. Dedicated server resources are not pooled with other websites, and you will never have to worry about your website performance being negatively impacted by other users. Having a dedicated server means you can deploy the highest-level security features and fine-tune security settings to fit your needs. You won’t be vulnerable to the activities of other websites, as they aren’t occupying your server space. In addition to increased resources, dedicated servers give you the flexibility to customize hosting-specific functions and server configurations. 

Having a server all to yourself provides a lot of benefits but also comes with a few downsides. You either need to be skilled enough to set up your own server in-house or use a fully-managed solution that comes with a higher cost than shared hosting.

The allure of dedicated servers is the ability to customize your hosting experience, but it’s also a drawback. The more options you are given, the more complex the product becomes. For this, 101domain as hosting provider offers a fully-managed dedicated server solution. For serious businesses, a dedicated server is worth the investment.

Cloud Hosting 

Cloud hosting is much more reliable and consistent than shared hosting, and users can benefit from a gigantic pool of redundant resources. This hosting type can be compared with VPS (virtual private server) hosting; both store your site on a virtual machine. This means instead of one physical server; your site is part of a network of computers from which it can pull all the power it needs dynamically. By utilizing multiple servers, Cloud Hosting offers a strategic advantage for its users. You can efficiently manage your website content and achieve the greatest load speed possible with dynamic server requests in real-time. 

It is the ideal hosting solution for businesses and websites that require maximum control and dedicated resources at an affordable price. One of the biggest advantages of cloud hosting is scalability. Instead of partitioning one computer into several virtual machines, it combines several computers into a powerful virtual server that can then provide its resources on a need basis. This type of setup is also good for security reasons, particularly in preventing DDoS attacks. The main downside is that monthly costs aren’t always fully predictable. Many providers work with a mix of fixed pricing and other fees. 

Author: True Tamplin