As the owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business, you likely already know the importance of your website. It’s often the first place potential customers visit to learn about your products or services. However, when things go wrong—like your website going down or needing to be moved to a new server—it can feel overwhelming to understand the technical jargon. Two terms that often confuse business owners are website hosting and DNS hosting.
In this article, we’ll break down the difference between these two services, why they matter, and what happens when you need to change your website’s IP address (A record) during a server migration.
Website Hosting: The Foundation of Your Website
Simply put, website hosting is where your website lives. When someone types your website address into a browser (like www.example.com), they are sent to the server that holds your website’s files—such as your images, text, and code. Website hosting companies provide this server space, so your site is always available online.
Examples of website hosting companies include Itomic, GoDaddy, Bluehost, and SiteGround.
DNS Hosting: The Traffic Director
While website hosting handles the content of your site, DNS hosting (Domain Name System hosting) handles how people find your site. DNS is like the phone book of the internet. Instead of remembering a string of numbers (IP addresses), you type in a domain name like www.example.com, and DNS converts that into the IP address of your website’s server.
Without DNS, no one could find your site because they wouldn’t know where to go. It’s the key to connecting a domain name to the correct website.
DNS hosting services can be provided by a different company than your website hosting provider. For example, you might host your website with SiteGround, but your DNS records are managed through a service like Cloudflare or your domain registrar (like Namecheap or Google Domains).
What Happens When Your IP Address (A Record) Needs to Change?
Let’s say you need to move your website to a new server, maybe because of an upgrade or migration. In this case, your website’s IP address (the ‘A’ record) needs to be updated to point to the new server’s IP.
To do this, you need access to your DNS hosting account, because that’s where you update the IP address that points your domain name to the new server.
Why Your Website Hosting Provider Might Not Have Access to DNS
It’s essential to understand that your website hosting company may or may not manage your DNS.
- Scenario 1: Website Hosting Company Manages Both Website and DNS
If your website hosting company also manages your DNS, then they can likely update the IP address for you. This is common when everything is bundled under one provider, and it simplifies things. You or your website hosting provider can log in to the DNS management settings and make the changes directly. - Scenario 2: Website Hosting and DNS Hosting are Separate
In many cases, your DNS hosting may be with a different provider. For example, you may have purchased your domain name from one company, but you’re hosting your website on another. In this scenario, your website hosting company doesn’t automatically have access to your DNS hosting account. You (or someone on your team) would need to log in to the DNS hosting provider (such as your domain registrar) and update the IP address yourself.
Why Does This Matter?
When your website needs to move to a new server, it’s important to know who manages your DNS. If your website hosting company doesn’t manage it, you will need to find your DNS hosting account login details to make changes like updating the ‘A’ record. If you don’t know where your DNS is hosted or don’t have access, this could cause delays in getting your website back online after a migration.
Conclusion
Website hosting and DNS hosting serve two different purposes: website hosting is where your website’s content is stored, and DNS hosting is what directs traffic to your site. Understanding the difference can save you headaches when technical changes, like a server migration, need to be made.
If your website ever needs to move to a new server, remember that whoever manages your DNS is responsible for updating the IP address (A record). If your DNS is hosted separately, you will need access to that account to ensure the changes are made promptly.
By keeping track of where both your website and DNS are hosted, you can avoid unnecessary downtime and keep your online presence running smoothly.