Are you building a new website for your small business in Singapore and wondering how web development works?
Before you get started on your website design or hire a Singapore web developer to build your website, you must understand the two most important yet commonly used terms or services that are required to create a website: Website hosting & domain name.
For newbies and businesses building their websites for the first time, jargon like ‘website domain‘ and ‘hosting‘ can be confusing and overwhelming. In my personal experience working as a website consultant or website builder, I have come across many business owners and individuals who are unfamiliar with website development.
The most common questions that I get from them related to some fundamental topics of website design include “What is website hosting?“, “What is a website domain name?“, “How is website hosting different from a domain name?“, or “Do I need both to launch my website?“.
In this blog post, I will discuss the significant differences between three essential concepts or pillars of website design: website hosting, website domain, and website development.
What’s web hosting?
Website hosting is the virtual storage of your website and emails. A web hosting service enables you to store your website’s files, point your domain to them, and display them in a presentable manner (as web pages) when a user accesses your website.
There are different types of web hosting services:
- Shared Hosting – Budget-friendly, best for small websites
- VPS Hosting – Offers better speed and control
- Dedicated Hosting – High-performance servers for large websites
- Cloud Hosting – Scalable and reliable for fast-growing businesses
- Managed Hosting – Great for WordPress or custom CMS websites
Key things to note about a website hosting:
- A web hosting package may cost you between $2 and $300 per month.
- When you subscribe to a web hosting plan, you will generally get a control panel, email accounts, an SSL certificate, etc.
- Some web hosting companies also offer a domain name for free for the first year as part of their web hosting package.
What’s a domain name?
A domain name is the address of your website on the internet. In other words, a domain name is the virtual address of your website. For example, my website’s domain name is BhupeshKalra.com.
Key things to note about a domain name:
- You can register your domain name with any of the hosting providers such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.
- The cost to register & renew a domain name typically ranges between $10 $20 per year. However, if you need a .com.sg or a .sg domain name, you may have to pay $60 per annum.
- Domain names come with several extensions, and some of these popular extensions in Singapore are .com, .sg, .com.sg, .net, .info, .co, and more…
Looks too techie to you? Hire a web designer!
If the jargon like web hosting, domain name, SSL, control panel, etc. sounds too technical and overwhelming to you, it’s ok. You are not alone. This is the reason most business owners hire a web designer to make their website development & launch process hassle-free.
When you hire a web designer in Singapore, they will take care of your domain name and web hosting; however, you must take care of getting the full ownership of your domain and web hosting, just in case you want to switch over your website to another server or another web designer.
What’s web development?
Website design & development is the process of building your website. Whether you are using a website-building software or hiring a professional web designer or developer in Singapore, this is the most crucial stage of building your online presence that will add wings to your business.
A website design package may include:
- Designing the website layout as per your brand’s theme and colors.
- Responsive (mobile-friendly) website design
- SEO-friendly URLs and core structure
- Content Management System (CMS) setup (e.g., WordPress)
- E-commerce features or lead capture forms
Don’t get into the technicalities of website development if you own a business that has nothing to do with coding. Let an experienced website developer in Singapore handle your site, allowing you to focus on your core business, which matters most to you.