Hosting and domain names, explained simply

The domain name is your address

A domain name is what people type to reach you: yourbusiness.com. You do not buy it forever. You rent it, usually one year at a time, from a company called a registrar. As long as you renew, it stays yours.

The ending is called the extension. The common choices for a business in Thailand:

• .com is known everywhere and open to anyone.
• .co.th shows that you are a company in Thailand. The registry usually asks for company registration documents.
• Other endings such as .net, .shop or .asia exist. Use them when the .com is taken and the name still reads well.

A good name is short, easy to say on the phone and easy to spell. Avoid hyphens and numbers if you can. If your customers know you by your shop name, use that name.

Hosting is where the site lives

A website is a set of files. Hosting is a computer that stays on day and night and sends those files to every visitor. That computer belongs to a hosting company, and you pay to use a part of it.

A small business site needs very little. What matters is simple:

• Pages that load fast for visitors in your region.
• Https, the padlock in the browser, included.
• Automatic backups, so a mistake can be undone.
• Someone who answers when something stops working.

An online shop or custom software needs more: a database, more power and closer monitoring. That is a different budget, and a reason to ask before you sign.

DNS connects the two

DNS is the directory of the internet. It tells browsers that yourbusiness.com points to your hosting. It also decides where your email goes. You set it once, at the registrar or at the host, and then rarely touch it.

Email is worth a word. An address like hello@yourbusiness.com uses your domain, but it is usually a separate service with its own price. Ask whether it is included.

What it costs, in general

As a general idea only: a common domain such as .com usually costs around ten to twenty dollars a year. Country extensions and special endings often cost more. Hosting for a small site ranges from free plans to around ten dollars a month, and more for shops and software. Prices change with the provider. Look at the renewal price, because the first year is often discounted.

If a developer you found on Vemly builds your site, ask two things before you sign. Are the domain name and the hosting in the offer, and how much do they cost each year? And will the domain be registered in your own name?

The mistakes that cost the most

• The domain is registered in someone else's name. If the designer, an employee or a relative holds it, they control your address. Register it in your own name, with your own email.
• The renewal is forgotten. When a domain expires, the site and the email stop. Turn on automatic renewal and keep the payment card up to date.
• There is no backup. One bad update can wipe months of work.
• The login details are lost. Keep the registrar and hosting accounts written down in a safe place.
• You pay for far more hosting than a small site needs.

The domain is the important one. A site can be rebuilt and hosting can be changed in a day. A lost domain name takes your address, your email and your place on Google with it.

A short checklist

• Do I know which company my domain is registered with?
• Is the domain in my name, with an email address I still use?
• When does it renew, and is the renewal automatic?
• Where is the site hosted, and who has the login?
• Is there a backup, and has anyone ever tested it?

If you can answer these five questions, you are ahead of most small businesses. If you cannot, find the answers this week. It takes an hour, and it avoids the worst kind of surprise.