Where is my website?

In a nutshell, a web host is a service with computers/servers that allows a business, organization, or individual to store their website files online and make their website viewable to everyone on the Internet.

The web host will allocate (rent out) a business space to store their files on the web server (computer), and their website can then become active and accessible online. This is where all of the files that make up your website are stored (hosted). Product information, Services, Contact information, Blog, Forms, Shopping Cart, Payment Vehicle and so on.

Where is my email?

An email host is a provider who rents out email servers to their users. By using an email host, businesses can use their domain name in their email and have their incoming and outgoing emails managed by a dedicated mail server.

Most often small businesses use the same host for their website and their email. Many times a company will already have an email service such as Gmail. Your email at can be redirected to your Gmail account to maintain continuity should you decide to change your web host provider. Within services (like Gmail) you can set up filters that will direct each email to a specific folder to categorize it by where it comes from – different companies, vendors, customers, etc.

Domain Name Registrar

This is where your URL- Uniform Resource Locator (yourwebsite.com) is registered to you. No one else can use the same one. Domain names that are registered are kept track of through the DNS (Domain Name System).

You must keep your registration current… if you don’t you could lose your URL and access to your website and email files.

You must also keep your user name and password – it will be needed to set up the functions needed to make your website work.

Any Internet-connected computer can be reached through a public IP Address that is a set of numbers: 173.194.121.32. But, to make it easier for users, we use a “friendly name” (yourcompany.com). Then the DNS server translates and points your “friendly name” (your domain name) to the actual IP address.