When a website stops working or a provider sends a renewal notice, owners often discover they are not sure what they are paying for. Is the domain the same thing as the website? Does hosting include email? Who has the login for the place where the address is registered? These pieces are often bought together, which makes them feel like one thing, but they can each live with a different company.
This guide separates them, explains who should own each one, and walks through what happens to each piece when you change providers.
The pieces, one by one
The domain is your address, such as yourbusiness.com. You rent it from a registrar, usually yearly, and the registrar account is where ownership lives. DNS is the set of records that tells the internet where the address points: which server shows your website and which service receives your email. DNS is often managed at the registrar, though it can be moved elsewhere.
Hosting is the server space where your website files live and get delivered to visitors. The website itself is the design, pages, text and images. Email is usually a separate service connected to your domain through DNS records, even when it was sold in the same bundle.
Who should own each piece
- ✓Domain registration — in your name, at a registrar account you can log into
- ✓DNS settings — managed wherever the provider needs, with your knowledge
- ✓Hosting — can be the provider’s, as long as your content is yours
- ✓Website content — your text, photos and logo stay yours
- ✓Email accounts — in an account you control, not tied to one person’s login
What renews, and when
The domain renews on its own schedule, usually once a year, and letting it lapse is the single most damaging mistake, because the address can eventually be registered by someone else. Turn on auto-renew and keep the payment card current. Hosting renews on its provider’s schedule. Email renews per mailbox. Any security certificate is usually renewed automatically by the host.
Write down each renewal date in one place. A missed email renewal is annoying; a missed domain renewal can take your site and email offline at the same time.
Before you switch, gather these
- ✓Registrar login — confirm you can sign in and see the domain
- ✓Current DNS records — a screenshot or export before anything changes
- ✓Email provider details — which service runs your mailboxes
- ✓A copy of your content — text, images and any documents you link to
What happens when you switch providers
Switching website providers does not require moving your domain. In most cases the domain stays at its registrar and only the DNS records change, so the address points to the new host. Email stays where it is too, as long as its records are kept when DNS is updated. This is where switches go wrong: someone replaces the DNS records and forgets the email ones.
The website content is the piece that may not move easily. Sites built on a proprietary builder usually cannot be exported as working files, so the new provider rebuilds the pages using your text and images. See keeping your domain while switching platforms for the step-by-step version.
How we handle it
Your domain stays in your name. We host the website on our managed hosting, which is included in Website Care at $30/month along with HTTPS, backups, uptime checks and small edits. When we move a site to us, we update the records needed for the website and keep the existing email records in place, and we rebuild the pages rather than trying to edit inside another platform.
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We cannot recover a domain registered to someone else — the registrar decides ownership disputes
- ✓We do not edit inside other builders — we rebuild the site on our hosting
- ✓Old content may not transfer — we cannot promise every past file can be recovered
One example of what your site could look like
This is one sample we designed. Yours is built around your business, your photos and your words, and we have more examples if you want to compare directions.
What it costs
Websites are priced one-time by size, plus Website Care at $30/month for hosting, HTTPS, backups, weekly checks and A/B testing. Every package includes a consultation, mobile-friendly design, copy we write for you, a contact form, essential search setup and 10 revision rounds. Monthly SEO is an optional add-on when you are ready for it.
Optional add-ons, billed separately
The prices above are for your website. These two are separate monthly products you can add now or later. Neither is part of the website price.
Monthly SEO, from $50/month: new pages published on your site every month. See Monthly SEO →
Business Spotlight, from $30/month: articles about your business, labeled as paid, published on The Company Chronicle. See Business Spotlight →
How it works
1. Consultation
We learn your services, customers and goals, in English or Spanish.
2. We write and design
We draft the words and build the site around your business.
3. 10 revision rounds
You review and request changes until it is right.
4. Launch and care
We launch, then Website Care keeps it hosted, backed up, checked weekly and A/B tested.
Keep reading
Who owns your website · Keep your domain, switch platforms · Business email with your domain · Website monthly costs
