When you’re setting up a website for your business, you’ll quickly come across terms like domain names, hosting, and DNS. For many small business owners, this is where the confusion (and frustration) begins.

The good news? You don’t need to be a tech expert to get your website up and running. In this post, I’ll walk you through these three key pieces of the puzzle – what they are, how they work together, and how I make the process hassle-free for my clients.

What’s a Domain Name?

Your domain name is the address of your website on the internet. It’s what people type into their browser to find you.

Examples:

• • www.yourbusiness.co.uk
  • www.cakesbyclaire.com
  • www.surreyplumber.net

A good domain name should be:

• • Short and easy to remember
  • Easy to spell and pronounce
  • As close to your business name as possible

Tip: If you serve a specific location, you can include that in your domain (e.g. sheppertonflorist.co.uk).

What is Web Hosting?

If your domain is your web address, hosting is like renting the space your website lives in. It’s where all your images, pages, and content are stored so that people can access them 24/7.

Why it matters:

• • Good hosting keeps your website fast and reliable
  • Cheap or poor hosting can lead to slow load times or downtime, which can cost you customers

When I build websites I help clients choose a trusted UK-based hosting provider that fits their needs and budget. I also set everything up, so you don’t need to worry about any of the technical steps.

What is DNS (and why should you care)?

The simple version:

• • DNS acts like the internet’s phone book.
  • It connects your domain name to your website hosting.
  • When someone types in your domain, DNS tells the browser where to find your site.

You’ll sometimes hear phrases like “updating DNS records” or “pointing your domain to your host” – this is all part of connecting the dots behind the scenes. If you’ve ever tried to set this up yourself, you know how quickly it can become confusing.

I handle all of this for my clients, so you don’t have to dig through support articles or make sense of technical dashboards.

Do I need to do all this myself?

Absolutely not.

When you work with me, I can take care of all the setup, including:

• • Helping you choose and register your domain
  • Organising reliable hosting
  • Connecting everything correctly through DNS
  • Managing renewals and resolving any tech hiccups along the way

This means you can focus on running your business, not figuring out why your domain isn’t connecting or why your website isn’t showing up.

Getting your business online doesn’t have to be complicated. Understanding the basics of domain names, hosting, and DNS is useful, but you don’t need to master it. With the right support, it’s all handled for you quickly and smoothly.

If you’re a small business owner looking for a website that’s not only well-designed but also fully set up behind the scenes, I’d love to help.

Drop me an email at steph@quayweb.uk

Let’s get your business online – without the tech headache.