Modern computers, phones, and web browsers hide a great deal of their underlying complexity from users. However, if you’re planning to launch your organization’s website, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the various layers of the onion that make websites available to the general public.
That’s because the domain name registrar, DNS provider, and web hosting services you choose will all impact your website’s performance and accessibility. Below, we’ll cover what each one is, why it matters, and Vertical Motion’s tips for choosing the best one.
How is a website loaded?
In simple terms, every computer that’s connected to the internet is reachable through a specific internet protocol (IP) address. You can think of these as odd-looking phone numbers (e.g., 207.107.250.150).
When you want to visit, the computer doesn’t care about the domain name – it just wants to know what “number” it should call. Your web browser starts by “checking its contact list” with a DNS server to ask what the IP address is that goes with the domain name. The server might know the answer directly, or it might refer the call to other servers.
www dot...
You type http://verticalmotion.ca into your web browser
Reaching out for registration
The web browser reaches out to the domain name registrar for “.ca” domains and asks: “How can I reach http://verticalmotion.ca?”
Registrar Response
The .ca registrar responds, “I don’t know exactly, but I do know that you can call the domain name server at 1.2.3.4 and ask about http://verticalmotion.ca addresses.”
Master of the Domain
Your computer then reaches out to the domain name server (DNS) at 1.2.3.4 and asks: “How can I reach http://verticalmotion.ca?”
Domain Response
The http://verticalmotion.ca DNS server responds, “Call 104.31.137.175 and have a nice day!”
Server Serving
Your computer then reaches out to the web server at 104.31.137.175 and asks: “Please send me the http://verticalmotion.ca website," and voila – you have a website!
What services do websites rely on?
Domain name registrars: $10-100/year
These are companies that sell the right to use different domain names for your website (e.g., domains ending in .ca, .com, .org., .ai, .biz, etc.). Some domain names must be purchased through a specific registrar, while others are more widely available from any number of registrars. Specially reserved domains like .law can be much pricier.
Examples of domain name registrars include GoDaddy, EasyDNS, Rebel (previously DomainsAtCost), and so on.
Image source: DomainState as of February 2025
Domain name services: Free
Domain name servers are the “contact lists” for your specific domain. They tell the user’s computer what address to use when visiting a website, and they’re often included as a bundled item with your domain name or hosting. If you have higher traffic loads or more complex needs, many registrars provide paid add-ons, or you can opt for dedicated services such as DnsMadeEasy.
Examples include CloudFlare, EasyDNS, Rebel, GoDaddy, DnsMadeEasy, etc.
Web hosting: $5/month and up
Web servers are the computers that actually have a copy of websites on them and respond when requests arrive. This is typically referred to as web hosting, and how much it costs depends primarily on (1) how many visitors your site has at any one time, and (2) how much content you need to store for your site.
You might also need to use email addresses on your domain (e.g., [email protected]), which is an entirely separate service from web hosting.
Need advice on which one to choose? Read on for our recommendations on which ones we prefer – or reach out to our experienced team and we’ll be happy to answer your questions. But first, an important note on why bundled services aren’t always a great idea.
Single vs. multiple service providers: should you get bundled services?
As you shop around for service providers, you’ll often encounter package deals where a single service provider offers all the services that your website needs. For example, GoDaddy can act as a domain name registrar to register your domain, provide DNS services, and allow you to host a WordPress site on their servers, all for somewhere in the range of $15 per month.
For simple sites that aren’t business-critical, this might work – especially if you don’t use any sophisticated WordPress plugins and don’t get a significant amount of traffic.
However, in most cases it’s a bad idea to put all your eggs into one basket and rely on a single provider for everything. If you rely on one provider for your domain name, domain name servers, web hosting, and maybe even email hosting, then an outage can be absolutely crippling and it could be very difficult for you to recover.
Examples of the “bad things” that can happen (and have happened) include:
Equipment Failure
A piece of equipment breaks, cutting the service provider off the internet
Acts of God
A fire or natural disaster near the company’s operations
Security Lapses
A security or data breach that cause other networks to block access to the provider
Bad Actors
An employee or contractor going “rogue” and interfering with or disabling services
The possible result? Not only can your customers not visit your website, but they can’t email you about the issue if your email is hosted by the same provider. Since you can’t update any of the information about the domain, you also can’t move the site to another platform.
For example, one major incident involved a fire at OVHcloud, a European hosting provider that offers web hosting, domain registration, and DNS services. The fire destroyed servers that housed data from tens of thousands of small businesses as well as major enterprise and commercial customers. All backups were stored in the same data center, so they were destroyed as well.
Separate web services will improve your chances of disaster recovery
We recommend that there be at least some separation between services, so that an outage or failure doesn’t completely prevent recovery. In particular, ideally your domain name service, your web server, and any other communication platforms (such as email) are distinct so that a failure of one still leaves you partially operational. For enterprise businesses, it’s advisable to get redundant services with automatic backups to protect critical online infrastructure.
While backups can help you recover the content of your site, it’s not as easy to recover your domain name if you lose it – so it’s imperative to renew it regularly and take internal steps to make sure you maintain access to your domain registrar.
Why it’s imperative to renew your domain name without fail
Owning a domain name can be critically important to your business, so it’s vital that you have a process in place to renew your domain name without fail. If you don’t renew your domain name, it can expire and your website can be taken off the internet.
Worse yet, domain “squatters” watch for expiring domain names, buy them up as soon as they become available, and then hold them for ransom, demanding exorbitant fees when companies attempt to reclaim the lapsed domains.
It’s also important that you maintain control over the domain name, and ensure that multiple people in the organization have the username and password for your registrar service (and any other services used to control the domain). If staff changes and this information is lost, it can be very difficult if not impossible to recover, potentially rendering your domain name useless.
Vertical Motion’s recommendations for the DIYer
There are many domain name registrars, DNS service providers, and web hosts that you could choose from. Some will be better than others, and you’ll read glowing reviews and horrific tales of woe about almost all of them. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for. Cheaper hosting options are available, but their performance, reliability, scalability, and technical support can be severely limiting.
Based on our 20+ years of experience in the industry, here are our recommendations for a reasonable, cost-effective starting point for small to medium websites with minimal needs (but who have the time and technical know-how, or willingness to learn, to “do it yourself”):
Domain Name Registrar
Domain name registrar: GoDaddy. The price you pay will depend on the type of domain you need, and whether you purchase it for 1, 2, 5, or even 10 years at a time.
DNS Provider
CloudFlare. CloudFlare’s current “free” offering works well enough for many sites. More complex WordPress installs with higher traffic may need to pay a small fee each month.
Web Hosting
Web hosting: Web Hosting Canada. This is a great option for a basic HTML or WordPress site that doesn’t require extensive ecommerce features, and costs less than $20/month.
These three providers will help you stay flexible, which is especially important if you’re starting a business you plan to scale. For example, if you decide to build out ecommerce features and need a different hosting provider, you can switch more easily without transferring your domain name to a new provider.
But importantly, this really only scratches the surface of the tools required to run a website for your business. Web sites, even after they have been built and deployed, also need regular tune-ups to ensure they keep up to date with the latest security features and upgrades. That’s where Vertical Motion can help!
Launch, grow, and update your website with Vertical Motion
Planning to launch your business site? Don’t have the technical expertise or time to manage all of this yourself? Our team at Vertical Motion can bring your vision to life with services designed to keep your website scalable, safe, and flexible as your business grows. We hide all of the complexity by managing all of these underlying services for you.
If you already have a business site or you’re looking for a refresh, our website design and maintenance services include:
- Polished website design and branding
- Professional assistance and technical support
- WordPress hosting, monitoring, and maintenance (including site optimization, backups, custom plugin development, and regular security updates)
Whether you’re looking for a one-time upgrade or ongoing services, we’re here to help. <a href=”/contact”>Reach out today</a> to get started.
Vertical Motion is a trusted Canadian software development and entrepreneur assistance company that has supported the global efforts of startups, non-profits, B2B, and B2C businesses since 2006. With headquarters in Calgary and Kelowna, and team members coast to coast, Vertical Motion is recognized as an award-winning leader in the technology industry. Our team of executive advisors, project managers, software developers, business analysts, marketing specialists, and graphic designers have extensive experience in several industries including — Energy, Finance, Blockchain, Real Estate, Health Care, Clean Technology, Clothing & Apparel, Sports & Recreation, Software as a Service (SaaS), and Augmented & Virtual Reality (AR/VR).
Come chat with us and let us take you “From Idea to Execution and Beyond!” 🚀