Domain, Hosting and Business Email Explained

Domain, hosting, DNS, SSL, business email: the jargon puts many business owners off before they even start. It is simpler than it sounds. Here is what each piece is, what it costs and what to watch out for.

A helpful way to think about it: your domain is your address, hosting is the land your house sits on, and your website is the house.

What is a domain name?

Your domain is the name people type to reach you, such as yourbusiness.com.my. You rent it by the year from a domain registrar.

• .com is familiar worldwide and usually the cheapest.
• .my and .com.my show you are a Malaysian business. .com.my requires business registration details.
• Choose something short, easy to spell and easy to say over the phone.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers that people will mistype.

What is hosting?

Hosting is the server where your website's files live, so it can be shown to visitors around the clock. Common types:

• Shared hosting: your site shares a server with others. Affordable and fine for most small business sites.
• Managed hosting: the provider handles updates, backups and speed for you. Costs more, saves time.
• VPS or cloud hosting: dedicated resources for busy stores and web apps.

A server located in or near Malaysia, such as in Singapore, helps pages load faster for local visitors.

What is business email?

An address like hello@yourbusiness.com.my looks far more trustworthy than a free webmail address, especially on invoices and quotes. You can get it:

• Bundled with your hosting, which is fine for a few mailboxes.
• From a dedicated email service, which offers better spam filtering and storage, charged per user per month.

What is SSL (the padlock)?

SSL encrypts the connection between your visitor and your website, shown as https and a padlock in the browser.

• Browsers warn visitors about sites without it.
• Google prefers secure sites.
• It is required for taking payments.

Most hosts now include a free SSL certificate, so you should not need to pay extra.

Who should own your domain?

This is the most important point in this article. Your domain should be registered in your name or your company's name, with your email address on the account. Otherwise:

• You may not be able to move to another web designer.
• If the person who registered it disappears, the renewal can lapse and someone else can buy your name.
• Your email stops working when the domain expires.

Ask your web designer to confirm in writing that the domain is yours, and keep the login details somewhere safe.

Typical yearly costs in Malaysia

• Domain: roughly RM50 to RM150 a year.
• Hosting for a small site: from around RM150 to RM600 a year.
• Business email: included with hosting, or a monthly fee per user for a dedicated service.

Set your domain to auto-renew, and keep your payment card up to date.