It’s a commonly held belief that keeping your domains and hosting at separate companies is the best route. But how does it hold up in reality?
In this post, we cover a bunch of myths and theories about keeping your hosting and domains separate so you can decide what you want to do.
Let’s get started!
Should You Really Keep Your Domain Names & Web Hosting Separate? Share on XThe theory: It’s better for security. Using two different companies, if a hacker compromises your hosting account, they won’t automatically have access to your domain registration account (or vice versa).
The reality: Most people use the same email account for both companies – often even the same password for both logins too – so someone hacking into your email would be able to access both, reset the password for both or have enough of your personal info to pass a phone security check or have your two-factor authentication disabled anyway.
For tips on keeping your domains and emails safe, raise a ticket with our team and they’ll be able to advise.
The theory: If you ever need or want to switch web hosts, you can do so by simply updating the nameservers at your domain registrar. You avoid the hassle, potential delays, and possible “hostage” situations of transferring the domain away from a provider you’re leaving.
The reality: You’d be switching nameservers regardless of your setup, so there’s no difference in the process (other than having to deal with more accounts and companies).
Providers are not allowed to hold domains hostage. They’re regulated by domain registries, who are the top level companies responsible for managing domain names. For example, for .com, .net, and .org domains it’s ICANN; for .uk domains it’s Nominet. Any company doing domain registrations is bound by the registry’s rules, one of which is that domain transfers must be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
Should you ever encounter a problem with a domain name provider, you can always go over the provider’s head to contact the appropriate registry directly and they will help you.
As long as the domain name is in your own name (and it’s not a trademark infringing/legally disputed name), you always have full control of it. This is why, if you’re working with smaller companies or individual web designers, it’s vital that your domain names are registered with your own name and contact details and are in your own account, not theirs. (This also protects them, if you decide to stop paying without notifying them!)
The theory: If your hosting provider experiences a severe outage or other issue, only your website goes offline. Your domain name and associated services like email (if they are also separate) remain safe and functional, allowing you to quickly point your domain to a new host.
The reality: Outages are always high priority and fixed as quickly as possible, so it’s far more likely there would be much more of an outage from you needing to upload your whole website to a new host’s servers. This assumes you have a small enough site that you could upload it in less than a few hours. Furthermore, it assumes you have a completely up-to-date backup of your website, including any new comments, orders, or anything else generated by users.
Even assuming you had a small website, a current backup, another hosting account ready to go, and could repoint your domain quickly, changes can take many hours to propagate across the internet, so it’s more likely that your website would be down for a lot of people far longer than the host’s outage.
The theory: Domain registrars often specialize in domain management (including robust DNS features and a wider variety of Top-Level Domains (TLDs)), while web hosts specialize in server performance and infrastructure. Separating them lets you choose the best provider for each specific service.
The reality: This is like saying that you should go to one restaurant for your burger and another for your fries. Realistically, all domain and hosting providers know both inside out and their products and services reflect that.
The theory: If you don’t trust the company or your relationship breaks down, you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
The reality: You never want to be using a company you don’t trust, respect or are happy to rely on for either your domain name or hosting. (See also: Pricing Tricks: What Your Host Doesn’t Want You To Know).
Are there advantages to keeping your domain and hosting together?
The only actual reasons to have separate domain and hosting are if one company doesn’t offer everything you need, you simply prefer one over another (e.g. you prefer one’s domain control panel and another’s hosting control panel), or price. When you’re deciding based on price, remember to factor in all secret and hidden costs, such as what the renewal price will be, whether domain privacy is charged for separately, and the minimum number of years you can buy/renew for, as it can often work out more expensive than you think. You may also find this page useful: What The Heck Does That Mean (& Do I Even Need It?)
A lot of people find having everything in one place with a company they like and trust is much easier than:
- having and managing multiple accounts with different companies;
- managing multiple sets of payment methods/payment schedules/invoices;
- potentially having to be a go-between or end up in the middle of support issues where two companies are telling you different things and aren’t always aware of the other’s services or processes.
Setup is also often much easier. For example, when you buy a domain name and hosting plan in the same order with us, WordPress is automatically installed for you so you can get started right away.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what works for you and what you’re happy with. It’s a decision that only you can make, so it’s important to consider all the different aspects and decide what you personally prioritize.
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