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Hosting Explained

2 June 2026 · 2 min read · Part of: AI to Production · Step 4

Domain, hosting, DNS, and files are four different things. Confusing them costs money and locks you out of your own site.

The four pieces

  • Domain: your name on the internet (registrar)
  • DNS: phone book that points name to server
  • Hosting: server that stores and serves files
  • Files + CMS: what visitors actually see

What you should own

Registrar login, hosting or platform access, and admin to your CMS. If a freelancer holds all three, you do not fully own the site.

Common questions

Is Wix hosting the same as my domain?

No. You can buy domain elsewhere and point DNS to Wix, or buy both through them. Know which login controls what.

Interactive guide

1 / 5

step 1

Do you know where it lives?

Tap one.

step 2

Three pieces

🏷️
domain
Your name on the internet.
↓ points to ↓
📡
DNS
Phone book that routes the name.
↓ serves ↓
🖥️
hosting
Server with your site files.

step 3

What matters now

1
Domain: your name on the internet (registrar)
2
DNS: phone book that points name to server
3
Hosting: server that stores and serves files

step 4

Your takeaway

PLAN
Domain, hosting, DNS, and files are four different things. Confusing them costs money and locks you out of your own site.
Ship one improvement, then reassess with real data.