The Website Stack, In Plain English

Nobody explains these terms in order, so they end up sounding like one big tangle. They're not. Here's what each piece actually does.

Domain

The name people type — yoursite.com. You rent it, yearly, from a registrar. It doesn't include a website; it's just the address.

Hosting

The computer that actually stores your site's files and hands them to a visitor's browser when they show up. The domain points at the host — they're separate things, sold separately, and that's the single most confusing part of the whole stack.

DNS

The phone book that connects the two. It tells the internet "when someone types this domain, send them to this host." Changes here can take up to 48 hours to spread everywhere, which is why a new site sometimes seems to work for one person and not another.

SSL

The certificate that turns http into https and puts the padlock in the address bar. It encrypts what's sent between visitor and host. Without it, browsers actively warn people away — it's not optional anymore.

How they fit together

A visitor types your domain. DNS says which host to ask. The host sends back your site's files, over a connection SSL has encrypted. Four separate jobs, four separate parts — which is exactly why "just build me a website" is really four decisions, not one.