DOMAIN AND HOSTING · 2026
Domain and hosting: should a small business buy them together?
What the domain, the hosting and the website each are, the three ways a small business gets all three, what each setup costs a year, and when to keep the domain apart from the hosting. Every figure sourced and dated.
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The short answer
A website needs a domain (your address) and hosting (the computer that keeps the site online). For a local business, buying both from one website builder is the simplest setup, with one account and nothing to connect. Keeping the domain at a separate registrar adds a few minutes of setup, and the address then never depends on your website company.
Either way, find out who the domain is registered to and turn auto-renew on. The domain is the piece with your business's name on it. Held at a registrar in your name, on an account you can log in to, it stays yours whichever company builds the site.
The pieces are explained on their own pages: what a domain name is and website hosting for small businesses. This page is about putting them together.
Key facts, with sources
- A .com renews at $11.81 to $19.99 a year at Namecheap, Porkbun and Hostinger (each registrar's own page, read 26 October 2026).
- Entry hosting plans renew at $8.00 to $10.99 a month at Hostinger, Bluehost, IONOS and DreamHost, and all four put a domain in free for the first year (on 12- and 36-month terms at Bluehost, yearly or longer at DreamHost; each host's own page, read 4 November 2026).
- Hosting and a domain after the sale price ends come to about $147 a year, and a WordPress site someone looks after to about $735 to $4,095 a year (Hostinger, read 4 November 2026; WPBeginner's domain estimate, published September 2025; Codeable, published March 2026).
- A website builder's plan includes the hosting. Squarespace's plans run $19 to $99 a month billed yearly (Squarespace pricing, read 26 October 2026).
- For a .com and the other generic endings, a registrar may refuse to move a domain to another registrar in its first 60 days or for 60 days after a transfer, and must lock it for 60 days after a change of owner unless you opted out beforehand (ICANN Transfer Policy, dated February 2024).
US prices before tax, as each company prints them, with the day we read the page; the full source list is at the foot of the page. This page last changed on 12 November 2026. More guides on getting online: what a domain name is, .com vs .net vs .org, website hosting for small businesses and how much a website costs, or every guide.
Website first, then the address
See your website before you buy a domain or hosting
Add what you do, your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line in about 30 seconds. Build, edit and preview free. You pay only when you publish, and the hosting comes with the plan.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
THE THREE PIECES
What are the domain, the hosting and the website?
Three different things, often sold together. US prices before tax, read on each company's own page.
| The piece | What it is | Who sells it | What it costs · source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The domain | Your address, such as yourbusiness.com. You rent it a year or more at a time. | A registrar. Website builders and hosts resell them too. | $11.81 to $19.99 a year for a .com at renewal (Namecheap, Porkbun and Hostinger, read 26 October 2026) |
| The hosting | The always-on computer that stores the site and sends it to visitors. | A hosting company, or a website builder as part of its plan. | $8.00 to $10.99 a month at renewal on its own (four hosts, read 4 November 2026); nothing extra on a builder |
| The website | The pages, words, photos and forms people see at the address. | You on a builder, WordPress on a host, or a developer. | A builder's plan (Squarespace $19 to $99 a month billed yearly), or WordPress (free software) plus hosting and upkeep |
The domain range is the renewal price, the one you pay every year after the first; first-year deals run lower. Hosting yearly figures are our arithmetic on each host's monthly price.
THE THREE SETUPS
What are the three ways to get a domain and hosting?
The three common setups. They differ in who holds the domain, how many bills you get and how much is left for you to do.
| The setup | Who holds the domain | Bills each year | What you set up | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everything from one website builder | The builder, through its registrar | One plan, plus the domain's renewal after any included first year | Nothing to connect. The builder points the name at the site and sets up the padlock | Most local businesses that want a single account |
| Domain at a registrar, website and hosting on a builder | The registrar you picked | Two: the registrar's yearly renewal and the builder's plan | Two records added at the registrar, once; the builder shows you which | Owners who already have a domain, or want the address kept apart from the website company |
| Domain and hosting from a hosting company, with WordPress | The host or a registrar | Hosting and the domain (about $147 a year after the sale price), often plus someone to keep it updated | Install WordPress, a theme and plugins, connect the domain, then keep all of it updated | Someone who wants full control and has the time, or a developer who runs it |
Want the domain kept apart from the website company? Register it at a registrar in your own name and keep the login. A domain held at a registrar can point at any builder or host, so moving the website doesn't mean moving the domain.
Should you buy your domain and hosting from the same company?
Buying both in one place is simpler. You keep one account, and the company points the domain at the site for you, so there are no records to copy. Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and Hostinger all sell domains, and so does Zarla.
Keeping them apart protects the address. If the domain sits at a registrar in your name, you can move the website to another builder or host by changing two records at the registrar. The company that runs your website never holds the one thing printed on your van and your invoices. The cost is one more account to keep and a few minutes connecting it.
Two things are worth checking when a domain comes with a plan. The first year is often free and the renewal isn't. Hostinger's domain search showed a .com at $0.01 for the first year on a three-year term, renewing at $19.99 a year (read 12 November 2026). And moving a domain between registrars has waiting periods. For a .com and the other generic endings, ICANN's transfer policy lets a registrar refuse to transfer a name in its first 60 days or for 60 days after a transfer, and makes it lock the name for 60 days after a change of owner unless you opted out (ICANN). Country endings such as .com.au or .co.uk follow their own registry's rules, so check those locally. Changing where a domain at a registrar points has no waiting period; only moving the registration does.
For most local businesses, one place is the right call when it's a website builder you plan to stay on. Before you buy a domain from a builder, ask it how you would move the domain if you ever left. Pick a registrar when you already own the domain, when someone else also needs to manage it, or when you'd rather the address never depend on whoever builds the site.
WHAT IT COSTS
How much does a domain and hosting cost a year?
By setup, at the renewal price, which is what you'll pay from year two. US prices before tax.
| The setup | A year, at the renewal price · source |
|---|---|
| One website builder | The builder's plan (Squarespace, $228 to $1,188 a year billed yearly, read 26 October 2026), plus the domain's renewal once any included first year ends |
| A registrar plus a builder | The builder's plan, plus $11.81 to $19.99 a year for a .com at Namecheap, Porkbun and Hostinger |
| A hosting company plus WordPress, doing the updates yourself | about $147 a year: Hostinger's entry plan at its $10.99 renewal price × 12, plus about $14.99 a year for the domain (WPBeginner) |
| A hosting company plus WordPress, someone looking after it | about $735 to $4,095 a year with managed hosting and a maintenance plan (Codeable, March 2026) |
Yearly totals are our arithmetic on the published monthly prices. Every builder's cheapest plan, with the renewal price beside the sale price, is on our cheapest website builder guide. Zarla's current plans are on its pricing page.
STEP BY STEP
How do you get a domain and hosting for your business?
The order that saves money: see the website before you pay for anything.
Build the website first
Make the site on a builder and look at the whole thing before you pay. The hosting question answers itself, because a builder includes it.
Decide where the domain lives
At the builder if you want a single account, or at a registrar if you want the address kept apart. Already own one? Keep it where it is and connect it.
Register it and turn on auto-renew
Give contact details with an email you read, turn auto-renew on and use a card that won't expire. Click the verification email the registrar sends.
Connect it and publish
A domain bought through the builder connects itself. One bought elsewhere needs two records added at the registrar. The padlock follows once it connects.
Set up email at your domain
Email at you@yourbusiness.com needs an email service of its own. Set it up once the domain is yours.
Where does business email fit in?
Email at your own domain is a fourth piece. It needs an email service, and the domain points to it with its own records. Some hosting accounts include mailboxes. On a website builder it's usually a separate subscription, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
Zarla doesn't include email hosting. Our help article on a professional email address shows the setup. For a domain bought through Zarla, you add Google's records yourself under Domain records in the dashboard.
If your email lives on the same account as old hosting, move the email first, then cancel the hosting. Cancelling first can stop your mail.
The domain you pick is also your email address. A quote sent from you@yourbusiness.com carries the same name as your website and your van, so pick the ending with that in mind.
How do domains and hosting work on Zarla?
Zarla is a website builder, so the hosting comes with the plan. When you publish on a paid plan, Zarla hosts the site on Google Cloud, sets up the security certificate and backs the site up. Building and previewing the whole site is free.
For the domain there are two doors, both in the dashboard. You can buy a domain through Zarla. Search the name and Zarla registers it, points it at your site and sets up the padlock. On 12-month and longer plans the first year's registration is included on standard-price endings. Or you can connect a domain you already own, and Zarla shows the two records to add at your registrar, with step-by-step guides for GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare and other common registrars.
If you'd rather keep the domain apart from your website company, register it at a registrar and connect it. That's the second setup in the table above.
To compare sellers before you buy, our guide to where to buy a domain name for your website sets the builders that include a domain beside the registrars, each in its own words.
Zarla's current plans are on the pricing page.
Which setup suits a trade or local service business?
For a plumber, an electrician, a landscaper or a cleaner, the website's job is to be found and get calls. That job needs a site that works on a phone and names every service and town you cover. It doesn't need a hosting account of your own, so the first setup in the table fits most trades: one builder for the site and the hosting, with the domain bought at the builder or at a registrar.
Buy the domain before you print anything. Your domain goes on the van and the invoices, so settle the name before the signwriter does. If your business name is taken as a .com, add your trade or your town to it.
See what a site for your trade looks like: plumbers, electricians, landscapers, handymen and cleaners. Every builder's cheapest plan is compared in our cheapest website builder guide.
Domain and hosting: common questions
It's simpler. One company means one account and nothing to connect. Buying the domain at a separate registrar keeps the address independent of your website company, at the cost of one more account and a few minutes connecting it. Either way, find out who the domain is registered to and turn auto-renew on.
The domain is the address people type, such as yourbusiness.com. Hosting is the always-on computer that stores the website and sends it to visitors. You need both for a website; a website builder includes the hosting in its plan, and most builders also sell domains.
Yes. You can register a domain at a registrar and leave it unused, then point it at a website when the site is ready.
Many include the first year with a yearly plan. Wix gives a free domain voucher for a year with most yearly plans, and Squarespace a free first year with an annual plan, then its standard rate; Carrd and Webflow don't include one, so you connect a domain you own (each builder's own pricing page, read 26 October to 2 November 2026). Zarla includes the first year's registration on 12-month and longer plans, on standard-price endings.
A .com renews at $11.81 to $19.99 a year at Namecheap, Porkbun and Hostinger, and entry hosting renews at $8.00 to $10.99 a month at four big hosts (read 26 October 2026 and 4 November 2026). Together that's about $147 a year once the sale prices end. On a website builder the hosting is part of the plan, so you pay the plan and the domain.
If the domain is at a registrar, yes, and it's usually not a transfer at all. Pointing it at a new website or host means changing its records at the registrar, which you can do any time. Transferring the registration to another registrar is a separate step, and for a .com a registrar may refuse it in the domain's first 60 days or for 60 days after a previous transfer, and must lock it for 60 days after a change of owner unless you opted out (ICANN's transfer policy). A domain bought through a website builder is handled differently at each builder, so ask the builder before you buy.
Yes for the hosting. When you publish on a paid plan, Zarla hosts the site on Google Cloud with the security certificate included. For the domain, you can buy one inside Zarla, with the first year's registration included on 12-month and longer plans on standard-price endings, or connect one you already own. Building and previewing are free; current plans are on the pricing page. Wix and Squarespace also include hosting in their plans and sell domains.
Where do these numbers come from?
Every figure on this page is sourced and dated below. Prices are read on each company's own page; the domain estimate in the yearly totals is WPBeginner's. They're US prices before tax. Yearly totals are our arithmetic on the published monthly prices. Related: what a domain name is, website hosting for small businesses, how much a website costs, the cheapest website builders and Zarla's small business website builder.
- Namecheap: Domain name prices (US), no date on the page, read 26 October 2026
- Porkbun: .com domain pricing, no date on the page, read 12 November 2026
- Hostinger: Domain name search (US), no date on the page, read 12 November 2026
- ICANN: Transfer Policy, 2024 version (the 60-day locks after registration, transfer and change of owner), dated February 2024, read 12 November 2026
- Hostinger: Web Hosting plans (US), no date on the page, read 4 November 2026
- Bluehost: Shared Hosting plans (US), no date on the page, read 4 November 2026
- IONOS: Web Hosting plans (US), no date on the page, read 4 November 2026
- DreamHost: Web Hosting plans (US), no date on the page, read 4 November 2026
- Squarespace: Pricing (US), no date on the page, read 26 October 2026
- WPBeginner: How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website?, dated September 2025, read 26 October 2026
- Codeable: WordPress Maintenance Pricing for 2026, dated March 2026, read 26 October 2026
- Wix pricing, read 12 November 2026
- Carrd pricing, read 12 November 2026
- Webflow pricing, read 12 November 2026
Get the website, the hosting and the domain in one place
Describe your business in one line and Zarla builds the whole site: pages, words, photos and the Google setup. Build and preview it free. When you publish on a paid plan, the hosting comes with it, and you can buy your domain inside Zarla or connect one you already own.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.