Yesterday a webhosting client of mine had his email go down. He came to me because I built his website and hosted his website files and database on my file server. However I did not host his email as it was set up through a different company and their servers. To make matters worse I did not have access to this account to try to fix it.

To say it was an exercise in frustration for both of us would be an understatement. I spent countless hours trying to put together a work around to get his email recovered. Since I did not have the access I needed, I failed. It resulted in the loss of a client.

To prevent confusion like this happening again, I figured it was time to provide some education.

When it comes to setting up a website or email for your business, you may have heard the terms “web hosting” and “email hosting” being used interchangeably. However, they are two different types of hosting services with unique features and benefits. Allow me to explain the difference between web hosting and email hosting and how DNS plays a vital role in both.

Web hosting

What is web hosting?

Web hosting is a service that allows individuals or organizations to make their websites accessible on the Internet. It involves storing your website files on a web server that is connected to the internet 24/7. When someone types in your website address in their browser, the server delivers the website files to the visitor’s device, allowing them to view your website.

There are various types of web hosting, including shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, and cloud hosting. Shared hosting is the most common type of web hosting and involves sharing server resources with other website owners. Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, provides an entire server for a single website, providing more control, security, and flexibility.

Email Hosting

What is email hosting?

Email hosting, on the other hand, is a service that allows businesses to create and manage their email accounts using their domain name. It enables you to send and receive emails using your domain name, giving your business a professional image.

Email hosting typically involves using a mail server to store and manage your emails. This server can be located either on-premises or hosted in the cloud. With email hosting, you can create multiple email accounts for your employees, customize email addresses, and set up email forwarding, autoresponders, and spam filters.

Both Microsoft and Google are big players in email hosting. For myself personally I use Google (formerly GSuite) for my business. Many of my clients also use Outlook through their Office 365 account. My responsibility in managing these emails is to ensure the dns servers on the webhosting are configured properly to either Google or Outlook.

In the case of my client, he was hosting his email through outlook with his ISP that was set up for him long before our services were retained. I did not have access to that account, nor did I have access to the DNS services where his domain name was registered.

Email Hosting

How DNS plays a role in web hosting and email hosting?

DNS (Domain Name System) is a crucial component of both web hosting and email hosting. It is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses that computers can understand. Every website and email address has a unique IP address assigned to it, and DNS ensures that when someone types in your domain name, they are directed to the correct IP address.

In the case of web hosting, DNS plays a role in connecting your domain name to your website’s server.

When you sign up for web hosting, you will be provided with the server’s IP address, which you will need to enter into your domain registrar’s DNS settings. This will allow visitors to access your website using your domain name. Often times instead of an IP address you are provided with a DNS server address such as NS1.yourhostingcompany.com an NS2.yourhostingcompany.com

For email hosting, DNS is used to route email messages to the correct mail server. When you set up email hosting, you will need to configure your domain’s MX (Mail Exchange) records in your DNS settings. This will tell other mail servers where to deliver emails intended for your domain name.

What this client did not realize was that web hosting and email hosting are two different types of hosting services, each with unique features and benefits and in this case providers. Web hosting is used to make websites accessible on the internet, while email hosting is used to manage email accounts using your domain name.

DNS plays a vital role in both web hosting and email hosting, as it ensures that your domain name is connected to the correct server or mail server. By understanding the difference between web hosting and email hosting and how DNS plays a role in both, you can make an informed decision on which hosting service to choose for your business.

The big question here is how do you avoid this from happening to you? Losing your email for a short time is catastrophic. Choose a web host that offers email hosting as well, in order to avoid third-party email providers. If you wish to take advantage of running your email through Google or Microsoft, make sure whoever is in charge of maintaining these accounts is kept up to date with account access so they can help you. 

Finally, make sure the agreement you have spelled out specifically who is responsible for what when things break so  you can have the right people working on your solution.