Confusion between domain, DNS, hosting and server is among the most common I encounter when working with clients.
The 4 levels of web infrastructure
Domain (Registrar): the name you purchase from a registrar. DNS: the internet's phone book — translates names to IP addresses. Hosting/Server: where your site physically lives. SSL/TLS: certificate that encrypts browser-server communication.
Recommended setup: Cloudflare + VPS
- Buy domain from Namecheap or Porkbun
- Transfer nameservers to Cloudflare (free)
- Set up VPS on Hetzner (best value in Europe)
- Point A record to VPS IP, enable Cloudflare proxy
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