The question we hear most is not what they are, but why two bills arrive. They are two separate services, bought from one company or from two, and both renew every year.
If either one lapses, the site goes offline, and so does the email at your domain. An expired domain is eventually released for anyone to register, so know whose name yours is in and when it runs out.
What a domain is
The domain is the name people type to reach you, like yourbusiness.ca. It points to the numeric address of a server, which nobody would remember.
It is registered, not bought: for a year or more, and renewed before it runs out. The price depends on the ending. A .ca also asks for a connection to Canada, such as citizenship, permanent residence, a Canadian corporation or a trademark registered in Canada, among the categories CIRA, the .ca registry, accepts.
We register your domain in your name, never ours.
What hosting is
Hosting is the space on a server where the site lives, with its database and your email. It is paid for every year as well.
Ten pages and a store with a thousand products do not need the same, but for most businesses a basic plan is enough for years. A site that outgrows it starts to open slowly, and the fix is a larger plan, not a new site.
What our packages include
Business and Pro include the domain and hosting for the first year. On Lite and Standard, and on every package from the second year, hosting on our Canadian server is $290 a year, with SSL, daily backups and business email at your domain, and the domain is charged at cost. What each package includes is on Pricing.
Already have a domain? It stays yours, and we point it at the new site. Not sure what to keep? Ask for a free estimate and we will tell you.