Domain Registry vs Registrar vs Hosting: What’s the Difference?

When you set up a website, you quickly run into three similar words: registry, registrar, and hosting. At first they sound almost the same, and it is very easy to mix them up. But each one has a different role in how your domain and website work.

In simple terms:

• The registry manages the whole domain zone (like .com or .org).
• The registrar is the company where you buy and manage your domain.
• Hosting is where your website files and emails actually live.

Let’s break this down step by step with everyday examples so you can clearly see who does what.

A Quick Real-World Analogy

Imagine you want to open a small shop in your city.

• The land registry office keeps the official list of who owns which piece of land. That is like the domain registry.
• The real estate agent helps you find and “rent” or buy the place. That is like the domain registrar.
• The building where you put your furniture and products is like your web hosting.

Now let’s translate this back into the online world.

What Is a Domain Registry?

A domain registry is the organization that operates a particular top-level domain (TLD), such as .com, .net, or .org, or a country code like .de or .fr.

The registry’s main responsibilities:

• Maintain the official database of all registered domains under that TLD.
• Set the rules for that zone (who can register, which data is required, etc.).
• Provide the technical infrastructure so DNS can find which nameservers handle each domain.

Registries usually do not sell domains directly to end users. Instead, they work with registrars (domain providers) who handle retail sales.

So if your domain is mybusiness.com, the .com registry knows that this domain exists and which nameservers it uses, but you do not log in to the registry website to manage it. You never see the registry in your daily work.

What Is a Domain Registrar?

A domain registrar is the company where you actually register your domain. This is the site where you search for names, add them to cart, and pay the yearly fee.

Some typical things you do at a registrar:

• Search for available domains.
• Register and renew domain names.
• Update contact information (owner, admin email, etc.).
• Change nameservers (point your domain to a DNS provider or hosting).
• Sometimes manage basic DNS records directly.

Behind the scenes, your registrar communicates with the registry. When you register myshop.com, the registrar sends a message to the .com registry: “Please create this domain and link it to these nameservers for this customer.”

The registrar is your main point of contact for everything related to ownership of the domain.

What Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the service that stores your website’s files and makes them available on the internet. If the registrar is where you buy your address, hosting is where you rent your house.

A hosting provider typically gives you:

• Disk space on a server for your website files.
• A web server (like Apache or Nginx) to respond to visitor requests.
• Often a database (like MySQL) if your site uses one.
• Sometimes email hosting, control panel, backups, and security tools.

Your domain and your hosting can be with the same company, but they do not have to be. For example, you can register your domain at Registrar A and host your site at Hosting Provider B. You simply point the domain’s DNS records to the hosting server.

How These Three Work Together

Here is a simplified view of how registry, registrar, and hosting interact when someone visits your site.

1. You register myshop.com at a registrar.
2. The registrar tells the .com registry that myshop.com now exists and which nameservers it uses.
3. At your hosting provider (or DNS provider), you set DNS records that point myshop.com to your hosting server’s IP address.
4. When someone types myshop.com in a browser:
   1. The DNS system asks the .com registry which nameservers handle myshop.com.
   2. Those nameservers respond with the IP address of your hosting server.
   3. The browser connects to that hosting server and loads your website.

Different players, different tasks, but they all cooperate to make your site reachable.

Concrete Example: One Domain, Several Services

Let’s say you set up an online store:

• You register cozycandles.com at a registrar (for example, NiceDomains).
• The registry for .com stores the fact that cozycandles.com is registered and points to specific nameservers.
• You choose a hosting provider (for example, FastHost) for the website itself.
• You may even use a separate DNS service (like a managed DNS platform), which your registrar’s nameserver settings point to.

Your control panels might look like this:

Registrar (NiceDomains)
- Domain: cozycandles.com
- Nameservers:
    ns1.dns-provider.com
    ns2.dns-provider.com

DNS Provider
- A record: cozycandles.com → 203.0.113.10 (FastHost server)
- CNAME: www → cozycandles.com

Hosting (FastHost)
- Account: cozycandles.com
- Web root: /public_html
- IP address: 203.0.113.10

Each service has a clear role. If your site is down, it might be a hosting issue, not a registrar problem. If your domain does not resolve at all, it might be DNS or registrar settings. Understanding the separation saves a lot of frustration when you troubleshoot.

How to Tell Who Is Who for Your Domain

Sometimes you inherit a domain from someone else and you are not sure where it is registered or hosted. There are a few simple ways to check.

• Registrar: You can look up the domain using a WHOIS lookup tool. It usually shows which registrar manages it.
• Nameservers: The same lookup will show the current nameservers. These often point to a DNS provider or hosting company.
• Hosting: You can check which IP address the domain resolves to and then see which company owns that IP range. Hosting providers can be identified that way.

Once you know who your registrar and host are, it becomes much easier to know where to log in to change DNS records or renew the domain.

Common Confusions and How to Avoid Them

“My host says my domain expired.”

Hosting providers sometimes send reminders that your domain is expiring, but they cannot actually renew the domain unless they are also your registrar. Usually, you must log in to your registrar account to renew the domain itself.

“I changed hosting, but my site still points to the old server.”

Changing hosting is not enough. You also need to update your DNS records (often A records) at your DNS provider so they point to the new server’s IP. Sometimes this is done via the registrar’s DNS panel, sometimes via a separate DNS service.

“I changed registrars, did my hosting move too?”

No. Transferring a domain from Registrar A to Registrar B only moves the domain management, not your website files. Your hosting stays where it was, unless you explicitly move that as well.

Who Should You Contact for What?

When something goes wrong, knowing who to talk to saves time.

• Problem: Domain expired, cannot renew, ownership questions
  Contact: Your registrar
• Problem: Need to update DNS records, nameservers, or zone settings
  Contact: The service that hosts your DNS (registrar’s DNS or separate DNS provider)
• Problem: Website is down, slow, or showing server errors
  Contact: Your hosting provider

You almost never need to contact the registry directly. They work behind the scenes and communicate with registrars, not with individual domain owners.

Simple Checklist Before Launching a Site

To make sure all three pieces work together correctly, it helps to walk through a quick checklist.

1. Domain registered: Is your domain active and renewed at your registrar?
2. Nameservers set: Do your nameservers at the registrar point to the correct DNS provider?
3. DNS records correct: Do your A and CNAME records point to the right hosting server?
4. Hosting ready: Is your website uploaded and working when you access it by server IP or test URL?

If all four boxes are checked, the chances are high that your domain, DNS, and hosting are correctly connected.

FAQ

Once you see the clear separation between registry, registrar, and hosting, the whole domain system becomes much easier to navigate. You know where your address is registered, where your DNS is controlled, and where your files live. That makes both planning new projects and fixing problems far less stressful.