Hosting fundamentals for agencies
What does a web designer need to know about domains, DNS, hosting and email for client sites?
The client owns the domain, DNS points names at services, the host serves the site, email hosting is a separate service, and your contract says who is responsible for each piece.
What you will be able to do
Explain to a client how their domain, DNS, website hosting and email fit together, set them up so the client owns what they should own, and write down who is responsible for each piece after launch.
Before you start
- You have published at least one site, or read Publish with a domain, DNS and HTTPS.
Why this matters
Small agencies get into hosting trouble because nobody wrote down who owns what. The domain lapses, email stops, and the client calls you because yours is the only name they remember. Clients think of one thing called "the website". There are four:
- The domain is the name, like
examplebakery.com, rented yearly from a registrar. - DNS is the address book that says where the website and the email live.
- Website hosting is the computer that serves the site to visitors.
- Email hosting receives and stores mail for that domain.
Each needs a clear owner, login and renewal date. The key rule: the client owns the domain, in their name, on an account they control. You get delegated access, and if you part ways they keep their name.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Put the domain in the client's own account
If an old designer holds it in a personal account, help the client transfer it to their own. For a new domain, sit with them on a call while they create the registrar account and buy it. Then have them add you as a delegate or user, so you never need their password.
Turn on the domain protections
Auto renew on, a contact email the client reads, transfer lock on, two factor authentication on. Write the renewal date in your tracker. An expired domain takes down the site and the email at once.
Decide where DNS lives
Keeping DNS at the registrar is simplest for small clients. If you use a separate DNS provider, record it, because now there are two places to check.
Choose the hosting type
Three broad types:
- Static hosting serves prebuilt files. It suits most brochure sites, is fast, and has very little to patch.
- Shared or managed hosting runs a server side app, often a CMS with a database. Flexible, but needs updates and security care.
- Platform or app hosting runs custom server code, usually more than a small business needs. Pick the simplest that does the job. Low cost hosting options compares costs.
Leave email alone unless you mean to move it
Find out where mail is hosted before you touch DNS. When you point the domain at a new host, change only the website records and leave MX and related verification records exactly as they are.
Export the DNS zone before every change
A screenshot or export lets you put it back exactly. One minute, many weekends saved.
Write the responsibility table
For domain, DNS, website hosting, email, backups, SSL and third party services such as forms: who owns the account, who pays, who manages it, who to call when it breaks. Put it in the handover from the client handoff checklist and in the care scope.
Explain it in two minutes
"Your domain is your name. DNS is the address book that says where your website and email live. The host is the building the website lives in. Email is a separate building. You own the name. I look after the buildings and the address book under our care plan."
Example
A family dental clinic in Austin has working email, and a nephew registered the domain years ago. The table you agree on:
PIECE ACCOUNT OWNER WHO PAYS DAY TO DAY IF IT BREAKS
Domain Clinic Clinic You (delegated) You, then registrar support
DNS Clinic (at Clinic You You
registrar)
Website hosting Your agency You (in You You
(client project) care fee)
Email hosting Clinic Clinic Clinic's office Clinic's email provider
manager
Backups Your agency You You You
Contact form Your agency You You You
Then you run steps 1 to 6 in order, and finish by testing the site and sending a test email to and from the clinic.
Bad version: you buy the domain on your own card "to save time", and two years later the clinic has to ask your permission to keep its own name.
Common mistakes
- Registering the client's domain in your account. It feels helpful and becomes a trust problem.
- Breaking email while launching the website. The classic launch day disaster. Record the zone first and leave MX alone.
- No renewal tracking. Auto renew fails when cards expire. Track every date yourself.
- Responsibility living in someone's memory. If the table is not written, the client assumes you handle everything.
Try it yourself
For one real or pretend client, fill in the responsibility table and write the two minute explanation you would give the owner.
Deliverable: a completed responsibility table and a short client explanation.
Time: about 30 minutes.
Check yourself
Resources
- Client handoff checklist where the responsibility table belongs
- Publish with a domain, DNS and HTTPS the hands on launch steps
- Low cost hosting options compare hosting categories and costs
- Managing many client sites keep all of this organized across clients
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress through the course.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.