Domain and Hosting With One Provider, When It Pays Off and How They Connect

Domain and hosting are two separate services, and you can keep them with one provider or with two different ones. We explain the difference between a domain and hosting in detail in our web hosting guide, while here we answer the next question. How they connect, when it pays off to keep them together, and what happens to email, domain expiry and transfers in each case.

Konet has been providing web hosting since 1999 and has been an accredited .gr and .ελ registrar licensed by EETT, the Greek telecoms regulator, since 2004, so we see both sides every day.

How does a domain connect to hosting

A domain does not "contain" your website. It simply points to the server where the website lives, and that happens in one of two ways.

Through nameservers. You set the hosting provider's nameservers on the domain. From then on, all of the domain's DNS records, meaning website, email and subdomains, are managed at the hosting provider. It is the simplest method, because everything is managed from one place.

Through an A record. The nameservers stay with the registrar and you only change the A record so it points to the server's IP. That way you can have the website with one provider and email with another, but you manage every record separately and you need to know what you are changing.

When domain and hosting are with the same provider, the provider makes the connection itself and you do not need to copy anything from one company to the other.

What are nameservers

Nameservers are the servers that hold a domain's DNS zone. When someone opens your website or sends you an email, they first ask the domain's nameservers which IP the website is on and which server receives the email. The .gr Registry keeps a record of the nameservers for every .gr domain, and those are what you set when you change nameservers. Usually two or more are set, so if one does not answer, the other one does.

Changing nameservers moves the whole DNS zone, not just the website. So if the new nameservers do not have the MX, SPF and DKIM records, email stops arriving or sending correctly, even if the website opens normally. That is why before every nameserver change you should check that the new zone has every record of the old one.

Why keep domain and hosting with one provider

One support desk for the whole problem. When a website does not open, the cause can be the domain, DNS or the server. With two companies, each one checks its own part and may send you to the other. With both in one place, the same technician sees all three and solves it from start to finish.

One account and one Client Area. You see domains and hosting in the same place, with an alert when someone signs in from an unusual location and an optional second code by email, as we describe in the new security systems in the Client Area.

Less risk of something expiring unnoticed. Two providers mean two expiry dates, two cards and two sets of renewal emails. At Konet you can receive one grouped email for all your renewals, sorted at 7, 15, 30 and 60 days ahead, and with a saved card renewals are paid automatically.

DNS from cPanel. When the nameservers belong to the hosting provider, every record of the domain is inside your cPanel. You add A, CNAME, MX and TXT records yourself, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC are enabled from the same place.

The domain directly at the Registry. Konet connects directly to the .gr Registry, so every change to a .gr or .ελ domain happens with no intermediary, and the domain stays in your own name.

When it makes sense to keep them apart

There are cases where keeping them apart is the right choice. If your website runs on a platform such as Shopify or Wix, the platform provides the hosting and the domain stays with your registrar, which simply points to it. If a company has many brands and manages all its domains centrally with one registrar, the websites may sit with different providers. Also, if you use an external DNS service such as Cloudflare, the nameservers are there wherever the hosting is.

In every case, the domain should be registered in the name of the business and not in the name of whoever built the website. That applies whether you keep them together or apart, because the domain owner is the one who decides on its transfer and renewal. We explain the steps, from the search to the owner details, in how to register a domain name.

Email with your own domain

Email on your domain, for example info@yourbusiness.gr, works wherever the domain's MX records point. That can be the hosting server, where you create mailboxes from cPanel, or a service such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.

When domain and hosting are with the same provider, the MX records are created together with the hosting account, and you enable SPF, DKIM and DMARC from the same cPanel. When they are apart, you have to add all of these records yourself at the provider that holds the DNS zone, and that is where emails usually get lost after a change of provider. To connect Outlook or your phone, use the email client settings of the provider that hosts your email.

What happens when a domain expires

When a .gr or .ελ domain expires, it is deactivated the same day and the website, email and subdomains stop working. For 15 days only you can renew it, at the regular renewal cost, and after that it is released and goes to whoever requests it first. For international domains such as .com, the periods vary by extension and many charge an extra restoration fee. We explain the whole process in our article on domain expiration.

Hosting does not help in this case. It may be paid for the whole year, but without an active domain nobody reaches the server. That is why with two providers you have to keep track of two expiry dates instead of one.

Transferring a domain to another provider

A domain transfer changes the registrar that manages the domain, not the website. For a .gr or .ελ domain you request the authorization code (EPP) yourself from the Registry, which emails the domain owner a link valid for 6 hours, and the code it shows is valid for 14 days. The process is described in how to request the EPP code for a .gr domain.

At Konet, a domain transfer for .gr and .ελ completes immediately, is free and keeps the same expiry date. For .com and .net it usually takes 5 to 7 days and adds 1 year. Throughout the transfer the nameservers are kept, so the website and email keep working normally.

Moving the website to another host is a separate process. You can move only the domain, only the website, or both together.

How long does DNS propagation take

DNS propagation is the time it takes until everyone sees the new value of a DNS change. It is not a step that "runs" somewhere. Servers across the internet keep the old value in memory for as long as the record's TTL says, so until the TTL expires some people see the old address and some the new one.

For .gr and .ελ domains there is one extra stage. The Registry updates the zone 8 times a day, every 3 hours, so a nameserver change reaches DNS at the next update. The exact times are in our article on .gr DNS zone update times.

If you are planning a change, lower the TTL of your records a day before. That way the new value spreads faster and, if something goes wrong, switching back is just as fast.

If you already have a domain with another provider and want to keep everything together, transferring a domain to Konet is free for .gr and .ελ, and for anything else you need you speak directly with a technician.