Websites. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Hosting
Also called: Web hosting
Hosting is the server space where a website's files live and are served to visitors, paid monthly or yearly, and it is separate from the domain name.
In practice
Modern hosting for a small business site costs little or nothing, because the site is a set of static files served from a network of edge servers close to the visitor. The $300 a month hosting line on some agency invoices is paying for something else.
What matters is that the site can be moved. Ask for the export before you need it.
Related terms
- Domain nameA domain name is the address people type to reach a website, such as skillmammoth.com, and it should be registered in the business owner's own account, never the agency's.
- Website ownershipWebsite ownership means the business holds the domain, the code and the content and can take all three to any host or agency; a rented site lives on a provider's platform and goes dark when the subscription stops.
- Page speedPage speed is how quickly a page becomes usable for a visitor, measured on a phone over a cellular connection, and Google reports it through Core Web Vitals.
Go deeper
Want this handled, not explained?
Skill Mammoth builds the site you own, gets you found on Google and ChatGPT, and texts every lead back in under 60 seconds. Month to month, every price published.