Hostname vs. Domain Name — What's the Difference?

Hostnames and domain names are fundamental components of the internet's architecture, but they serve different purposes. A hostname is a label assigned to a device on a network, making it identifiable among other devices. Conversely, a domain name represents an easy-to-remember address for accessing websites, essentially serving as the online identity of an organization or entity.

Hostnames can be part of a domain name, while they specifically pinpoint individual machines like servers or computers within a domain. For example, in the address "mail.example.com," "mail" is the hostname, identifying a specific server that handles email services for the "example.com" domain.

Domain names are structured in a hierarchy, from top-level domains (TLDs) like ".com" or ".org" to second-level domains that typically represent a company's name or the name of a service. This hierarchical structure helps organize the internet in a more readable and navigable form.

In contrast, hostnames are more about identifying and managing devices within a network from a technical standpoint. They are crucial for network administrators to configure networks, manage device settings, and ensure proper communication between devices.

Both hostnames and domain names are resolved to IP addresses through the Domain Name System (DNS), which translates these human-readable names into numeric addresses that computers use to communicate with each other. However, the scope of their use—network device identification for hostnames and website location for domain names—distinguishes them.