The six pieces
Hosting adverts describe a plan as one product, but a working course site depends on six things that can come from different companies and renew on different dates. When something fails, the symptom usually tells you which piece it is, as long as you know they are separate.
| Piece | What it does | What you see when it fails or lapses |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | The address students type, rented for one or more years through a registrar | The whole site and its email stop resolving; someone else may register the name |
| DNS | Records that map the name to the web server, mail servers and verification services | Site or mail goes to the wrong place, often only for some visitors while changes spread |
| Server | The computer that runs WordPress and your LMS | Errors or timeouts for every visitor |
| Database | Stores users, enrolments, progress, orders and content | Error establishing a database connection; or logins fail while cached pages still load |
| SSL certificate | Enables HTTPS for the domain | Browser security warning; checkout and logins blocked |
| Inboxes for you, and outgoing mail such as receipts and password resets | Students cannot reset passwords; receipts go missing; mail lands in spam |
You rent the domain, you do not own it
MDN's explainer puts it plainly: you cannot buy a domain name; you pay for the right to use it for one or more years, renew that right, and have priority over others when you do. Registrars record your details with the registry for the domain's ending. When your registrar changes a domain's details, DNS servers around the world take some time to pick up the change.
For a course business, the domain is the one piece you should never let lapse, because it carries your site, your email and every link in every past newsletter. Turn on auto-renew, keep the registrar account on an email address that does not depend on the same domain, and record the renewal date alongside the hosting renewal.
Who provides each piece
The table compares three common setups using each provider's own documentation on 30 October 2026. SiteGround's shared hosting features page lists a free domain name (one domain registered for one year at sign-up), free Let's Encrypt certificates, free email accounts, unlimited MySQL databases, automated daily backups and a CDN on all three shared plans; free private DNS is marked only on GoGeek. Kinsta says it does not provide email hosting and recommends a separate provider. DigitalOcean's WordPress 1-Click installs WordPress, MySQL and a web server that obtains its own certificate, and blocks outgoing SMTP ports on Droplets.
| Piece | Shared hosting (SiteGround) | Managed WordPress (Kinsta) | VPS (DigitalOcean Droplet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | One domain free for the first year at sign-up; check the renewal price | Bring your own from a registrar | Bring your own from a registrar |
| DNS | Private DNS listed on GoGeek only; otherwise use the nameservers you are given or your own DNS host | You add the records Kinsta shows at your DNS provider | You manage records at your registrar or DNS host |
| Server and WordPress | Shared server, host-managed | Isolated container, host-managed | Your own virtual server; you patch and secure it |
| Database | MySQL included | Included and managed | MySQL installed on the Droplet; you back it up |
| SSL | Free Let's Encrypt | Free certificate issued after domain verification | Caddy obtains and renews certificates automatically |
| Inboxes | Free email accounts listed | Not provided; use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Zoho | Not provided |
| Outgoing site email | Not detailed on the features page; ask about sending limits | Transactional only, 150 to 3,000 a day by plan | SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 blocked; use a third-party service |
| Backups | Automated daily backups listed | Daily, kept 14 to 30 days by plan | Paid add-on at 20% or 30% of the Droplet price |
Email is the piece people forget
Course sites send more mail than most sites: welcome emails, receipts, password resets, drip notifications and certificates. Two of the three setups above limit or block outgoing WordPress mail. Kinsta caps transactional email at 150 a day on its smallest plans and states its outbound mail does not support DMARC alignment; DigitalOcean blocks the standard SMTP ports and recommends an email service provider. In both cases, connect WordPress to a dedicated sending service before your first student signs up.
Inboxes are a separate decision. If your host does not provide them, your MX records point at a mail provider instead, and moving hosts later does not touch your inbox at all, which makes future migrations simpler.
A worked example: what a lapse looks like
Suppose your domain is with one registrar, your site runs on a $12 a month DigitalOcean Droplet with daily backups ($3.60 more), and your inboxes are with a separate mail provider. If the Droplet fails, the site is down but email still works, and you restore from a backup. If the mail provider has an outage, the site works but replies to students bounce. If the domain renewal card expires, both the site and email stop, even though the server and mail provider are healthy.
Write the pieces down in a single table with the provider, login, renewal date and who to contact. It is the most useful page you can keep for a migration, a support ticket or a business partner who has to take over.
Questions to ask before you choose a plan
- Which of the six pieces does this plan include, and which do I need to buy elsewhere?
- Is the free domain free only for the first year (SiteGround says one domain for one year), and what does it renew at?
- Does the host provide inboxes, and is there a daily limit on mail sent by WordPress?
- How long are backups kept, and do they include the database?
- Who renews the SSL certificate, and what happens if renewal fails?
- If I leave, can I move the domain and DNS without the host's help?
Questions before you decide
Do I own my course website's domain name?
No. As MDN explains, you pay for the right to use a domain name for one or more years and can renew it with priority over others, but you never own it outright. Let it lapse and someone else can register it.
Does Kinsta include email inboxes?
No. Kinsta states it does not provide email hosting and recommends a separate provider such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Zoho Mail. It does send transactional WordPress email within a daily limit set by your plan.
Can a DigitalOcean Droplet send WordPress emails directly?
Not over standard SMTP. DigitalOcean blocks ports 25, 465 and 587 on Droplets by default and recommends using a third-party email service provider to send mail.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MDN Web Docs: What is a domain name? Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Shared hosting features Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Email Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Adding a domain Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: WordPress backups Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- DigitalOcean Docs: WordPress 1-Click (Marketplace catalog) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- DigitalOcean Docs: Why is SMTP blocked? Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- DigitalOcean Docs: Backups pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- DigitalOcean: Droplet pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.