Some absolute beginner questions

[Doctor Article]

Hi all

I've read many times on here that you shouldn't buy domain names from the people who host your site, and it seems that many suggest buying domain names from GoDaddy, and then using Hostgator for hosting.

Now, I know this may sound like a stupid question but we all have to start somewhere, so can someone please tell me how this works? In other words, if I go to GoDaddy now and buy five domain names, is that it, or will I have to pay to park them or store them or whatever?

Question two: - I was looking on the Hostgator site and see they have a package which costs $9.95 per month if you pay monthly, and it says you can host an unlimited number of sites. Does this mean that I can put up as many sites as I want and still only pay $9.95 per month?

Thanks for any advice

[acrasial]

I had some domains transferred over to me, and I had to pay over 15$ each, to host them on host monster.... so that's my experience with purchasing domains elsewhere, is that you still have to pay again, pretty much the same price that the website you are hosting on would charge to buy them in the first place...

now if you have a few websites, this charge/fee can add up quickly.

[Doctor Article]

Thanks Acrasial, that's what I was wondering, which is why I can't figure out why many warriors buy domains from GoDaddy and then use Hostgator for hosting.

[Frank Donovan]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

I've read many times on here that you shouldn't buy domain names from the if I go to GoDaddy now and buy five domain names, is that it, or will I have to pay to park them or store them or whatever?

Question two: - I was looking on the Hostgator site and see they have a package which costs $9.95 per month if you pay monthly, and it says you can host an unlimited number of sites. Does this mean that I can put up as many sites as I want and still only pay $9.95 per month?

You can buy domain names with or without parking (some domain sellers include that service in the domain cost), otherwise, there's no storage cost - just a yearly (or longer) renewal cost.

As far as hosting goes - it depends what you intend to do with your site(s). If you're just intending to set up a few minisites, then the cheapest package is probably fine to start with. If your intention is to build a large number of sites, it might be best to consider a reseller package which would give you more flexibity and control over the individual sites.

Hosting companies like to quote "unlimited sites", but, in practice, they'll limit your usage if you start to get too big.


Frank

EDIT: There's no "transfer" charge involved if you simply buy the domains from one company and host the site at another.

[Doctor Article]

Okay thanks, but if I buy say five domain names through GoDaddy, will I have to pay any other fees in order to set up sites on hostgator using those names? Would I need to transfer them as Acrasial mentioned, or could they just stay where they are?

[jasonmorgan]

Now, I know this may sound like a stupid question but we all have to start somewhere, so can someone please tell me how this works? In other words, if I go to GoDaddy now and buy five domain names, is that it, or will I have to pay to park them or store them or whatever?

that's it... they are more than happy to park it for free for you with all of their own ads

Question two: - I was looking on the Hostgator site and see they have a package which costs $9.95 per month if you pay monthly, and it says you can host an unlimited number of sites. Does this mean that I can put up as many sites as I want and still only pay $9.95 per month?

sounds about right. I don't use hostgator but actually buy and host my domains with godaddy.

depending on the type of sites you are doing you'll want to make sure they also offer unlimited sql databases. for example, each install of wordpress requires it's own sql database. I'm sure the plan they offer is fine but sometimes it's the little things that get you.

Okay thanks, but if I buy say five domain names through GoDaddy, will I have to pay any other fees in order to set up sites on hostgator using those names? Would I need to transfer them as Acrasial mentioned, or could they just stay where they are?

it's not a transfer, you just route your domain to the hostgator dns address they give you. shouldn't be any fees involved with this.

[Frank Donovan]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

Okay thanks, but if I buy say five domain names through GoDaddy, will I have to pay any other fees in order to set up sites on hostgator using those names? Would I need to transfer them as Acrasial mentioned, or could they just stay where they are?

You'd just point your domains to your hosting company - no transfer fee involved - from within your GoDaddy account.


Frank

[jasonmorgan]

If your intention is to build a large number of sites, it might be best to consider a reseller package which would give you more flexibity and control over the individual sites.

I've been considering this myself. Looks like it might be a lot cheaper in the long run plus opens up options of actually selling accounts. It's just the tech stuff and lack of time to research it that has held me back.

[FriendlyRob]

Every domain that I own, I bought through Namecheap and host with Hostgator. I just point the domain to Hostgator's servers, no problem. Then I can access all of them through one Cpanel.

[JBorhez]

Just this week I hosted a site with HostGator using a domain that purchased elsewhere. The way I understand is that it does cost extra to host additional sites.
They refer to this as addons.

If you decide on HostGator do this: at check out there is a box entitled coupon or code or something along these lines. Type in 'jury' and you will get a nice discount on your first month. I ended up searching online to see if by chance I could find the code and I did. I ended up paying $0.01 (that's 1 penny!) for the first month.

Well worth it!

Good Luck!

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

In other words, if I go to GoDaddy now and buy five domain names, is that it, or will I have to pay to park them or store them or whatever?

GoDaddy will automatically park the domains if you don't set a nameserver for them. Of course, they make the money from this, not you, unless you pay to join their "cash parking" plan or join their domain discount club. This is only worth it if you buy a lot of domains regularly (I have over 500 right now).

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

Question two: - I was looking on the Hostgator site and see they have a package which costs $9.95 per month if you pay monthly, and it says you can host an unlimited number of sites. Does this mean that I can put up as many sites as I want and still only pay $9.95 per month?

Essentially yes. You pay $9.95 a month and you can host as many domains and subdomains as you want, EXCEPT...

There are hidden limits on the amount of bandwidth and processor power you can use. If you exceed them you can expect to be asked to leave or to migrate to a much more expensive plan. I host about 100 sites on my shared account there and that's on the edge right now. I bought a more expensive reseller plan on HostGator and then on another host (HostNine) to continue to expand.

[Doctor Article]

Okay thanks a million guys. I'll head over to GoDaddy and grab a few I have my mind on and then I'll go ahead and sign up with Hostgator.

Just as a matter of interest......I set up a site with webnode a while back because it's free, and as such, it has given me an opportunity to play around and learn a little. Anyway, just out of interest I checked how much they would charge me for a domain name I'm after, and I was shocked to see it would cost $73 as opposed to $0.89 at godaddy.

Now, after asking these questions here, I know I could get names from godaddy and use them with free sites, but these free sites always end up charging you for other things and in the end it works out more expensive than paid hosting. Just mentioning this in case there are any neewbies out there considering using free sites.

[Doctor Article]

Thanks guys

No I won't have many sites, perhaps three or four, at least until I start figuring this whole business out....lol

[Doctor Article]

Okay, I've just finished shopping at godaddy and have settled on two domain names for the time being. So, am I correct in saying that I can now go along and sign up with hostgator and then arrange for those two domain names to point at my two soon to be hostgator sites?

Thanks for any replies.

PS: Will I need to get any information from godaddy beforehand or can I do all that once I've registered with hostgator?

[jasonmorgan]

I'm sure one of the experts here can walk you through the process once you are ready but you should be able to do everything through your control panels.

keep in mind, you can also use subdomains. they might not be ideal but it's something to keep in mind while you are learning and it will help keep your costs down and gives you some extra space to play around and try things out.

[csgcsg]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

Okay, I've just finished shopping at godaddy and have settled on two domain names for the time being. So, am I correct in saying that I can now go along and sign up with hostgator and then arrange for those two domain names to point at my two soon to be hostgator sites?

Thanks for any replies.

PS: Will I need to get any information from godaddy beforehand or can I do all that once I've registered with hostgator?

when you register from hostgator (HG) you will receive a welcome mail with the nameservers information.

In godaddy, go to domain manager and set the nameservers with it and your host will be ready in about 1-2 hours. HG supports are excellent and I am sure they will guide you through the process.

Remember to put in the code jury and pay just 1 cent 1st month. I recommend the middle package baby for unlimited domains. If you need help, just ask

[eaglechick]

Hi you can have a look at Corey Rudl's easy tech videos - affordable and excellent.
He explains all this tech stuff in a excellent way - how to buy domain names -
transfer from other and a whole bunch of stuff. Just check it out - it will save
you a lot of frustration.

[Aitor Astobieta]

I have my domain and hosting with the same company: Hostgator.

I am too lazy to point my nameservers to my hosting company

Wish you the best Doctor Article.

[bwall]

The problem I have found with registering your domains with a hosting company is that is you are not happy with your hosting provider and decide to use another one it can be very difficult to get your domains transferred from your old hosting company.

I register my domains with Namecheap of Godaddy and point my nameservers to whichever hosting I decide to use. That way I have full control over my domains.

Changing nameservers is pretty easy with Namecheap and Goddady.

[Popstar]

Hostgator has support videos that will show you what to do.

Here's the one to change your nameservers from GoDaddy to Hostgator (that's how you get your website to show up on your Hostgator account):

Changing name servers via GoDaddy.com

You'll get the new nameserver information after you sign up with Hostgator. They'll send you an email from sales@hostgator.com with the subject line: "Your Hostgator Account Information."

That email will list your nameservers... 2 separate ones that look like...

ns###.hostgator.com (where ### is a 3-digit number)
ns###.hostgator.com (where ### is a different 3-digit number)

You'll need to use both of these nameserver addresses. Just watch the video listed above; it'll show you what to do. You'll have to change the nameservers for each domain you buy from GoDaddy. There's no charge to do this.

Now on to the Addon Domains...

When you buy the Baby package (shared hosting) at Hostgator, it can be confusing for a newbie with multiple domains. You specify one website domain name when you sign up for the package; then you add the other domain names as "Addon Domains" to your Hostgator account later through cpanel. Again, there is no additional charge for this.

Here's a video from Hostgator that shows you how to set up an Addon domain:

Setting up an addon domain

You will do this for each domain name you have (except the original domain name you used to buy the Hostgator account). So if you have 5 domains, you sign up with one when you buy the Hostgator Baby account and then add the other 4 domains as Addon Domains through cpanel later.

Even though your additional domains will show up as Addon Domains in your Hostgator account, they will show up on the Internet as separate websites.

If you have other questions, Hostgator has a lot of other video tutorials here:

Web Hosting Video Tutorials Provided by HostGator.com

Or you can just call their phone support after you become a customer.

One other tip if you buy your hosting from Hostgator...

I believe they still offer the first month's hosting for 1 cent if you use the correct coupon code. Some coupon codes that have worked in the past are jury, iceishot, and webhostingunleashed.

If those coupons don't work, do a Google search for the latest ones.

Hope this helps,

Debbie

[Traffic-Bug]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

Okay thanks, but if I buy say five domain names through GoDaddy, will I have to pay any other fees in order to set up sites on hostgator using those names? Would I need to transfer them as Acrasial mentioned, or could they just stay where they are?

No, you dont have to pay any fees to host them in a different place than the place you bought domains from. Your hosting provider will give you the name server list which you must input into your domain provider.
Something like
ns1.hostgator.com
ns2.hostgator.com
When you input those details into the control panel of the place where you bought the domains from, you have effectively hosted the domains. Transferring domains is different, that means you are transferring domain ownership (entries with the internet registry) from one provider to another. i.e., you are defining which company provides the name servers for your domains.

[Karen Connell]

Hi,

I am the most un-technical person imaginable but I found it relatively easy to understand changing the NS (thanks to help from WF members).

I buy my domains from GD then, when I'm ready to use them, point them to HG.

The total cost (in my case) is the $9.95 monthly for HG and the initial cost of the domain.

But I just leave any domains that I'm not intending to use immediately sitting on GD.

I only have about 6 websites at the moment, so the $9.95 hosting does me just fine.

Karen

[geolt7]

Originally Posted by Doctor Article

Hi all

I've read many times on here that you shouldn't buy domain names from the people who host your site, and it seems that many suggest buying domain names from GoDaddy, and then using Hostgator for hosting.

Now, I know this may sound like a stupid question but we all have to start somewhere, so can someone please tell me how this works? In other words, if I go to GoDaddy now and buy five domain names, is that it, or will I have to pay to park them or store them or whatever?

Question two: - I was looking on the Hostgator site and see they have a package which costs $9.95 per month if you pay monthly, and it says you can host an unlimited number of sites. Does this mean that I can put up as many sites as I want and still only pay $9.95 per month?

Thanks for any advice

My friend had some horror stories to tell with Godaddy. Basically, the reason I buy domain names from Godaddy because they are cheaper. However, I recommend namecheap.com if you want to buy a domain that you are going to keep for long term.

Hostgator is better in terms of webhosting services are they give good deals and is reliable. If you are signing up for reseller hosting service, it allows you to host many domains (multiple cpanels).