Help! I messed up when I tried changing my website's hosting?

I don't use Hostgator, so this may be out in left field. Normally when I add on a domain, I then install the files for that domain in the storage space assigned to me by my hosting provider.

I am assuming that in your case, you and your husband had separate file storage areas. Did you move the files to your file storage space?

Sorry, I should also ask if you moved the database as well to your account.

Thanks for responding, Sherry. Actually, I never thought of moving any files or database. I concluded that all I had to do was change the name servers. But, then again, I never worked with moving a website before, just domain names, that I then installed Wordpress on.

The other problem I was having...my husband lost his login details to his Host Gator account. And since he started his account a year ago, we changed our email address, and he never updated his account. (he kinda lost interest in the whole internet/website thing, and that is when I decided to start

So, in order to move files, I will have to be able to access his Host Gator account, correct? I am thinking of having a live chat with Host Gator to see if they can help me. My husband has no interest in clearing up this problem, so I doubt that I can get him to do anything with his account.

Then after I moved the files, I am planning on canceling his account, so we don't have to keep paying for two accounts every month, since he wasn't using his at all.
I am a bit frustrated over this whole lost log-in thing, since changing our emails has made it impossible to use the lost password function to get them to email me a new password.

Any ideas anyone?

If you have lost the password, you will most likely have to chat with Hostgator's tech support. They may, however, insist on talking to your husband as he is the owner of the account. If you have kept the emails from your previous email account, it might be worth the time to have a look through them to see if you have the original email. Keep in mind that if they don't have your new email address, they won't be able to send you a notice of when the account is due either.

The tech should be able to help you move the database and files, especially since you are planning on staying with them as a customer.

Thanks Sherry, I was planning on having a chat with them, but just wanted to hear what people on WF had to say about it first. You gave me a good idea as far as to what might be wrong with not being able to access the site.
Thanks again!
Ruth M

Is Host gator also your register? (I never recommend that for this very reason. A name should always be registered with someone other than the host.)

Simply put, if they are one in the same, it's not your domain to move. It's your husbands, in HostGator's eyes, no different than if it was someone on the other side of the world.

You need to do a real domain transfer. I would recommend moving it off your host's site and to it's own registrar. If that was done in the first place, then you are correct, all you would have had to do was change the nameservers and do it as an add on domain.