Have you transferred a domain from Godaddy to Hostgator?

Really not. It would be better to keep the registration at GoDaddy and simply change the DNS set-up to host at Hostgator. (I'm not for a moment suggesting or implying that Hostgator is a bad place to host it, I hasten to point out!).

Having the registration and the hosting in the same place is really rather inadvisable. In a sense, admittedly, it only really matters if/when something goes wrong. (But, as we all know, that "only happens all the time").

If your host isn't also your registrar, then in the event of any accident/problem, if anything ever goes wrong with your hosting, you're in control, not them. And can avoid nightmares, disasters, long delays and entirely unexpected "ransom demands". And can re-host your site somewhere else the next day, minimising the commercial interruption.

There's a large number of horror stories of hosting/registration/control disasters scattered about the forum, almost all of which could have been avoided by registering and hosting in two different places.

Brad expresses it very well, with several well-known examples, in this post.

It's one of those issues which so many people look at and think to themselves "Eew, well, those are all other people: it wouldn't ever happen to me". Until someone on one of their lists reports them, even with absolutely no justification at all, to their host for alleged "spamming" and their website disappears and the host (in accordance with its TOS which few people have ever read all the way through at the time they registered the domain) suddenly wants hundreds of dollars to release the domain so they can get it back online somewhere else.

The point is that "whether something goes wrong" may not be within your own control - it can be just one of those pretty random things that Winston Churchill called "events". :rolleyes:

Paul Myers' comment in this thread is significant, also.

No.

A "transfer" means moving the registration of the domain from GoDaddy to Hostgator.

Yes, you do have to pay for that, but it appears you don't want to do it (and you're clearly right not to want to do it).

All you want to do is have the site hosted at Hostgator. You don't need to pay anyone anything to do this. You already have Hostgator hosting to which you can add additional domains. You just need to change the DNS at GoDaddy, exactly as Art explains above, and add the domain through your Hostgator C-panel.

Hostgator customer support staff are excellent and will advise you if you have any difficulty at all. But, if you speak to them, don't use the word "transfer" or they'll take you at face value and imagine that you want them to hold the registration of the domain as well as its hosting. Just explain to them that the domain is registered at GoDaddy and staying there, but you want to host its website at Hostgator by adding it to your existing hosting.

NO!!!

If you already have hosting with HostGator, and unlimited doamains, you can buy as many domains as you desire from GoDaddy, NameCheap, or anywhere else, and simply set the Dedicated Name Servers (*In this case HostGator) for FREE!

You do NOT need to transfer your Domain Registrars which is: GoDaddy, NameCheap...etc. where you bought the domain(s).

I have 200 domains, 112 on my HostGator servers that are registered w/ GoDaddy, and will remain with them. I also have domains that point to Sedo that are "For Sale" - but remain registered w/ GoDaddy.

You do NOT need and it's advised against; transferring your registrar (i.e. GoDaddy) to HostGator. Instead, simply point the DNS (*Dedicated Name Servers) in your GoDaddy domain management account to your HostGator Name Servers for FREE. (*ns1.hostgator.com/ns2.hostgator.com) <--name servers, You'll have 2 that were given to you with your hosting account. If you don't know them, contact HostGator or check your email from when you signed up for hosting.

It's really simple once you wrap your head around it.

-Art

Think of it like this:

The Domain Register is the POST OFFICE.

The Domain Host is the Mailbox at your House.

You tell the post office where to deliver your mail. If you move from house to house the Post Office doesn't change.

You do NOT have to TRANSFER anything to use a Web Host. You just tell them where to deliever the domain. You point them from your Registrar to your Host.

Alexa couldnt' have explained it any better... but I don't think you are seeing the difference between a Transfer of Domain and and POINTING the domain to the host via Name Servers.