How Do I Point My Existing Domain To Hostgator
This article will walk you through pointing your existing domain to HostGator. Pointing a domain means you will be connecting your domain to your HostGator servers.
Depending on who your registrar or domain provider is, you always have the option to point your domain to your HostGator account by changing your name servers or DNS records. In the video below, we will show you how to point your existing GoDaddy domain to HostGator as an example.
Important Note:
Please note that you can only change your domain’s name servers through your current registrar or domain provider.
Pointing Your Domain To Hosting With A Records
A Records are what point your domain to your website hosting. The first thing youll need to do to add an A Record is to make sure that you are using Name.com’s default nameservers . Once you are on our nameservers, follow the steps below:
A records
Find Your Domain Host
Your domain host is typically who you bought your domain name from. If you dont remember who your domain host is, search your email archives for billing records about registration or transfer of your domain name.
Your domain host is listed on your invoice.
If you cant find your billing records, you can search for your domain host online. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit organization that collects domain information. Use the ICANN Lookup tool to find your domain host.
Domain resellers
Some domains are hosted by resellers through a separate registrar. If you cant sign in with your listed registrar or the registrar field is blank, your domain host may be a reseller.
If there is no reseller listed, contact the listed registrars support team for help.
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Web Hosting Vs Domain Registration Differences Explained
Hosting and domain names are like peanut butter and jelly. They just go together! Both are critical elements of running a website. Its important to understand the difference between the two.
Web hosting and domain registration are frequently paired together. But its important to understand exactly what they do.
How Domain Registration Works The Infrastructure
Purchasing website domains might seem simple, but a lot goes on behind the scenes. Here are the key players in the domain name game.
ICANN manages the internets entire domain name system. In essence, it sets the rules for everybody else. Only an ICANN-accredited registrar can register domain names directly.
Now, you cant buy a domain name directly from ICANN. Doing everything would be too much for the corporation, so it delegates management for the top-level domains to registries.
Each domain registry is in charge of managing one or more TLDs. VeriSign is probably the most notable exampleit manages .com and .net TLDs, among others.
You cant get a domain name directly from a domain registry either. Registries let various registrars sell domain names under their TLDs.
Registrars are sort of like domain name supermarkets. Instead of going to several registries to purchase domain names under different TLDs, a registrar can sell you domain names under hundreds of different TLDs.
There is a complicated system in place to ensure this all works and that no two people register the same domain name. This is a topic deserving its own article, though.
For now, suffice it to say these are the main channels domain name registration goes through.
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Domain Owners: Outlookcom With Microsoft 365 Family/personal Or Microsoft 365 Exchange Online
When you own a domain and also have a Microsoft 365 Family/Personal subscription, then you can link your domain to Outlook.com so that everyone in your subscription can also use a personalized address with their Outlook.com mailbox .
The benefit of this method is that you dont have to configure any forwarder or Send Only POP3 account. You are however limited to only 1 personalized address per Outlook.com mailbox. The Microsoft 365 Family subscription allows up to 6 people with such a personalized address whereas the Microsoft 365 Personal subscription only allows 1.
To set this up, the one managing the Microsoft 365 Family/Personal subscription will have to do this in Outlook.com via
- Settings-> View all Outlook settings-> Premium-> Features-> Personalized email address
Currently, this benefit is only possible when GoDaddy is the registrar for your domain.
Setting up a personalized email address via Outlook.com Premium.
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Synching Tasks Notes And Journal
While the Tasks, Notes and Journal folders sync with other Outlook for Desktop installations, these folders do not sync to all other devices when using Exchange ActiveSync or the Outlook app. You can consider the following alternatives
TasksTasks syncing via the EAS protocol is supported but many Mail apps, including the Outlook app for iOS and Android, do not sync this folder. Microsoft has developed a separate app called To Do which is dedicated to Tasks management. It uses the Tasks folder in your Outlook.com for storage so everything stays synchronized. You can get the free app for Windows 10, iPhone and iPad, Android or use it in your favorite Internet browser.
NotesThe Notes folder of Outlook can be accessed in the Sticky Notes section of OneNote for iPhone and iPad and Android or by using Microsoft Launcher for Android. Sticky Notes is also available as a separate app for Windows 10. As an alternative, you can also access them with your favorite Internet browser.
JournalThere is no real alternative to the Outlook Journal but you can create an additional Calendar folder and create a new view which is using a Timeline layout. Then you can use Appointments to create Journal entries. You could of course also leave it in the Day/Week/Month view for a more diary style Journal. This additional Calendar folder will automatically sync with any Mail app.
What Is Web Hosting
Web hosting services allow you to publish the website on the internet. In other words, hosting providers will rent a portion of their web server to store your websites files and data.
Whenever someone types in your websites domain name, your web hosting provider will be responsible for sending its content to the visitor.
Web hosts also provide beginner-friendly tools for all users so that you can manage the website with little to no technical skills. Besides, a hosting provider usually offers customer support, server maintenance, and website builders to help users create and maintain their site.
In addition to storing website files, a web host protects the server and your website files from malicious attacks.
Some web hosting companies, such as Hostinger, also provide domain registration to help you create a website even quicker and more efficiently.
That said, it is essential to do thorough research before choosing a hosting company. There are a few factors you need to consider, including:
Hostinger utilizes LiteSpeed Web Servers to optimize users site performance. Moreover, we offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee and global customer support working around the clock to guide you if you come across any technical difficulties.
Signing up for web hosting on Hostinger is quite easy. Just sign up using your email and pick one of the web hosting plans available. Additionally, we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied with the service.
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Microsoft 365 Exchange Online
When you want to host more than 6 email accounts at Outlook.com or want it to handle all the emails for your entire domain, add aliases, distribution groups and shared mailboxes, then switching to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online might be the better solution even though this isnt free .
When you choose to go this route, you dont have to configure Outlook.com to collect your mail via POP3 or configure any forwarder Mail is then being received instantly as if it was a native domain of Outlook.com itself.
The costs depend on the country that you live in but currently a single mailbox costs $4 per month. As the domain owner, this also provides you with lots of management options and you have the additional benefit of being able to share email, calendar and contact folders between your colleagues as well as creating shared mailboxes. You can find out more here: Compare Microsoft Exchange Online plans.
A better deal might be the Microsoft 365 Business Basic subscription for $5 per month. In addition to the above benefits, it will also grant each user with 1TB of online storage , Office Online, Teams and a collaboration website . The Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription for $12.50 per month also includes the Office apps for Windows 10 and Mac.
The Length Of The Domain
Generally, the shorter a domain name, the more valuable it will be. Now, this wont always be true. For example, the domain r4dxf3.com wont be very valuable. But, taken as a whole, domains with few words or short phrases will hold more value. Shorter domains are much easier to remember and more straightforward to market overall. You can easily build a business around a shorter domain, while it may be more difficult with a longer domain.
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Understanding Domain Name Valuation
Domain valuation is the process of determining the value of a given domain. Its a similar process to when companies are valued, but much less intensive.
Before we jump into how to do a domain appraisal, lets have a quick overview of how domain names work. If you already have the basics down, such as how to register a domain, feel free to skip to the next section.
If youre just getting started building websites online, this section is for you.
Domain names are synonymous with URLs , but essentially its what a user types into their browser address bar on their search engine to access your site things like HostGator.com, Facebook.com, Google.com, etc.
There are two primary parts that make up a domain, the second level domain and the top level domain. These two factors will also contribute to a domain valuation,, but more on this below.
Heres how top-level and second-level domains work together:
Whether youre purchasing a domain name for a new project, or simply to hold onto and sell one day, the process remains the same.
Can I Look Up Org Info Biz Us Or Tel Domains
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Existing Site And Traffic
If youre selling a domain name and the site is already getting traffic, or has an existing backlink profile, then you can typically get much more for the domain.
An interested buyer could be purchasing the domain for the name and the SEO power alone. They could be interested in taking over your website. Or, they could be using it for the sheer SEO power alone and forwarding your domain to their existing site.
Older domains also tend to be more valuable than a brand new domain. So, if you have an old domain, even if you havent done anything with the domain, it can still be more valuable than a domain you registered a few months ago.
Buying Your Domain Name And Web Hosting Separately
With this path, you register your new domain at a domain company of your choice and your hosting at a hosting provider. Youll then point your domain to your hosting account.
You will then need to install a content management system like WordPress. Though most offer a one-click install of WordPress.
I personally used this path. One possible combination is using:
- Domain Name Registration:Namecheap
- No additional configuration
Disadvantages
- Limited selection of domain names extensions
- Free only for the first year with typically higher prices for domain name renewals than if purchased seperately
- Harder to leave to another web hosting provider
- Hard to manage many domains, especially if some are inactive
- Loss of specialization in domain services
With this option, you always have the option to transfer your domain over to your web hosting provider. If you want to leave with the domain name you either have to wait a specified period before you transfer the domain or pay a cancellation fee.
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Identify Your Domain Host
A domain host is an internet service that manages your domain name, such as, example.com. Domain hosts use Domain Name System records to connect your domain name with email, websites, and other web services. Popular domain hosts include GoDaddy, enom, DreamHost, and 1& 1 IONOS, to name a few.
Google Cloud uses DNS records to set up online services. For example, to use your domain with Google Workspace, add DNS records with your domain host.
How Domain Names Work
Internet addresses are technically IP Addresses. IP addresses are a long series of numbers that make no sense to humans. In fact, the very first places on the internet were accessible only by IP address.
So instead of typing in 192.168.1.1 to access a website, the website owner can register a domain that will route to that specific IP address.
When you register a domain name, you are leasing it from the Internet Corporation for Names and Numbers or ICANN for short. ICANN provides domains via approved registrars. Your registrar will be your domain host, but not your web host, in one way of saying it.
Though a domain name does not do anything on its own. It is like a phone number without a phone attached to it.
Registration provides you the right to point your domain wherever you want with nameservers.
You can tell it to redirect to another website But usually, youll want it to direct browsers to your websiteon your hosting account.
You can read more in What Is A Domain Name.
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