A few questions

[morbidromantic]

My current hosting situation is currently unendurable!

So, I have been considering HostGator as my new host. But before I sign up, I have a few presale questions to make sure that the transition will go smoothly and without issues.

Does HostGator offer a service where I can set up my domain before I point my DNS to the new server? I would like to do my move with as little downtime as possible. If at all possible, I'd like to get my site set up and then connect my domain to it. I understand that some companies have subdomain type services for that where sites can be uploaded and made and then have them connected to a domain.

I am going to go with the smallest plan for right now. I want to make sure that HostGator is reliable. If I do like the service, I will upgrade. If I do upgrade, will I be kept on the same server that I am initially put on?

[gwyneth]

Even better than a subdomain...in your welcome email, HG gives instructions for logging into your account's IP via FTP and cPanel. You can do just about everything before you switch your nameservers, except (I think) some php functions that don't work without a real URL.

As far as upgrades and the same server, I believe as long as you go to a bigger shared account (i.e., not reseller or dedi) you'd stay in place, but to be sure write sales (at) hostgator.com. This is a peer support forum, so HG staff may not see this question.

[GatorNathon]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Even better than a subdomain...in your welcome email, HG gives instructions for logging into your account's IP via FTP and cPanel. You can do just about everything before you switch your nameservers, except (I think) some php functions that don't work without a real URL.

As far as upgrades and the same server, I believe as long as you go to a bigger shared account (i.e., not reseller or dedi) you'd stay in place, but to be sure write sales (at) hostgator.com. This is a peer support forum, so HG staff may not see this question.

1> We do provide a temp URL which looks like this IP/~username/
PHP functions will work on your site as long as they are soft coded and not hard. A hard code calls for domain.com/includes/page.php but a soft code is just /includes/page.php

2> As long as you are upgrading from shared to shared you will be fine. If you move from shared to reseller or dedicated you would have to change servers but we do transfer the accounts for you free of charge.