SAP Resources

Hostgator addon Domain - purchasing the actual domain








If you have a web hosting package from hostgator such as the Baby or Business plan you can run an unlimited amount of domains on the same hosting plan. All you need to do is already own or purchase the actual domain which costs around $12 for the year.

I found this quite confusing at first as I didn't really understand what I was doing and thought buying and addon domain was different form buying a normal domain. Just so you know it isn't, you purchase the basic domain as usually then set it up on you hosting plan as an Addon domain. Here are the steps although I start off as if you have no knowledge of this and have not already purchased the second domain name. By the end you will find it very easy to do and will understand about domains, Addon domains and how DNS Name Servers work etc.


Step 1 - The customer portal
The customer portal is initially your main starting point, especially when you are new to this. So log in and Select hosting


Then Domains


Finally select the Addon Domains button


Also I have put a video together of the steps if you would prefer to watch that rather than read through this page



Step 2 - Enter you addon Domain name
You will then be taken to the Addon Domains section of your Control Panel (cPanel). The cPanel may become your go to place for configuration and setup as you become more experienced and aware of how things hang together, but don't worry about this for now.

Enter the domain you want to create as an Add-on Domain and then click anywhere on the screen. You should get a message that the domain has not been purchased / registered yet.



Step 3 - Purchase the actual domain name
Click the purchase this domain button and you will be taken to the domain purchase page


This is the same as returning to the customer portal and then clicking the main top level Domains tab


and then searching for your domain


Add the domain to your cart


Now simply follow the purchase screen, un-ticking domain privacy protection if this is not something you need.


Finally click complete order



Step 4 - Domain purchased now Setup DNS Name Servers
Right the domain name has now been purchased and it will be pointing to the default Hostgator Name Servers, which are currently ns1.hostgator.com and ns2.hostgator.com

You now need to return to the domain page and click the "Manage Domains" tab and select your newly created addon domain


Then select the Name Servers section


As you will see they will be pointing to the example default Name Servers


Simply select your hosting package from the dropdown and the domain will be populated with the appropriate Name Servers. Once you press the save button it can then take 24 to 48 hours for these name server changes to fully propagate, so not all traffic will go to the new ones straight away.


You now need to return to the addon domain section and complete the setup to assigne a username, password and folder location for the new websites files.