How to Connect Your Domain to Website, Email, and Hosting

This article will guide you in connecting your domain to your website, email, or hosting plan through your HostGator Customer Portal's Domain Connections section. The actions you can take within the Domain Connections section are as follows:

• Connect to a website ⤵
• Connect to an email ⤵
• Connect to a hosting plan ⤵
• Manage connected services ⤵
• Manage the 'Under Construction' page ⤵

To connect your domain to hosting services:

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal.
2. Click Domains from the left-hand side menu.

   

3. Locate your domain from the list.
   • If you have a single domain in your account, you will be redirected right away to the domain management page.
      
   • If you have multiple domains in your account, you can do the following:

     In Advanced view:

     1. Click the domain or click the domain's vertical ellipsis icon on the far right, under the Actions column.

        

     2. Select Manage.

     In Summary view:

     Locate the domain and click its Settings button.

     

4. On the domain management page, go to the Domain Connections section.

   

5. In the Domain Connections section, you can do the following actions:
   • Connect your domain to a website
     1. Click +Connect Website.
     2. Select your preferred action. 
        • If you do not yet have a hosting plan to host your website, please do the following.
          1. Click Continue.

             

          2. You'll be redirected to the HostGator front-of-site, where you can select your preferred hosting plan. Proceed to complete the purchase.

             

        • If you want to connect your domain to an existing website by updating its DNS records, please do the following.
          1. Click the Advanced Tools link.

             

          2. You'll be redirected to the Advanced Tools section, where you can set up or update your domain's name servers or DNS records.

             

             For more information on setting up your name servers or DNS records, you can check out the following articles.

             • How do I change my Name Servers?
             • Making DNS Changes to the Domain Bought from HostGator
   • Connect your domain to your emails
     Please note that this functionality is only available for internal domains or domains registered at HostGator.
     1. Click +Connect Email.
     2. Select your preferred action. You can choose to connect your domain to Google Workspace or to an existing email account.
        • If you prefer using professional email and do not have Google Workspace in your account yet, please do the following.
          1. Click Continue.

             

          2. You'll be redirected to the HostGator Google Workspace front-of-site, where you can complete the purchase of Google Workspace.

             

        • If you want to connect your domain to an existing email account, please do the following.
          1. Select Existing Service and click on the Continue button.

             

          2. Select one of your available plans to connect, and then click on the Connect button.

             

          3. In the pop-up, confirm you want to connect to your hosting plan, and then click Connect once again.

             

        • If you want to update your domain's MX records or name servers, please do the following. 
          1. Click the Advanced Tools link.

             

          2. You'll be redirected to the Advanced Tools section, where you can set up or update your domain's name servers or MX records.

             

             For more information on setting up your name servers or MX records, you can check out the following articles.

             • How do I change my Name Servers?
             • How to Set up your MX (Mail Exchange) Record
               
                
   • Connect your domain to a hosting plan
     1. Click +Connect Hosting.
     2. Select your preferred action. You can choose to connect your domain to your existing HostGator hosting plan or a third-party hosting provider.
        • If you already have an existing hosting plan with no domain connected to it, please do the following.
          1. In the pop-up, you will see the accessible hosting plan(s) in your account. Select the hosting plan where you want to connect your domain, and then click Connect.

             

             Please note that the pop-up box will only show active services within the same account as your domain and are not connected to another domain.
          2. In the next pop-up, confirm you want to connect to your hosting plan, and then click Connect once again.

             

          3. A pop-up notification will show up.

             

        • If you want to connect your domain to a third-party provider, please do the following.
          1. Click the another provider link.

             

          2. A pop-up will appear, instructing you to follow your provider's instructions and to update your DNS records in the Advanced Tools sections. Click the Advanced Tools button to proceed.

             

          3. You'll be redirected to the Advanced Tools section, where you can set up or update your domain's name servers or DNS records.

             

             For more information on setting up your name servers or DNS records, you can check out the following articles.

             • How do I change my Name Servers?
             • Making DNS Changes to the Domain Bought from HostGator
               
                
   • Manage your connected services - If you already have connected services in your account and would like to make updates on them, please do the following.
     1. Click Manage.

        

     2. You'll be redirected to the hosting/email management page, where you can make updates.
        
         
   • Manage your 'Under Construction' page - When a domain is not yet connected to a web service, you can use an 'Under Construction' page to inform site visitors that the website is temporarily unavailable.
     1. Click the 'edit the design' link to choose the type of Under Construction page.

        

         

     2. Select your preferred template, and then click Save.

        

     The Customer Portal includes a feature that allows you to set up a "Coming Soon" page for your WordPress website. If you need guidance on creating this temporary landing page via the Customer Portal, you may visit the following article.

     • Customer Portal - How to Manage the Coming Soon Page

     You can also utilize the HostGator plugin within your WordPress Dashboard to set up your "Coming Soon" page. For more information, check out the following article.

     • How to Configure your WordPress Coming Soon page