Knowledgebase

We're thrilled you're interested in signing up. We are excited to have you on board. We've created this document to help walk you through the basics of the sign up process. As always if you have any questions, feel free to get in contact with us via the Chillidog Hosting website.

Step 1: Choose your plan

The very first thing you'll have to do is decide which hosting plan you'd like. When choosing a plan please consider:

• You are not stuck with the plan you choose. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time. All upgrades and downgrades are pro-rated and you'll never pay for more than what you use. There are no hidden fees or charges for changing accounts.
• All hosting accounts have the same features. Unlike other big box providers, we do not charge you extra for email. We do not charge you extra to generate or retrieve backups. Nor do we do charge you extra for IMAP, PHP support, MySQL databases, SFTP access or any other essentials.
• The only difference between the different hosting package is Bandwidth and Disk space quota (which governs how much disk space and bandwidth you can use each month).
  • Disk space is the amount of storage you have for your websites, databases and email. The more disk space you have, the more content you can publish and store on the web server.
  • Bandwidth is the measurement of the amount of traffic (data) through your hosting account. The more Bandwidth your account has, the more visitors your site can handle. As an added bonus, by default Chillidog is set to compress your site before sending it to your visitors. This automatically saves you extra bandwidth.

To view our latest range of hosting plans, please visit the Chillidog Hosting website. As well as shared hosting plans for normal websites, we also have some VPS solutions available and dedicated email accounts. Please note, a 24 - 48 hour set up time currently applies to our VPS plans. Please contact us for more details about these.

Step 2: Supply your domain name

In order for us to create your account, we will need to know your domain name (website address) you'd like to use. The domain name you specify here will be considered your primary domain name. This is important to note when publishing your site. Additional domains may be added to your account later via the Add-On domains section within the control panel.

There are three options available for your domain, during the signup process.

1. I want Chillidog Hosting to register a new domain for me.
   • If you do not already have a domain name, we will happily help you register a new one, however a standard domain name registration fee applies. Domain registrations made through Chillidog Hosting include:
     • Free private WHOIS protection (called ID Protect), which is often an extra charge through some other registration companies
     • 1 year domain name registration
     • Full DNS (name server) management
2. I want to transfer my domain to Chillidog Hosting.
   • If you already have a domain and would like to transfer it over to Chillidog Hosting, please select this option. Please note the following about transferring:
     • Transferring your domain will incur a small fee. This fee includes:
       • 1 year extension to the current expiration of the domain. Think of this as an early renewal.
       • Free private WHOIS protection (called ID Protect)
       • Full DNS management
     • Due to ICANN restrictions, domains that have been registered or renewed within the last 60 days can not be transferred.
     • Privacy Protection must be removed prior to initiating the transfer at your current domain name registrar.
     • The contact information for the domain absolutely must be up to date with a working email address.
     • Some domains will require an EPP or Transfer authorization code. This code is provided by your current registrar in order to authenticate the transfer.
     • Depending on your current registrar, transfers can take up to 7 days.
     • Your current name server settings for your domain will not be automatically changed to point at Chillidog. This is so that you can manage the transition at your own pace. You will need to update the name server settings yourself.
     • Once a transfer is initiated, a Transfer Authorization email will be sent to the domain administrator (domain name owner) on file. The administrator is required to click a special link in the email and approve the transfer.
3. I will update my nameservers on an existing domain / or I will register a new domain.
   • This option will keep your domain at the current registrar but you will be required to update the name servers (point all traffic to Chillidog Hosting) or change the A record* for your domain.
   • You can change the A record for your domain. The IP address A record is supplied within your New Account Info email. This email will be sent to you when you sign up. However changing the A records will point your site only to Chillidog Hosting. You will need use your own DNS provider and manage your DNS settings elsewhere.
   • A test URL is provided within the New Account Info email, when you signup. This mean you can publish your website to the Chillidog Hosting server, before changing the name servers. This should result in a seamless transition from you old hosting company to Chillidog Hosting, without downtime.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be more than happy to answer any questions.

Step 3: Confirm Order

Before proceeding to checkout, please review your order. If you have a promo or coupon code, please enter it now. After entering your promo code, please click the 'Validate Code' button to apply the code to your order.

Step 4: checkout

The final step to start using you shiny new hosting account is to create an account and checkout. Please note:

• The account created here is for billing purposes only.
• We highly recommend using an email address that is not tied to your domain name you specified in previous steps.
• Your control panel username and password will be emailed to you once checkout is complete.
• Your control panel username and password is also used for publishing your site.