**Welcome to gptservers.net**
Thank you for choosing a shared web hosting account with gptservers.net! If you're new to web hosting, this guide will walk you through getting started.
**Step 1: Identify Your Needs**
Begin by determining your specific requirements:
- **Starting from scratch?** Proceed to Step 2.
- **Want to remove or replace the default "under construction" page?** Go to Step 3.
- **Need to transfer a website from another host?** gptservers.net can assist. Open a support ticket in your Client Area titled "Domain Transfer Request" and include:
- Your domain name
- Domain transfer secret or EPP Key
- Current host IP
- cPanel username
- cPanel password
You’ll be notified once the migration is complete, then proceed to Step 2.
**Step 2: Update Your DNS**
To make your website live, you must update your domain’s name servers.
- If you registered your domain with gptservers.net, we’ve already handled this—move to Step 3.
- If your domain is with another registrar, locate the name server settings in their domain management panel. Replace the listed name servers with those provided in your welcome email (sent after account activation).
DNS changes typically take 24–48 hours to propagate. To avoid downtime, review our moving page. If your site doesn’t resolve within two days, contact our support team.
**Step 3: Upload Your Website**
You can start uploading files using an FTP client or cPanel’s File Manager.
- **Using an FTP client**: Enter your site’s IP address in the “FTP address” field, and use the cPanel username and password from your welcome email. FTP uses Port 21.
- Navigate to the `public_html` folder and upload your site files. To replace the default placeholder page, upload an `index.html` file (in lowercase) or delete the existing page and upload your own index file (`index.html`, `index.htm`, or `index.php`).
**Note**: By default, no email addresses are set up. Configure email accounts manually in cPanel (see links below).
**Step 4: Useful Resources**
- Explore e-commerce hosting with our integrated **Ecommerce Interswitch Packages**.
- Secure your site with **SSL Certificates**.
- Access free scripts and software on our downloads page.
- Earn rewards through our **Hosting Affiliate Program** by referring friends.
- Find answers in our **FAQ**.
**Step 5: Maximize Your Hosting Account**
Check out our knowledge base for helpful tutorials, including:
- Creating email accounts
- Setting up email auto-responders
- Configuring email in MS Outlook
- Uploading files via cPanel File Manager
- Uploading files using WS_FTP software
- MySQL tutorials
- Installing WordPress from cPanel
**Step 6: Get Support**
gptservers.net offers 24/7/365 support from our Magboro, Ogun State office, staffed by customer service, server administrators, and sales professionals.
- **Knowledge Base**: Browse over 100 articles for quick answers to common questions and tutorials on popular features.
- **Chat Support**: Ideal for quick, simple questions about email, cPanel, FTP, or basic sales and billing inquiries. Our chat technicians can explain gptservers.net policies and troubleshoot common issues.
- **Ticket Support**: For complex or technical issues, email support@gptservers.net. You’ll receive a confirmation email indicating your ticket is in our 24/7 queue. If you don’t receive this, your ticket wasn’t received.
- Submit only one ticket per issue to avoid delays.
- Include your primary domain, username, and detailed information (e.g., login credentials or URLs to replicate the issue).
- **Phone Support**: Available 8 AM–5 PM on weekdays for basic issues. Complex issues may require a support ticket.
**Step 7: Manage Billing**
Your hosting account will be billed automatically on the due date. Unpaid bills may interrupt service.
- To cancel, upgrade, update information, or purchase SSL certificates or IP addresses, visit our orders page for guidance.
- Manage billing, view invoices, update support tickets, or change your primary email in the Client Area on our website.
