When you purchase a new domain (from Godaddy say) and you want to host it via hostgator(unlimited domains plan) and you go to the steps to add this fresh new domain to your hostgator account, then how long does it take hostgator to become active with this new domain? (so you can start adding content or even installing a WP blog onto it, Via a FTP ) Does this new domain hosting happen immediately, after you add it via hostgator?? or it takes days for hostgator to activate it, for them to email you, the login details? and confirm that the new domain is active? etc etc ? In other words, How long does it take, online, to for the Godaddy Domain to be Pointed to the Hostgator account? and Redy to use! ? Added: The Main purpose for considering hosting with hostgator, is to host 20+ WP blogs, (which will all on 20 separate domain names) Should there be any concern from considering hostgator, interms of hostgator being sold to EIG ? ie, that affecting hostgators' performance ?
After you changed the name servers on the domain it takes about 24-48 hours for it to take into effect. ( DNS Propagation) my experiences with changing name servers it doesn't take 48 hours, but you never know sometimes. About hosting 20+ domains, it really depends on the size of the sites. As you only have a limited processes on one unlimited domain hosting account. It can be a problem if you have a lot of processes. When you do go over your sites on that account might go down.
The DNS update can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours, in my experience. Instead of using your web host's DNS, you can use your registrar's DNS (Go Daddy used to provide it for free) and then just create an A record to point your domain to any server you want with no delay (except for DNS caching, of course, but those who do not have the DNS cached will be directed to your server almost immediately).
Yes, it usually takes no more than 1-2 hours but can take up to 24 hours for caches around the world to update completely. Just make sure you set the right nameservers at the doamin.