Overview
This article lists common DreamHost account related questions.
Signing up
How do I sign up for an account?
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See this article for instructions on signing up for a new DreamHost account.
New accounts are often approved automatically. However, if there are payment issues, an account may be held for manual review and you may need to provide additional account verification information.
Is it possible to sign up without a credit card?
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Yes. When you sign up for an account, the form also offers PayPal as an option.
What email address should I use to sign up?
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You should use a third-party email such as a GMAIL or OUTLOOK address to sign up.
Domain email address
DreamHost highly recommends that you do NOT use an email address associated with one of your domains. For example, if your website is example.com, do not use an address such as contact@example.com.
The reason is that if your domain registration expires or you no longer host email, you will fail to receive DreamHost-related emails.
If you're using a third-party email address, you'll always receive DreamHost-related emails at the external address.
Is there a way to try out DreamHost services before signing up?
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At this time there is no demo account to test out. However, DreamHost offers a 97 day money back guarantee for any credit card purchase on a Shared web hosting plan. If you find DreamHost does not suit your needs, you can cancel within 97 days and receive a full refund. View the Refunds article for further details.
How long after I sign up can I start building my site?
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Within 30 minutes of account approval, you may proceed with adding your domain to a hosting plan, creating an FTP user, and uploading your content to the server.
However, it will take a bit longer for your domain name to resolve online due to DNS propagation. New domain registrations typically take 24-72 hours to be viewable online and website DNS changes can take up to 6 hours to update.
What if my account is not automatically approved?
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If your account is not automatically approved, it will then be manually reviewed by DreamHost. This usually takes about 24 hours, not including weekends or holidays.
I'm not a resident of the United States. Can I still sign up?
DreamHost currently hosts websites in hundreds of countries worldwide, so you do not need to live in the United States to set up an account.
Can I sign up without a domain name?
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Yes. You can add a free temporary subdomain to get started. See this article for further details.
Content
What type of sites can I host with DreamHost?
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You can use any DreamHost hosting plan for any type of use, commercial or private, non-profit or governmental. As long as all of your content is legal in the United States, DreamHost has no problem hosting your site.
Will DreamHost place ads on my site?
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No. You control your web space to use as you like.
Can I have adult content on my DreamHost-hosted website?
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As long as the content is legal within the United States of America, you can host adult content. DreamHost does not restrict the content of sites hosted unless that content is illegal within the United States of America. Illegal content includes:
- blatant copyright infringement
- libel
- child pornography
Misc
Does DreamHost assist with transferring my domain?
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DreamHost does not provide a website transferring service. However, the following articles contain all the information you need to migrate site content and transfer a domain registration.
Does DreamHost offer any special services for non-profits?
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Yes. Please review the non-profit discount article for further details.
How do I close my account?
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See this article if you wish to close your account.
Does DreamHost offer a reseller plan?
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No. But you can resell services as you like. View the Reselling article for details.
How can I update my account information?
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See this article for information on how to make changes to your account details.