how to fix error 404 on hostgator

google search (how to fix 404 error) again was disappointing in finding the right solution . 

This will work if this is the problem with your domain. 

I created and pointed a subdomain to hostgator and got the 404 erro

you have to add the line to your .htaccess

DirectoryIndex index.html index.cgi index.php

usually the .htaccess does not exist . So you need to create it via the cpanel