An overview of cPanel Add-On Domains

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cPanel Addon Domains

If you have a domain or subdomain you want to point at your hosting account, move it to cPanel Add-On Domains.

You’ll be able to create subdomains, create an http redirect, or map your domain to your hosting.

Overview

(courtesy ofĀ cPanel Documentation)

Addon domains allow you to control multiple domains from a single account. An addon domain links a new domain name to a directory in your account, and then stores its files in that directory.

Important:Ā  Your hosting provider mustĀ specify a maximum number of addon domains that you can create (greater thanĀ 0) in theĀ Modify an AccountĀ interface (WHMĀ >>Ā Home >> Account Functions >> Modify an Account). A value ofĀ 0Ā preventsĀ addon domain creation.

Create an addon domain

To create an addon domain, perform the following steps:

  1. Enter the new addon domain’s name in theĀ New Domain NameĀ text box.Ā When you enter the domain name, cPanel automatically populates theĀ SubdomainĀ andĀ Document RootĀ text boxes.
  2. To create multiple addon domains with the same username and different extensions (for example,Ā example.comĀ andĀ example.netĀ ), manually enter a unique username in theĀ SubdomainĀ text box.
  3. To choose a document root other than the automatically populated value, manually enter the directory name in theĀ Document RootĀ text box.
  4. To create an FTP account for the new addon domain, select theĀ Create an FTP account associated with this Addon DomainĀ checkbox.
    If you select this checkbox, additional settings will appear:

    • cPanel automatically populates theĀ FTP UsernameĀ text box.Ā To select a different FTP account username, manually enter the desired username.
    • Enter and confirm the new password in the appropriate text boxes.

      Notes:

      • The system evaluates the password that you enter on a scale of 100 points.Ā 0Ā indicates a weak password, whileĀ 100Ā indicates a very secure password.
      • Some web hosts require a minimum password strength. A green passwordĀ StrengthĀ meter indicates that the password is equal to or greater than the required password strength.
      • ClickĀ Password GeneratorĀ to generate a strong password. For more information, read ourĀ Password & SecurityĀ documentation.

       

  5. ClickĀ Add Domain.

To add files to the addon domainā€™s home directory, clickĀ File Manager.

When you create an addon domain in the cPanel interface, the systemĀ automaticallyĀ creates a subdomain. To alter or delete the subdomain after you create it, you may alter or delete the information that the addon domain’s website displays.

Also, when you create an addon domain, parked domain, subdomain, or main domain, the system will attempt to automatically secure that domain with the best-available existing certificate. If no certificate exists, the system will generate a self-signed certificate to secure the new domain.

IfĀ AutoSSLĀ is enabled for the account that owns the new domain, the system will add a request for an AutoSSL certificate to secure the new domain and install it when it becomes available.

Note: The system stores and displays the addon domain’s traffic statistics as part of the subdomain’s traffic statistics.

Modify Addon Domain

Modify the document root for an addon domain

To modify the document root for an addon domain, perform the following steps:

  1. Click the edit icon for the addon domain that you wish to manage under theĀ Document RootĀ column.
  2. Enter the new file path to the addon domain’s document root in the available text box.
  3. ClickĀ Change.

Enable or disable addon domain redirection

To disable or enable redirection of an addon domain, perform the following steps:

  1. ClickĀ Manage RedirectionĀ for the addon domain that you wish to manage.
  2. To redirect the domain, enter the link to which you wish to redirect the addon domain.
  3. ClickĀ Save, or, to disable the redirection, clickĀ Disable Redirection.

Remove an addon domain

To remove an addon domain, perform the following steps:

  1. ClickĀ RemoveĀ for the addon domain that you wish to remove.
  2. ClickĀ Yes.

Email accounts in addon domains

Note: In the following examples:

  • old_accountĀ represents the cPanel accountĀ fromĀ which you wish to move the addon domain’s email account or accounts.
  • new_accountĀ represents the cPanel accountĀ toĀ which you wish to move the addon domain’s email account or accounts.
  • domain_nameĀ represents the addon domain’s name.
  • email_accountĀ represents the name of the addon domain’s email account that you wish to move.

You can create email accounts for addon domains. To learn how to set up an email account for an addon domain, read ourĀ Email AccountsĀ documentation.

When you remove the addon domain, its email accounts will no longer appear in the cPanel interface. However, the contents for this email account still exist in theĀ home/username/mailĀ directory.

  • If you add the domain back to the same account as the primary domain, an addon domain, or a parked domain, the email accounts reappear in the cPanel interface.
  • If you move the domain to a different account, youĀ mustĀ add the email accounts manually and move the contents of the email account manually. The email accountsĀ mustĀ follow the same name and domain format that they previously followed.
    • Use theĀ Email AccountsĀ interface to add new accounts, or run theĀ /scripts/addpopĀ script to manually add new email accounts.
    • To moveĀ oneĀ email account under a domain, you can run the following command:
      Ā mvĀ /home/old_account/mail/domain_name/email_accountĀ /home/new_account/mail/domain_name/

      After you run this command, the system creates theĀ /home/new_account/mail/domain_name/Ā directory.

    • To moveĀ allĀ the email accounts under a domain, run the following command:
      mv /home/old_account/mail/domain_name /home/new_account/mail

      After you move the files, run the following command to change the ownership of the new account:

      chownĀ -R new_account:new_accountĀ /home/new_account/mail/domain_name.

Note:Ā  Verify ownership of the email account after you move it.

Search addon domains

To search the list of addon domains, perform the following steps:

  1. Enter the search criteria into theĀ SearchĀ box.
  2. ClickĀ Go.

The interface lists results that match your search criteria.

Addon and alias domains

Characteristic
Addon domains
Alias domains
The main domain appears in the address bar. Yes No
The domain uses the following Apache directive: VirtualHost ServerAlias
The domain uses separate logs. Yes No
The domain uses separateĀ stats. Yes No
The system treats the domain as a subdomain (other than the URL). Yes No
This type of domain is ideal for multiple domains that share the same address. No Yes

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