How can I Create an Addon Domain (or Additional Website)
What is an addon domain or an additional website?
An addon domain (or additional website) is a feature that allows you to add a 2nd (or third!) website to your hosting plan.
All addon domains are managed using the same control panel (cPanel) and share the resource limits (disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, FTP accounts, databases, etc) of your main account.
An addon domain will have its own domain name (ex: www.newdomain.com) and will appear as an independent website online, to your visitors. The addon domain's files will be placed in a folder of your choice within the main account (ex: public_html/newdomain.com/).
What are the advantages of an addon domain?
- It's economical: you'll be able to host multiple distinct websites under the same hosting account
- All your websites are managed from the same control panel (cPanel)
- For your website visitors, the addon domain will appear as an entirely independent website.
- Each addon domain can use its own FTP account to limit access to the main account's files.
- Each addon domain can have its own email addresses.
What are the disadvantages of an addon domain?
- Access to the addon domain's control panel (cPanel) and to the main domain's control panel are shared, so users with access to the addon domain's cPanel can modify files and parameters in the main account. It is not recommended to share this access with other individuals.
- Addon domains are not available Web Hosting Starter plans.
- An addon domain website cannot have its own dedicated IP address. They are not recommended for ecommerce websites that require SSL certificates or increased security.
- Because resources are shared, a high usage of ressources on one of the addon domains can affect all other domains on the same shared account.
- Addon domains share the same logins as your main domain, and do not benefit from the same isolation technology as distinct accounts. As such, addon domains are more vulnerable to cross-contamination caused by a compromised web application on the same account, compared to separate web hosting accounts.
If security and flexibility are important for your new website, we recommend a separate web hosting account.
How can I create an Addon domain?
Before ordering an addon domain, you will need:
- An active web hosting plan (PRO or greater) for your main website
- A registered domain name (with us or another registrar) to be used as the addon domain
- Point your domain to our nameservers (generally ns1/2/3.whc.ca)
Then, to create the Addon domain:
- Log in to the Client Area > Services > (select your main web hosting account)
- Click on Go to cPanel
- Under Domains, click on Addon Domains
- Under New Domain Name, enter the domain you want to add. The other fields should then auto-fill and don't need to be modified unless you require custom settings. Take note of the Document Root folder that's displayed, since this will be the folder where your website's content will need to be placed.
- Click Add Domain
- Your addon domain will be created, and you will now be able to publish its content by uploading your website's files into the Document root listed previously, or by using the 1-click installer to install a new web application of your choice (including Wordpress)
Tip: if you want to link a new domain to an existing website on your account, consider using the Alias feature rather than the Addon domain feature.
Article ID: #HC5116
