Knowledgebase

Overview

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.

Create an addon domain

To create an addon domain, perform the following steps:

1. Enter the new addon domain’s name in the New Domain Name text box. When you enter the domain name, cPanel automatically populates the Subdomain and Document Root text boxes.

   Important:

   If you enter a domain that resembles an existing domain on your account, the system will recommend that you create a subdomain for that domain.

   • Doing this ensures that the nameservers properly manage the entries in the domain’s zone file.

   • To create a subdomain, use the link to cPanel’s Subdomains interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Subdomains).

    

2. To create multiple addon domains with the same username and different extensions (for example, example.com and example.net), manually enter a unique username in the Subdomain text box.

3. To choose a document root directory other than the automatically populated value, manually enter the directory name in the Document Root text box.

   Note:

   • The house icon () represents the cPanel account’s home directory.
   • For example, if you enter example1.com in the Directory text box and the cPanel account uses the /home/example home directory, the addon domain will exist in the /home/example/example1.com directory.
   • You cannot use the following directories as a document root directory: 

   • The account’s home directory itself (/)
   • Directories outside of the account’s home directory (./ and ../)
   • .cpanel
   • .trash
   • etc
   • mail
   • ssl
   • tmp
   • logs
   • .cphorde
   • .spamassassin
   • .htpasswds
   • var
   • cgi-bin
   • .ssh
   • perl5

    

4. To create an FTP account for the new addon domain, select the Create an FTP account associated with this Addon Domain checkbox. When you select this checkbox, additional settings will appear:

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

     • The system evaluates the password that you enter on a scale of 100 points. 0 indicates a weak password, while 100 indicates a very secure password.
     • Some hosting providers require a minimum password strength. A green password strength meter indicates that the password is equal to or greater than the required password strength.
     • Click Password Generator to generate a strong password. For more information, read our Password & Security documentation.

5. Click Add Domain.

SSL certificates

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.

• If AutoSSL 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.

Subdomain creation

When you create an addon domain in the cPanel interface, the system automatically 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. The system stores and displays the addon domain’s traffic statistics as part of the subdomain’s traffic statistics.

Next steps

After you create an addon domain, you may wish to perform the following actions:

• To add files to the addon domain’s home directory, click File Manager.

• To create an email account on an addon domain, use cPanel’s Email Accounts interface (cPanel >> Home >> Email >> Email Accounts).

• To delete or migrate the contents of email accounts of an addon domain, read our How to Migrate the Contents of Email Accounts in Addon Domains documentation.

Search addon domains

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

1. Enter the search criteria into the Search box.

2. Click Go.

The interface lists results that match your search criteria.

Modify the document root directory for an addon domain

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

1. Click the edit icon () for the addon domain that you wish to manage in the Document Root column.

2. Enter the path to the addon domain’s new document root directory in the available text box.

   Note:

   You cannot use the following directories as a document root directory: The account’s home directory itself (/)

   • Directories outside of the account’s home directory (./ and ../)
   • .cpanel
   • .trash
   • etc
   • mail
   • ssl
   • tmp
   • logs
   • .cphorde
   • .spamassassin
   • .htpasswds
   • var
   • cgi-bin
   • .ssh
   • perl5

    

3. Click Change.

Enable or disable addon domain redirection

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

1. Click Manage Redirection 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. Click Save, or, to disable the redirection, click Disable Redirection.

Remove an addon domain

To remove an addon domain, perform the following steps:

1. Click Remove for the addon domain that you wish to remove.

2. Click Yes.

Addon domains vs. aliases