Add-on domains

How to add more domains to one hosting account

Depending of your web hosting account features, one, two, or more additional domains can be added to the one hosting account. Domain names are cheap today, web site hosting also, and there is strong competition there. Allowing more domains on one account, web hosting company tactic is simple. More domains = more sites = more traffic = more bandwidth = upgrade account, please ;-)

For example, BlueHost offers six domains on one account, while HostGator for some hosting plans offers "unlimited" addon domains.

Add-on domain is the same as "main" domain. What means, although it is pointing to subdirectory of your main hosting account, visitor cannot see your directory, only domain name.

In case that you don't have an option to register new domain (web hosting company do not support new domain registration from your hosting account), you need to use some accredited registrar.
Go to your registrar account (or open new, it's free) and register new domain. For details how to register new domain read at New domain name registration page.
Anyway, it is important to know your hosting account DNS. On domain registrar control panel you need to enter name servers (DNS), to point new domain to your hosting company server.

Add new domain to existing hosting account, Bluehost cpanel example

If new domain name is registered at registrar, now, add it to your hosting account.

Log to hosting account control panel, choose "domains".
Now, add new domain name, confirm suggested folder/directory name. You can choose some other folder name, but, with suggested name (domain name without extension) it will be more easy to remember where you need to upload files for that site if you are using main FTP account for all add-on domains.
And that is all. Just wait one to 72 hours after adding/changing DNS, type domain name in browser address bar and you should see your new site.

There is little difference from one to other hosting company, depending of kind of control panel also, but procedure is the same. Anyway, new domain is now pointing to subdirectory of main site, but acting like separate site.

Now, you have a addondomain.com pointing to "maindomain.com/addondomain" Actually, that is subdomain of your main domain, the same new site you can reach using addondomain.maindomain.com, maindomain.com/addondomain and addondomain.com

For further details (enabling cgi, separate ftp for that domain, email),
consult hosting company help, or visit their support forum. To upload files, use your main FTP account, just upload files to "maindomain.com/addondomain/" directory/folder

Do not link or submit "maindomain.com/addondomain", or "addondomain.main.com" anywhere. Use "www.addondomain.com" only, to avoid duplicate content. With 301 (permanent) redirect, using htaccess, any visitor or spider reaching directory or subdomain, will be redirected to the addondomain.com

Although this below is not neccessary, you can use htaccess and mod_rewrite to redirect all requests for maindomain.com/adddomain and addondomain.maindomain.com to addondomain.com

In this case, htaccess must be uploaded in addondomain directory i.e. maindomain.com/addondomain

"Translated", it says: if request is NOT www.addondomain.com, redirect it to www.addondomain.com.

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.addondomain.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.addondomain.com [R=301,L]

Related:

to top