How to add an addon domain to your hosting

Introduction

Your hosting plan comes with one website. That website starts with one domain, the one you signed up with. We call it the primary domain.

An addon domain is another domain you attach to the same website. It shows its own site, has its own SSL certificate, and can have its own email addresses. This is how you run a second or third site without buying a second plan.

How Addon Domains Work

Every domain on your website points to a folder in your files. This folder is called the document root. When someone visits the domain, they see whatever is inside its folder.

Your primary domain usually uses the public_html folder. An addon domain gets a folder of its own, for example:

public_html/mysecondsite.com

So one website can serve several sites, each from its own folder.

How Many You Can Add

These numbers are the same on the Linux, WordPress and Laravel plans. Your primary domain and your subdomains do not count towards the limit.

What They Share

All the domains on a website share the same plan. That means they share its storage, bandwidth, memory and PHP version.

Adding an Addon Domain

1. In the panel, open Websites and select your website.
2. Click Domains, then Add domain.
3. Choose Addon as the domain type.
4. Type the domain name, for example mysecondsite.com.
5. Look at the Document root field. It should be the domain’s own folder, for example public_html/mysecondsite.com.
6. Click Add.

The new domain now shows in the domains table, marked as an addon.

Note: If the document root is public_html, the addon domain will show your main site instead of its own. To fix it, open the menu at the end of the domain’s row in Domains, change the document root to the domain’s own folder, and save.

Putting a Site on the Domain

The addon domain shows whatever is in its folder. When you first add it, the folder is empty. You can fill it in one of three ways.

Install WordPress

Go to Apps, choose WordPress, and select the addon domain when the installer asks where to install. WordPress is placed in that domain’s folder.

Upload Your Files

Open Files, go into the domain’s folder, and upload your site. Make sure the folder has an index.php or index.html file. That is the first page visitors see.

Use SSH

If you prefer the command line, copy your files into the same folder over SSH or SFTP. The SSH guide shows how to connect.

If your site needs a database, create it under Databases, just as you would for your main site. The MySQL guide explains how.

DNS and SSL

Before visitors can reach the addon domain, the domain has to point to us.

If the Domain Uses Our Nameservers

You do not need to do anything. The DNS records are created when you add the domain. A free SSL certificate (the padlock in the browser) is issued once the domain points to us. This can take up to an hour.

If the Domain’s DNS Is Somewhere Else

Add an A record at your DNS provider that points the domain to your hosting. The point your domain guide has the exact values. If the padlock does not appear after an hour, follow the SSL guide.

Email on an Addon Domain

An addon domain can have its own email addresses, such as hello@mysecondsite.com.

Go to Emails, add a mailbox, and pick the addon domain from the domain list. It works the same as email on your primary domain. To read it on your phone or computer, follow the email setup guide.

What Addon Domains Cannot Do

An addon domain lives inside the same website as your primary domain. Because of that, a few things cannot be set per domain:

• PHP version. Every domain on the website uses the same PHP version. If two sites need different versions, put them on separate plans.
• Worker processes. Background processes, such as Laravel queue workers or a Node.js app, only answer on the primary domain. Run those apps on the primary domain.
• Separate access. Anyone with access to the website can see the files of every domain on it. The sites also run as the same user, so a hacked plugin on one site can reach the others. Keep every site updated.

If a site needs any of these kept separate, give it its own hosting plan.

Changing the Primary Domain

You can turn any domain on the website into the primary domain:

1. Go to Domains.
2. Open the menu at the end of the domain’s row.
3. Choose Make primary, then save.

Your site does not update its own address when you do this. WordPress, for example, saves its address in its settings. After the switch, the homepage may load while every other link still goes to the old domain.

To fix it in WordPress, go to Settings, then General, and change both address fields to the new domain. Other apps keep their address in their own settings, such as APP_URL in a Laravel .env file.

If the site runs worker processes, check them after the switch. Open a ticket if they stop answering on the new domain.

Addon Domain or Subdomain?

• Use an addon domain for a different domain name, such as mysecondsite.com.
• Use a subdomain for a name under a domain you already have, such as blog.yourdomain.com. The subdomain guide shows how.

Troubleshooting

The addon domain shows my main site. Its document root is public_html. Change it to the domain’s own folder, as shown in the note above.

The addon domain shows a 403 error. The folder is empty, has no index file, or has the wrong permissions. Upload an index.php or index.html file and set the folder’s permissions to 755.

I can’t add another domain. You have used all the addon domains on your plan. Open a ticket at client.getlitehost.com/support and we will help you choose a bigger plan.