Add an addon domain or alias to your hosting

You can host more than one domain on a single cPanel hosting account. There are two ways to add one, depending on what you want it to do:

• Addon domain: a completely separate website with its own files, for example running mysecondbusiness.co.nz alongside your main site.
• Alias (also called a parked domain): shows the same website as your main domain. Use this for extra versions of your name, such as yourbusiness.nz or yourbusiness.com showing your .co.nz site.

Before you start

• You need to own the domain. You can register it with us or with another registrar.
• Point the domain to our nameservers. If it's registered with us on the same account, this is usually already done. If it's registered elsewhere, see My domain is registered with someone else. How do I update the nameservers? and Which nameservers do I use?
• Check your plan allows extra domains. You can see your limits in cPanel under Statistics (Addon Domains and Aliases). If you've reached the limit, you can upgrade from your service page under Upgrade/Downgrade.

Add an addon domain (separate website)

1. Log in to cPanel from your service page under Services → My Services (https://www.hooplahosting.co.nz/client/clientarea.php?action=services).
2. Open Domains (type it in the cPanel search bar).
3. Click Create A New Domain.
4. Enter the domain name, for example mysecondbusiness.co.nz.
5. Untick Share document root, so the domain gets its own folder.
6. Check the Document Root folder (for example mysecondbusiness.co.nz). This is where its website files go.
7. Click Submit.

Then install WordPress on it with WP Toolkit (choose the new domain from the list), or upload your files to its folder. See How to install WordPress with WP Toolkit or Upload your website with File Manager or FileZilla.

You can create email addresses for an addon domain in the usual way. It'll appear in the domain drop-down when you create an email account.

Add an alias (same website)

1. In cPanel, open Domains and click Create A New Domain.
2. Enter the domain name, for example yourbusiness.nz.
3. Leave Share document root ticked. This makes it show your main website.
4. Click Submit.

Tip: for search engines, it's better to send visitors from an alias to your main domain than to show the same site at two addresses. Set up a permanent (301) redirect from the alias to your main domain in cPanel's Redirects. See Set up redirects and force HTTPS.

SSL for the new domain

Once the domain points to our nameservers, AutoSSL issues a free certificate for it automatically, usually within a few hours. See AutoSSL: install or fix your free SSL.

Remove a domain

In cPanel's Domains, click Manage next to the domain, then Remove Domain. An addon domain's files are kept in its folder, so delete them in File Manager if you no longer need them. Email accounts for that domain should be removed first in Email Accounts.

Troubleshooting

• "The domain is already configured" or "already exists": the domain is set up on another hosting account, either yours or someone else's. Open a ticket and we'll check.
• The new domain shows my main website: it was added with Share document root ticked. Click Manage next to it and change the document root to its own folder.
• The domain shows a holding page or "site can't be reached": the nameserver change may still be updating, which can take up to 24 hours (usually much less).

Need help?

If you get stuck, open a support ticket and we'll help.