So you have finally decided to launch a second website on your hosting and realized that you need an add-on domain for that.

We realize that this can seem a bit technical, but don’t worry. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to add an add-on domain in cPanel, step by step. There won’t be any unnecessary technical jargon, only clear instructions you can follow with ease, regardless of your experience level.

What is an Addon Domain?

An add-on domain allows you to host a new, entirely separate website on your existing hosting account. The new website has its own domain name, content, structure, and settings, even though it shares the same hosting space as your main site.

When you create an add-on domain in cPanel, a new folder is made in your main hosting directory. This folder contains all the files for your new website. When someone visits the new domain, the server loads content from that folder and shows it in their browser.

Addon Domain vs Primary Domain vs Subdomain

If you’re not sure how addon domains, primary domains, and subdomains are different, here’s a simple breakdown to help you understand each one.

Primary domain is the main domain connected to your hosting account. It’s the one you chose when you first signed up for hosting. All other features like emails, SSL, and the public_html folder are tied to this domain by default.
As we just discussed, an addon domain lets you run a separate website from the same hosting account. It has its own domain name and content but lives on the same server as the primary domain.
A subdomain is like a section or extension of an existing domain. It looks like blog.jerrysflowers.com or store.jerrysflowers.com. Subdomains are often used to organize different parts of the same website.

Why Use an Addon Domain?

People use addon domains to:

Run a second website for a new business or project
Create separate sites for different clients
Build a test or staging version of a site
Host sites for different regions or languages
Keep unrelated content on different domains while using one hosting plan
Save money by avoiding multiple hosting subscriptions

What You Need Before Adding an Addon Domain

Before we get into the actual steps, make sure you sort out the following prerequisites:

A registered domain name that you want to use as the addon domain
Access to your hosting account’s cPanel
Enough resources on your hosting plan to support another website (some basic plans allow only one domain)

How to Add an Addon Domain in cPanel

Here are the steps to follow to add an addon domain in cPanel.

Log in to your cPanel account and click the “Domains” icon inside the “Domains” section.
Click “Create A New Domain”
In the “Domain field”, type in the domain name you want to add.
The “Document Root” field will fill in automatically based on the domain you entered. This is the folder where your new website’s files will be stored. You can keep the suggested folder name or change it if needed.
The “Subdomain” field will also be auto-filled. Leave it as is.

Even though you’re adding a new (add-on) domain, cPanel uses a subdomain as a reference point behind the scenes to manage the folder structure and routing. This doesn’t affect how your site looks or functions to visitors. It’s just a technical setup detail handled by cPanel that you don’t need to worry about.

Once everything looks good, click “Submit” to finish the setup.

That’s it! Your addon domain is now connected to your hosting account.

How to Point an Addon Domain to Your Hosting (DNS Settings)

At this point, you have completed one-half of the addon domain configuration process. The next step is to update the domain’s DNS settings, so that it points to your hosting account. Without this step, visitors won’t be able to reach your new site.

Here’s how to do it:

Log in to the account where you registered the addon domain (your domain registrar).
Find the option to manage DNS or Nameservers.
Replace the existing nameservers with the ones provided by your hosting company. These usually look like:

ns1.domainking.ng
ns2.domainking.ng

Save the changes.

What’s Next?

Once you update the nameservers, the changes don’t take effect right away. DNS updates like these can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to fully update across the internet. This waiting period is known as DNS propagation.

To check if your changes have been updated on all DNS servers worldwide, you can use online tools like:

dnschecker.org
whatsmydns.net

Just enter your domain name and see if it’s pointing to the correct IP address or nameservers.

FAQs About Addon Domains

Finally, here are some commonly asked questions about addon domains:

Can I install WordPress on an addon domain?

Yes, you can install WordPress on an addon domain just like you would on your main domain. It works as a separate site with its own files and database.

Will addon domains share the same resources?

Yes, all addon domains use the same hosting plan, which means they share CPU, memory, and storage limits. If you’re on a shared hosting plan or if your resource cap is low, this can lead to performance issues across your sites.

Can I remove an addon domain later?

Yes, you can remove an addon domain anytime from your cPanel. This won’t affect your primary domain or other settings.

How many addon domains can I add?

Some plans allow unlimited addon domains, others may allow one or two, and some may not support addon domains at all.

Conclusion

Many website owners turn to add-on domains when they need to manage multiple websites under a single hosting account. It’s a great way to save costs and make full use of your hosting plan.

If you are in the market for a reliable hosting plan with addon domain support, check out DomainKing Nigeria’s Web Hosting plans today.