Addon Domain – Thesis Hosting

Creating Addon Domain for Site Hosted Elsewhere in cPanel

Trying to set up a site as an addon domain before moving it from another hosting account? You may get mooned by cPanel in such cases. Here is there error you see and (more importantly) how to fix it.

When you try to set up the addon, you get this message:

There was a problem creating the addondomain. Show Details

Error from park wrapper: Using nameservers with the following IPs: xx.xxx.xxx.xxx,xx.xxx.xxx.xxx Sorry, the domain is already pointed to an IP address that does not appear to use DNS servers associated with this server. Please transfer the domain to this servers nameservers or have your administrator add one of its nameservers to /etc/ips.remotedns and make the proper A entries on that remote nameserver.

In order to eliminate this error, go into WHM. In Server Configuration, under Tweak Settings option, check this box:

Allow Creation of Parked/Addon Domains that resolve to other servers (i.e. domain transfers) [This can be a major security problem. If you must have it enabled, be sure to not allow users to park common internet domains.]

Once you’ve created the addon domain, you can untick this box again. It’s more secure to leave it unchecked, of course, but many times you’ll want to get the new site up and running before you change over DNS, huh? At least, if you’re smart, you do.
photo credit: bwright923

Parking a Domain on top of An Addon Domain (cPanel)

Parking a domain on top of an addon domain in cPanel can be a quick, easy way to change the domain on a site without mussing with files or database connections and the like. If you’re using a database-driven site, however, be sure to make the relevant changes to the database. ((Thanks to Hostgator Support for this helpful info.))

Login to cPanel and click Addon Domains–and not parked domains.
In the field to the right of “New Domain Name,” type the domain name you wish to park on top of your addon domain
Click outside the text box and your other settings will populate.
Under “Document Root:” remove everything except “public_html”
Look down to your current addon domain and its “Document Root” – normally a folder named after the original domain.
Take the “Document Root” and insert it in the field to the right of “Document Root:” at the top.
Insert any password in the password field. (You won’t need to remember this password, so just use the Generate Password button.)
Click Add Domain

Addon Vs. Parked Domains in cPanel

Where is the info for Addon Domains stored in Apached? Parked domains? cPanel Docs gives us an answer:

	Addon Domains	Parked Domains
Main domain appears in the address bar	Yes	No
Apache directive used	VirtualHost	ServerAlias
Separate logs	Yes	No
Separate stats	Yes	No
Treated as a subdomain (other than URL)	Yes	No
Ideal for multiple domains sharing the same address	No	Yes

Deleting an addon domain won’t delete the files or databases associated with that domain. A parked domain, of course, won’t have files or databases associated with it.