You can use a second domain with your WHC hosting in two ways. An alias shows your existing website on the second domain. An addon domain hosts a completely separate website on it, managed from the same cPanel account.
| Alias | Addon domain |
Visitors see | Your main website | A different website |
Website files | Shared with your main domain | Its own folder |
Email addresses | — | Its own |
Choose it for | A .ca next to your .com, a common misspelling, an old brand name | A second business, project or client site |
Before you start
You need:
An active Web Hosting plan for your main website.
The second domain registered, with WHC or with another registrar. To register a new one, see WHC domain names.
The second domain pointed to WHC's nameservers:
ns1.whc.ca
ns2.whc.ca
ns3.whc.ca
If the domain is registered with WHC, see how to change your domain's nameservers. If it's registered somewhere else, change them in that company's control panel. For the nameservers each WHC service uses, see what are your DNS (or nameservers)?
Your domain doesn't have to be registered with WHC — pointing its nameservers here is enough. If you'd rather manage the domain and the hosting from one account, you can also transfer your domain to WHC.
A nameserver change can take up to 48 hours to take effect everywhere. The second domain won't load until it has — see understanding DNS propagation.
Show your existing website on another domain (alias)
An alias, also called a parked domain, makes a second domain display the same website as your main domain. cPanel has no separate Aliases page: you create an alias from the same Domains screen as any other domain, and it uses your main website's files.
In the Domains section, click Domains.
Click Create A New Domain.
In the Domain field, enter the alias, without
www— for exampleyourbusiness.ca.Leave Share document root checked (it is by default). This is what makes the domain an alias of your main website.
Click Submit.
Redirect the alias to your main domain
Recommended for every alias. Without a redirect, search engines find the same content on two domains and can rank your site lower for duplicate content. A permanent redirect sends visitors to your main domain, and their address bar shows your main domain.
Add a Permanent redirect from the alias to your main domain's full address, including https:// — see how to redirect a domain to another address.
Host a separate website on another domain (addon domain)
An addon domain hosts a second, independent website in the same hosting account. It has its own folder of website files and its own email addresses. It shares your cPanel login and your plan's resources — disk space, bandwidth, and email and database limits — with your main website.
Addon domains aren't available on the legacy Starter plan. To host a second website from a Starter account, move to a current plan — see the Web Hosting plans.
Addon domains suit several smaller sites that you manage yourself. For a high-traffic website, or one that someone else needs to manage, use a separate hosting account so the two sites don't share resources or a login.
In the Domains section, click Domains.
Click Create A New Domain.
In the Domain field, enter the new domain, without
www.Uncheck Share document root. It is checked by default, and leaving it checked creates an alias instead of a separate website. Once it is unchecked, cPanel fills in the Subdomain and Document Root fields with recommended values. Keep them, and note the Document Root folder: that's where this website's files go.
Click Submit.
Put your website on the addon domain
The addon domain's website files go in its document root folder, the one shown in step 5. Use whichever method suits you:
Upload a site you've already built, from your browser. Use cPanel's File Manager: upload your files to the addon domain's folder, or upload a .zip and extract it there. See how to use the File Manager.
Upload with an FTP program. Connect with your main FTP account and open the addon domain's folder, or create an FTP account in cPanel under FTP Accounts whose directory is that folder. See how to use (S)FTP.
Start a WordPress site. Install WordPress and choose the addon domain during installation. See how to install WordPress on your Web Hosting account.
Confirm it worked
Once the nameserver change has taken effect, open the second domain in your browser:
Alias with a redirect — you land on your main website, and the address bar shows your main domain.
Alias without a redirect — your main website appears, and the address bar still shows the alias.
Addon domain — the files you uploaded appear. Until you upload something, the domain shows an empty or default page.
The domain's security certificate (HTTPS) is issued automatically after it points to WHC, which can take a few hours. If the browser still shows a security warning after that, see troubleshoot and fix cPanel AutoSSL issues.
If the domain still doesn't load after 48 hours, check that its nameservers are set to ns1.whc.ca, ns2.whc.ca and ns3.whc.ca at the company where it's registered.