Still confused about add-on domains and subdomains

aafflyer · April 15th, 2004, 3:24 PM

Even after taking more than an hour to read the various posts and sticky's, I still need some help / clarification.

First, I know that one solution to having "multiple" websites is to bite the bullet and upgrade to a reseller account. It's certainly the cleanest solution, and compared to any other web hosting company it is very affordable.

That having been said, if one is willing to share the bandwidth and diskspace limits of their non-reseller plan, I'm trying to figure out if a non-reseller plan can be configured to effectively appear as "separate" multiple sites.

Some definitions for the rest of the email:

www.MyMainAccount.com is the main account hosted at Surpass
www.MyOtherDomain1.com is another domain name I have registered
www.MyOtherDomainX.com is yet another domain name I have registered

Right now, without any subdomains or add-on domains, I can go to my domain registars management console and forward MyOtherDomainX.com to MyMainAccount.com/domainX/ and get the user to the "domainX" info. And I have two choices at my domain registars management console, one is a direct fowards and the user "sees" they are at MyMainAccount.com/domainX URL, the other way somewhat cloaks it by using frames to do the redirection. The reason why I say somewhat cloaks it is that when one hovers over any relative link, they see the real URL that shows the "full path" that includes the MyMainAccount.com/domainX/...

So, heres the questions...

I know that if I add a domain for MyOtherDomain.com (using the "folder" MyOtherDomainX) and set up all the DNS stuff, it really is a subdomain, and that I can get to the site by either using MyOtherDomainX.com or MyOtherDomainX.MyMainAccount.com or MyMainAccount.com/MyOtherDomain, but having done this when a user enters the site with the first method (i.e. via MyOtherDomainX.com), will all my relative links show up as MyOtherDomainX.com/xxxx ??? If yes, then are the URLs displayed in the browser the same, and thus if they save it as a favorite reference the MyOtherDomainX/xxxx URL?

If the answer to these answers are "yes", then it seems to me the only downside to using the add on feature is that you only have one cpanel to administer "multiple" sites (actually you are only administering your one web site), and people have different ways to access your site if they knew it was actually set up as a subdomain (but then again, how would they know?).

I hope these questions make sense. I truly did try to find the answers, but no one really seemed to ask the same questions.

**SmartGuy** · April 15th, 2004, 4:03 PM

Your question totally threw me off, but i think I got the idea of it.

Add-On Domains
1) An add-on domain costs a one-time free of $15 if you do not have any left or bought the Lite or Standard plan.
2) If you create the add-on domain AddOnDomain.com, it will create the directory MainDomain.com/AddOnDomain/.
3) When going to AddOnDomain.com, it will appear in the Address Bar as AddOnDomain.com.
4) The file AddOnDomain.com/home.html would also be MainDomain.com/AddOnDomain/home.html, although the user only sees AddOnDomain.com/home.html.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, just say so.

:surpass:

**john** · April 15th, 2004, 4:21 PM

aafflyer,

I believe you understand it all correctly.

The limitations of addon domains:

No separate control panel

No subdomains

No way to limit diskspace / transfer per site (not really a problem if they are all your sites)

One-time fee if your plan doesn't include addon domains

If these aren't a problem for you, it may be the way to go, though with 3 domains, I would probably opt for a reseller plan, as they are quite inexpensive.

John

**javaqueen** · April 15th, 2004, 6:06 PM

This article clarifies the differences in domain types. (http://www.webhostdir.com/news/artic...le.asp?id=1922)

What is an Add-On Domain?
An add-on domain is a new domain name that points to a subdirectory within your existing domain hosting account, where the website for the new domain will reside. Add-on domains must be registered domain names that you own, and that are configured to point to your web host's servers.

From a web user perspective, an add-on domain functions just like any other domain. For example, if you already have a hosting account under www.main-domain.com, you can register and set up an add-on domain (for example: www.add-on-domain.com), so that when your visitors type "http://www.add-on-domain.com" in their browser, they will be transported to the new site.

The advantage of add-on domains is that the browser's address bar will show "http://www.add-on-domain.com" (there will be no reference to the original domain), so the process will be totally transparent to your users. If your users navigates to another page, their browser will accordingly show "http://www.add-on-domain.com/anotherpage.html", just like it should.

Apart from sharing web space and bandwidth with your main domain, add-on domains also get their own cgi-bin and statistics.

Many web hosts now offer to set-up add-on domains for free. This is only fair, since you are not getting any more web space or bandwidth. Others, however, will charge you a modest one time fee, which is not bad, especially when the cost of registering the new domain is included. Finally, some web hosts will charge you a montly fee for each add-on domain you set up. In some cases, that fee can be very close to the monthly cost of your web hosting account, to the point that it is better to just open a new hosting account for the new domain. If you plan to set up add-on domains in the future, you're better off avoiding this kind of account.

What is a Parked Domain?
A parked domain is a domain that doesn't have a hosting account associated to it, and that is usually enabled with URL forwarding capabilities, so that it points to an existing website. For example, let's assume that you already run a newsletter that is hosted in a subdirectory of your domain name, as follows: "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html". You may at one given point want to register a separate domain name for your newsletter, so that it is more memorable, but may not want to move its pages to a new server, open a new hosting account, or pay to establish an add-on domain. You can then register a and park a new domain for your newsletter (for example: "http://www.newsletter.com"), which will be forwarded to "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html".

You don't need to register this new domain with the same company that hosts your website. You can register it with any domain registrar (preferrably one that offers free URL forwarding) and point it to the physical location of the pages.

The difference between a parked domain and an add-on domain from a web user's perspective is that with a parked domain the URL in the address bar will change to the physical location of the page as the page loads. For example, if you type "http://www.newsletter.com", that domain won't remain in the browser address bar, but will change to "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html" as soon as the page is displayed.

From a webmaster's perspective, the difference is that the parked domain won't have its own separate statistics reported through the control panel of your hosting account.

If you are a good observer, you may have probably noticed that my newsletter domain "http://www.theinternetdigest.net" is parked and points to the physical location of my newsletter pages, which is "http://www.accordmarketing.com/tid/".

Parked domains are also a good alternative for webmasters whose site is hosted by a free hosting service, since by using a memorable parked domain users won't need to remember the cumbersome web addresses usually associated with free hosting accounts.

They are also widely used by members of affiliate programs, who forward the parked domain to the merchant pages, so that they don't have to use an affiliate URL that includes their affiliate id (which turns many people off).

What is a Sub-Domain?
A subdomain, also known as a "third-level" domain, is a great way to create memorable web addresses for various sub-sites of your site. For instance, Yahoo! uses subdomains for its different services, like "mail.yahoo.com", "music.yahoo.com", etc. The basic syntax is: "http://subdomain.domain.com".

Large businesses use subdomains to establish branding and focus on separate products or services, because a subdomain creates a separate URL and web presence, all within your same main hosting account. For example, a restaurant directory may establish sub-domains for different cities, or a school can set up subdomains for different academic programs.

It is also possible to redirect (forward) traffic from a particular subdomain to another location, either within the main site or to a different website altogether.

You should be able to set up and manage add-on domains, parked domains and subdirectories from your hosting account or domain registrar control panel. However, as we usually suggest, always consult with your web host before proceeding if you have any doubts.

aafflyer · April 15th, 2004, 8:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javaqueen

This article clarifies the differences in domain types. (http://www.webhostdir.com/news/artic...le.asp?id=1922).

Thank you!

This is the perfect explaination I was looking for.

**javaqueen** · April 15th, 2004, 9:14 PM

You're welcome.

Although I haven't set up an addon domain, I think the process is just about automatic in CPanel. You put in your domain (not the http or the www part), a username and password and CPanel creates the folder and 'redirection' part automatically.

micro · December 14th, 2006, 2:27 PM

Hello!!! Can i ask you something about addon domain please ...

Lets say my default domain is www.one.com and let say that i add a second domain www.two.com. Everything is ok!

The problem is that if i browse to www.one.com/two
then i will see the index of my second site through my first site.

Is there any way to fix this one?

* I dont have a big idea about how these things work

H · December 19th, 2006, 4:36 PM

Ask support if they'll change the virtualhost of the addon domain to be parallel with public_html.

It's technically a limitation of CPanel, but I believe support said they'd do this for me before.

Right now the structure is:

/
|_ /username
|_ _ /public_html/
|_ _ _ /addon/

You want:

/
|_ /username/
|_ _ /public_html/
|_ _ /addon/

Did I ever mention I hate CPanel?

April 15th, 2004, 3:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
aafflyer Registered User Fresh Surpasser Joined in Sep 2003 10 posts Gave thanks: 0 Thanked 0 times	Still confused about add-on domains and subdomains Even after taking more than an hour to read the various posts and sticky's, I still need some help / clarification. First, I know that one solution to having "multiple" websites is to bite the bullet and upgrade to a reseller account. It's certainly the cleanest solution, and compared to any other web hosting company it is very affordable. That having been said, if one is willing to share the bandwidth and diskspace limits of their non-reseller plan, I'm trying to figure out if a non-reseller plan can be configured to effectively appear as "separate" multiple sites. Some definitions for the rest of the email: www.MyMainAccount.com is the main account hosted at Surpass www.MyOtherDomain1.com is another domain name I have registered www.MyOtherDomainX.com is yet another domain name I have registered Right now, without any subdomains or add-on domains, I can go to my domain registars management console and forward MyOtherDomainX.com to MyMainAccount.com/domainX/ and get the user to the "domainX" info. And I have two choices at my domain registars management console, one is a direct fowards and the user "sees" they are at MyMainAccount.com/domainX URL, the other way somewhat cloaks it by using frames to do the redirection. The reason why I say somewhat cloaks it is that when one hovers over any relative link, they see the real URL that shows the "full path" that includes the MyMainAccount.com/domainX/... So, heres the questions... I know that if I add a domain for MyOtherDomain.com (using the "folder" MyOtherDomainX) and set up all the DNS stuff, it really is a subdomain, and that I can get to the site by either using MyOtherDomainX.com or MyOtherDomainX.MyMainAccount.com or MyMainAccount.com/MyOtherDomain, but having done this when a user enters the site with the first method (i.e. via MyOtherDomainX.com), will all my relative links show up as MyOtherDomainX.com/xxxx ??? If yes, then are the URLs displayed in the browser the same, and thus if they save it as a favorite reference the MyOtherDomainX/xxxx URL? If the answer to these answers are "yes", then it seems to me the only downside to using the add on feature is that you only have one cpanel to administer "multiple" sites (actually you are only administering your one web site), and people have different ways to access your site if they knew it was actually set up as a subdomain (but then again, how would they know?). I hope these questions make sense. I truly did try to find the answers, but no one really seemed to ask the same questions. __________________ Charlie www.dgtlpics.com

April 15th, 2004, 6:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
javaqueen Surpass Fan Excelling Contributor Joined in Feb 2004 Lives in Rotorua New Zealand Hosted on Pass3 738 posts Gave thanks: 0 Thanked 2 times	This article clarifies the differences in domain types. (http://www.webhostdir.com/news/artic...le.asp?id=1922) What is an Add-On Domain? An add-on domain is a new domain name that points to a subdirectory within your existing domain hosting account, where the website for the new domain will reside. Add-on domains must be registered domain names that you own, and that are configured to point to your web host's servers. From a web user perspective, an add-on domain functions just like any other domain. For example, if you already have a hosting account under www.main-domain.com, you can register and set up an add-on domain (for example: www.add-on-domain.com), so that when your visitors type "http://www.add-on-domain.com" in their browser, they will be transported to the new site. The advantage of add-on domains is that the browser's address bar will show "http://www.add-on-domain.com" (there will be no reference to the original domain), so the process will be totally transparent to your users. If your users navigates to another page, their browser will accordingly show "http://www.add-on-domain.com/anotherpage.html", just like it should. Apart from sharing web space and bandwidth with your main domain, add-on domains also get their own cgi-bin and statistics. Many web hosts now offer to set-up add-on domains for free. This is only fair, since you are not getting any more web space or bandwidth. Others, however, will charge you a modest one time fee, which is not bad, especially when the cost of registering the new domain is included. Finally, some web hosts will charge you a montly fee for each add-on domain you set up. In some cases, that fee can be very close to the monthly cost of your web hosting account, to the point that it is better to just open a new hosting account for the new domain. If you plan to set up add-on domains in the future, you're better off avoiding this kind of account. What is a Parked Domain? A parked domain is a domain that doesn't have a hosting account associated to it, and that is usually enabled with URL forwarding capabilities, so that it points to an existing website. For example, let's assume that you already run a newsletter that is hosted in a subdirectory of your domain name, as follows: "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html". You may at one given point want to register a separate domain name for your newsletter, so that it is more memorable, but may not want to move its pages to a new server, open a new hosting account, or pay to establish an add-on domain. You can then register a and park a new domain for your newsletter (for example: "http://www.newsletter.com"), which will be forwarded to "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html". You don't need to register this new domain with the same company that hosts your website. You can register it with any domain registrar (preferrably one that offers free URL forwarding) and point it to the physical location of the pages. The difference between a parked domain and an add-on domain from a web user's perspective is that with a parked domain the URL in the address bar will change to the physical location of the page as the page loads. For example, if you type "http://www.newsletter.com", that domain won't remain in the browser address bar, but will change to "http://www.domain.com/newsletter/index.html" as soon as the page is displayed. From a webmaster's perspective, the difference is that the parked domain won't have its own separate statistics reported through the control panel of your hosting account. If you are a good observer, you may have probably noticed that my newsletter domain "http://www.theinternetdigest.net" is parked and points to the physical location of my newsletter pages, which is "http://www.accordmarketing.com/tid/". Parked domains are also a good alternative for webmasters whose site is hosted by a free hosting service, since by using a memorable parked domain users won't need to remember the cumbersome web addresses usually associated with free hosting accounts. They are also widely used by members of affiliate programs, who forward the parked domain to the merchant pages, so that they don't have to use an affiliate URL that includes their affiliate id (which turns many people off). What is a Sub-Domain? A subdomain, also known as a "third-level" domain, is a great way to create memorable web addresses for various sub-sites of your site. For instance, Yahoo! uses subdomains for its different services, like "mail.yahoo.com", "music.yahoo.com", etc. The basic syntax is: "http://subdomain.domain.com". Large businesses use subdomains to establish branding and focus on separate products or services, because a subdomain creates a separate URL and web presence, all within your same main hosting account. For example, a restaurant directory may establish sub-domains for different cities, or a school can set up subdomains for different academic programs. It is also possible to redirect (forward) traffic from a particular subdomain to another location, either within the main site or to a different website altogether. You should be able to set up and manage add-on domains, parked domains and subdirectories from your hosting account or domain registrar control panel. However, as we usually suggest, always consult with your web host before proceeding if you have any doubts. __________________ Pass3 www.beadit.co.nz 'Most Concise' Surpasser 2004

April 15th, 2004, 9:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
javaqueen Surpass Fan Excelling Contributor Joined in Feb 2004 Lives in Rotorua New Zealand Hosted on Pass3 738 posts Gave thanks: 0 Thanked 2 times	You're welcome. Although I haven't set up an addon domain, I think the process is just about automatic in CPanel. You put in your domain (not the http or the www part), a username and password and CPanel creates the folder and 'redirection' part automatically. __________________ Pass3 www.beadit.co.nz 'Most Concise' Surpasser 2004

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

April 15th, 2004, 4:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
SmartGuy Surpass Fan Excelling Contributor Joined in Jan 2004 Lives in Clinton, Massachusetts Hosted on Serenity x.x.40.51 994 posts Gave thanks: 0 Thanked 0 times	Your question totally threw me off, but i think I got the idea of it. Add-On Domains 1) An add-on domain costs a one-time free of $15 if you do not have any left or bought the Lite or Standard plan. 2) If you create the add-on domain AddOnDomain.com, it will create the directory MainDomain.com/AddOnDomain/. 3) When going to AddOnDomain.com, it will appear in the Address Bar as AddOnDomain.com. 4) The file AddOnDomain.com/home.html would also be MainDomain.com/AddOnDomain/home.html, although the user only sees AddOnDomain.com/home.html. I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, just say so. :surpass:

December 14th, 2006, 2:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
micro Registered User Fresh Surpasser Joined in Nov 2006 13 posts Gave thanks: 0 Thanked 0 times	Hello!!! Can i ask you something about addon domain please ... Lets say my default domain is www.one.com and let say that i add a second domain www.two.com. Everything is ok! The problem is that if i browse to www.one.com/two then i will see the index of my second site through my first site. Is there any way to fix this one? * I dont have a big idea about how these things work

December 19th, 2006, 4:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
H after g, before i Resident. Joined in Jul 2004 Lives in N,BC,CA 8,079 posts Gave thanks: 48 Thanked 131 times	Ask support if they'll change the virtualhost of the addon domain to be parallel with public_html. It's technically a limitation of CPanel, but I believe support said they'd do this for me before. Right now the structure is: / \|_ /username \|_ _ /public_html/ \|_ _ _ /addon/ You want: / \|_ /username/ \|_ _ /public_html/ \|_ _ /addon/ Did I ever mention I hate CPanel?

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)