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Summary
Web Hosting accounts allow for the setup of up to ten domains (including the main domain). The Domains interface in cPanel is used to manage these domains
This feature can be accessed by logging into cPanel and navigating to the 'Domains' panel via one of the following methods
- Type 'domains' in the search bar in the upper right corner, select 'Domains' from the list of options that appear
- Go to Domains >> Domains
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Creating a New Domain
Make sure that you either have authorization to use a given subdomain of msu.edu, or have access to make DNS changes for a non-msu.edu domain, as otherwise it will not be possible to bring the new site online.
- From the 'Domains' panel, click on 'Create a New Domain'
- Under 'Select the type of domain to create', ensure 'Registered Domain' is selected
- Enter in the new domain name in the 'Domain' field
- If this is meant to serve the same content as the main domain, ensure 'Share document root ...' is checked. If this is meant to be a new site, uncheck this and fill in any additional info needed
- Change the Document Root field if you would like this site setup in a specific location on the file system. Otherwise you may leave this alone. Take note of the location to be able to upload site files to the appropriate place.
- If this new domain is not a subdomain of the main site domain, you'll be asked to submit a subdomain for the new site. The default value provided is typically sufficient, as this subdomain is seldom used.
- Click 'Submit' to create the new domain, or 'Submit And Create Another' to create the domain and repeat the process for another domain.
- When the site is ready to go live, submit a request to onboard the site to the Web Application Firewall (WAF)
This article assumes the domain was not previously in use, and will be publicly accessible. If the domain is already onboarded to the WAF,
request an origin IP change instead. If the domain does not need to be accessed outside of the campus network,
request a DNS change instead.
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Modifying an Existing Domain
In the 'Domains' panel, click on the 'Manage' button next to the domain you would like to change. You can change either the Document Root the website uses, or the domain name itself
If you would like to change the Document Root, type in the new location in the 'New Document Root' field
The Document Root of the main domain can never be changed, and this section will not appear when modifying the main domain
Changing the Document Root updates the location the site is configured for, but will not move the files. When changing the Document Root, ensure there are site files in place in the new location. Failure to do so can result in downtime for the site.
Click 'Update' once the new Document Root is specified
If you would like to change the Domain name, click on the 'Rename' link next to the domain name, then enter in the new domain name here. Because this change will impact site functionality, you must also check 'I understand that renaming this domain will affect services that use the domain' when changing the domain name
Changing the domain name of a website in this interface will result in the previous domain displaying a different site hosted on the same web hosting server. As such, it is strongly recommended a support request is submitted to coordinate the domain name change with ITS Webhosting to minimize downtime or issues.
Once you have confirmed the change, click on 'Rename Domain' to complete the process
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Remove a Domain
The main domain of a web hosting account cannot be removed
Removing a domain from an account is a permanent change. If the domain is still live, removing the domain from the account will cause the site to display a different site hosted on the same web hosting server. It is strongly advised that the domain is pointed to a new location or DNS removed from the domain before removing the domain from the web hosting account.
In the 'Domains' panel, click on the 'Manage' button next to the domain you would like to remove. At the bottom of the page will be a section for removing the domain. As the warning states, this is a permanent action, and cannot be undone without recreating the domain manually.
If you still would like to proceed with removing the domain, click on 'Remove Domain', then click 'Yes, Remove this Domain' as a final confirmation.
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Additional Info