Learn how to configure and manage addon domains, parked domains (aliases), and subdomains via your Hovixa cPanel interface. Step-by-step technical guide.

Managing Addon, Parked, and Subdomains in cPanel

This guide provides the technical steps required to configure domain routing within your Hovixa web hosting environment. Ensure your domain's nameservers are actively pointing to Hovixa before proceeding, or DNS validation will fail.

Prerequisites

• Active Hovixa web hosting account.
• Login access to cpanel.hovixa.com.
• Registered domains with DNS propagated to Hovixa nameservers.

1. Subdomains

Subdomains function as separate subdivisions of a primary domain (e.g., portal.yourdomain.com). They require a distinct document root to serve isolated content.

Configuration Steps:

1. Log in to cpanel.hovixa.com.
2. Navigate to the Domains section and select Domains. (Note: Older cPanel themes use a dedicated "Subdomains" icon).
3. Click Create A New Domain.
4. Input the full subdomain string (e.g., dev.example.com).
5. Ensure the Share document root option is unchecked.
6. Specify the directory path in the Document Root field (automatically populates as /public_html/subdomain).
7. Click Submit.

2. Addon Domains

Addon domains allow you to host entirely separate websites with distinct TLDs under a single cPanel account, isolating file structures and email routing.

Configuration Steps:

1. Navigate to the Domains section in cPanel and click Domains.
2. Click Create A New Domain.
3. Input the exact domain name (e.g., newproject.com).
4. Uncheck the Share document root box. This is critical to prevent file overlap with your primary domain.
5. Verify the auto-populated Document Root path (e.g., /newproject.com or /public_html/newproject.com).
6. Click Submit.

Architecture Note: cPanel inherently creates an underlying subdomain for the primary domain when an addon domain is initialized. This is a system requirement and cannot be disabled.

3. Parked Domains (Aliases)

Parked domains (labeled as Aliases in modern cPanel builds) map a secondary domain name directly to your primary domain's document root. Both domains will resolve to the exact same website and file structure.

Configuration Steps:

1. Navigate to the Domains section and select Domains (or Aliases in legacy interfaces).
2. Click Create A New Domain.
3. Input the domain you intend to park.
4. Check the box for Share document root. This action forces the cPanel virtual host configuration to map the new domain to the primary domain's directory.
5. Click Submit.

Post-Configuration Checks

• SSL Provisioning: AutoSSL will run automatically and attempt to issue an SSL certificate for newly added domains. This requires successful DNS resolution to Hovixa. Allow up to 24 hours for issuance.
• DNS Zones: Adding a domain via cPanel automatically generates the localized DNS zone file. If you are using external DNS (like Cloudflare), you must manually replicate the A records to point to your Hovixa server IP.