A domain alias makes a second domain show exactly the same website as your main domain. It is useful when you own variations of your name, such as example.net or a common misspelling. cPanel used to call these parked domains; now they are domains that share the document root of your main domain.
Before you start
- The extra domain registered and pointing to the MdmHost nameservers, or with an
Arecord to your account's shared IP. - Decide whether you want an alias (same content on both addresses) or a redirect (visitors are sent to the main domain). For search engines, a redirect is usually better.
Create an alias
- Open cPanel → Domains → Domains and click Create A New Domain.
- Enter the extra domain, for example
example.net. - Leave Share document root (/home/user/public_html) with "example.com" ticked. This is what makes it an alias.
- Click Submit.
The domain now loads the files in public_html. AutoSSL will issue a certificate for it once DNS points to the server.
Redirect the alias to the main domain (recommended for SEO)
Showing the same content on two domains can split your search ranking. A permanent 301 redirect tells search engines which address is the real one.
- Open cPanel → Domains → Redirects.
- Type: Permanent (301).
- Domain: choose
example.net; leave the path box empty. - Redirects to:
https://example.com/. - Choose Redirect with or without www and tick Wild Card Redirect so
example.net/pagegoes toexample.com/page. - Click Add.
More options are in cPanel redirects explained.
Warning: WordPress always forces its own site address, so a WordPress site on an alias usually redirects to the main domain automatically. Do not change the WordPress address to the alias unless you really want the alias as the main name.
Email on an alias
An alias does not get its own mailboxes. Instead, mail sent to the alias can be forwarded to the main domain: open cPanel → Email → Forwarders, click Add Domain Forwarder, choose the alias and enter the main domain. Now info@example.net arrives in info@example.com. If you need real separate mailboxes, create an addon domain instead.
Alias, addon domain or redirect?
| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| A different website on the domain | Addon domain (own document root) |
| The same site, visitors stay on the extra domain | Alias |
| Visitors land on your main domain | Alias + 301 redirect |
| Domain hosted elsewhere sends people here | Redirect at that host, no cPanel setup needed |
Troubleshooting
- Alias shows a default page: DNS is not pointing to MdmHost yet, or the alias was created with its own document root.
- Too many redirects: a redirect rule and the app's own redirect loop. See fix ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS.