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Understand domains, aliases and subdomains

A domain name can serve a website, email addresses and other services. Before adding it to your hosting account, decide what you want to connect: a new website, another address for the same website or a subdomain.

Registration, DNS and hosting have different roles

  • Domain registration: this concerns the name itself, its renewal and its management with the registrar. Adding a domain in cPanel does not renew its registration.
  • DNS: records associate the name with the services people need to reach, including your website and email. DNS may be managed by a different provider from your web host.
  • Web hosting: this holds the files and application that produce your website. In cPanel, the Document Root is the folder used for the domain’s public files.

These services can be split between providers. Hosting your website with Nuagerie therefore does not mean that you must move your email or transfer the domain’s registration.

Choose the right arrangement

  • Additional domain: another name, such as example.net, can display a separate website from its own folder if your service supports it. A separate folder is not a separate cPanel account.
  • Domain alias: another name uses the same folder and web content as an existing domain. Check that your website and certificate also support that name.
  • Subdomain: a name such as shop.example.com sits beneath example.com. It can serve a particular website or service without registering another independent domain name.

Aliases, redirects and CNAME records are different

Sharing a folder does not, by itself, create a web redirect. A redirect sends the browser to another address. A CNAME record associates one name with another in DNS; it does not create the website or its browser redirect.

Move on to configuration

cPanel’s Domains interface brings domain management together. Available features and domain limits depend on your service. Follow our procedure to add a domain in cPanel, then our guide to plan a DNS change while preserving existing email.

If you are planning several websites, separate administrative access or a service move, our team can help you choose a suitable arrangement. Describe your project in your Client Area or through our contact form.

Official cPanel documentation: Domains, domain types, DNS records and redirects.

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