Adding and Removing Domains

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If your hosting package includes more than one domain name (website), then you can easily add domains to the server. Before you start adding a new domain that will use a second-level domain name, like example.com, be sure to register this domain name. If your hosting provider provides the domain name registration service, you can do this from the Customer Panel as described below. Otherwise, you should register your domain name with another domain name registration authority.

You can set up the following types of site configurations through Plesk:

  • Website addressed by a second-level domain name. The following services are available for websites:
    • A unique Internet address (domain name), like example.com.
    • Additional domain names (domain aliases).
    • Subdomains - divisions of a site accessible by easy-to-remember addresses that are added to the main site, like mail.example.com.
    • Separate FTP accounts for collaboration on the site content. For every FTP account, you can specify which directories can be accessed.
    • Creating content using Presence Builder.
    • Simplified deployment of applications, such as content management systems, photo galleries, shopping carts, blogging platforms, and many more.
    • Secure data exchange implemented by SSL/TLS protocol. This requires that a site be hosted on a dedicated IP address, which is not shared among other users and sites.
    • Mailboxes and mailing lists.
    • Viewing statistics on site visits.
  • Website or a division of a website addressed by a third-level domain name (subdomain). This is usually a division of an existing site. It has an Internet address comprising of three parts separated by dots. The following services are available for subdomains:
    • Separate document root from the main site. Document root is a directory on the server where web pages of a site are stored.
    • Access over FTP for content management.
    • Creating content using Presence Builder.
    • Simplified deployment of applications.
    • Secure data exchange implemented by SSL/TLS protocol.
    • Viewing statistics on site visits.

Adding More Domains

To host a new website with a second-level domain name:

  1. Go to Websites & Domains, click Add Domain and follow on-screen instructions.

    Note

    Depending on the Plesk edition, the information that you can specify on the Add Domain screen might differ.

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    Note

    If you select the recommended option, you should connect the DNS settings related and your domain name with the domain name at the registrar’s side. To achieve this, enter the Plesk name server IP address into the respective NS record of the registrar. The instruction on how to obtain the IP is as follows: go to Websites & Domains > domain name > DNS Settings, find the NS record, and then find the A record corresponding to the NS record value.

    For example, if your NS record is

    example.com. NS ns.example.com,

    find the A record with ns.example.com, for example,

    ns.example.com. A 192.0.2.12

    The resulting value, 192.0.2.12, is the Plesk name server’s IP that you need.

  2. Click OK.

    The new domain name is now shown in the list at the bottom of the screen.

  3. If the operation of changing hosting settings is available for your account, then you can click the domain name of the new website to view or change the hosting settings, as described in the section Changing Hosting Settings.

You can now start creating your website with Presence Builder or upload your web content to the subscription of the new website, as described in the section Website Content.

Registering Domains

If your service provider offers the domain name registration service as well as web hosting, you can initiate domain registration directly from Plesk. To register a domain name, add it as described above and then click the link register it now beside the new domain name in the Websites & Domains section. This will redirect you to the provider’s online store where you can complete the registration.

After you register a domain name, it appears in the Registered domain names list in the Websites & Domains section. To get information about a domain name registration, for example, the registration price and next renewal date, click the domain name in this list.

Removing Domains

When you delete a domain from Plesk, all data related to the corresponding site are deleted from the server.

Note

The main domain of your subscription - that is, the first domain name (default domain) that was created for your account, cannot be deleted; however, it can be renamed.

To remove a domain:

  1. Go to Websites & Domains and locate the name of the domain or subdomain you want to remove.
  2. Click Remove Website or Remove Subdomain.
  3. Confirm removal and click OK.

Note

Removing domain names from the Customer Panel does not cancel the registration of these names. If you registered these domain names, you can still use them for your websites in the future.