What are Addon domains? An Addon Domain is a fully functional domain that can be created from your web hosting control panel. The domain points to it’s own directory and acts like a website of it’s own. When you add an Addon domain, you can also create email accounts, forwarders and so on. This article got almost everything about Addon domains explained.
With an Addon Domain you can host two or more websites on a single hosting account depending on what your web hosting package limits you to. Previously, i talked about how to Add Multiple Domains on a Hosting account. You can refer to that guide for the exact steps to follow if you want to host more than one website on a hosting account.
Creating an Addon Domain
Three things happen when you create an Addon Domain. A folder is created in the public_html folder (usually with the same name as the Addon Doman URL unless changed), a sub-domain is created for the new domain and the two become associated with each other. If your Addon Domain is: tutorialfaq.com, then your website would be accessed from three URLS:
- tutorialfaq.com
- tutorialfaq.com/directory_name
- subdomain.tutorialfaq.com
It’s a good feeling to host more than one website on a single web hosting account and save some cash but remember there are repercussions associated with it. Below i list down the most common pros and cons of adding Addon Domain on a web hosting account.
Advantages of Addon Domain
Like said earlier, adding addon domains to a hosting account comes with some benefits that i am about to discuss below. I personally have some web hosting accounts that are running more than one website but all i can say is these are very light websites that consume less resources. Now lets get straight to the advantages.
- Cost Friendly: When you add an addon domain to a hosting account, you are saving money because you don’t need to sign up for another web hosting account. The same web hosting package you have can host more websites depending on what it limits you to. Actually this is the biggest advantage of using addon domains.
- Easy to Manage: Imagine the possibility of managing all your accounts from one dashboard? With addon domains, you can manage all your website from a single web hosting account which in turn saves you the hustle of logging into other hosting accounts.
Disadvantages of Addon Domain
Despite the few advantages it has, sad thing in an Addon Domain has more disadvantages that advantages. See some of them below:
- Resources: Hosting more that one website on a single web hosting account means all the websites are going to share the same resources. If the resources are enough then you might not find any problem but if they are not adequate then you might just find a hard time with your websites.
- Support: Usually support is only available for the main account. Most hosting companies don’t usually provide support for an addon domain.
- Server Changes: In case of any server changes, all the websites on your account will be affected by the changes implicating if the change is bad then all your websites will share the burden.
- Stability: When the main account goes off then so will your Addon Domain. Actually this is what discourages me most from using an addon domain.
- Backups: Backing up a package with many addon domains is a problem especially when it comes to restoration. Backups work best for single accounts.
- Security: If a hacker gets access to the main account then all your websites are affected. He has control over all your websites and can take them all down at once if he intends to.
- DNS: Addon Domains share the same DNS settings as the main account. Any change made on the DNS of the main account will also affect an addon domain.
Addon Domain Vs Parked Domain
What are parked domains? Most people are confused about the functionalities of Addon Domains and Parked Domains. Since you already know what an Addon Domain is, i am going to do most of the explanation on parked domains. A parked domain usually points to the default public_html folder when added to a web hosting account. It cannot point to a separate folder in the root folder of your web hosting account where as an Addon domain does. Adding a parked domain to a hosting account is the easiest way of redirecting multiple domains to one website. That’s the simplest explanation for the functionalities of these two. However, in some cases you might purchase a domain but have no account to park it to, in such cases the domain provider will park the domain for you freely until you are ready to host it. You can also monetize parked domains and make some money for yourself.
If your brand is popular then you have to think of buying all the similar TLDs related to your primary domain. Pointing multiple domains to one website will redirect users to your main site in case of any spelling errors and will protect your brand as well.
Common FAQ’s about Addon Domain
- Is it bad for SEO? I have come across the Addon domains SEO question on very many ocassions. From what i have personally seen, Addon Domains don’t differ from primary domains when it comes to search engine ranking. Both are treated as two different websites that run on their own but to some extent i say it will affect your SEO. If the resources on your web hosting account can’t handle the websites you are hosting on it then your website might be unstable and slow because of CPU usage which will in turn affect your SEO. If the resources are enough then nothing will go wrong with your SEO.
- Duplicate Content: You don’t need to worry about duplicate content because you can never have it with an addon domain if all configurations are done right. Simply submit one URL to google and it will be the one to be indexed.
- Will it slow down my Websites? Yes it will if your web hosting account has limited resources. If you have enough resources your websites will run smoothly like every other normal website.
- Can i create Email Accounts for my Addon Domain? Yes you can! You can create as many email accounts for your addon domain as you want depending on what your web hosting account limits you to.
- FTP Access: You can create a FTP account for your addon domain and it will work just fine like the one for the primary domain of your account.
Best Web Hosting Companies for Addon Domains
Some web hosting companies will give you the best resources that will enable you run more than one website on a single account smoothly. If you wish to own an account with multiple websites then i recommend you sign up with the web hosting companies below:
I have seen multiple comparisons about Addon vs parked domains. I hope this article has given you a clear understanding of what Addon domains are and how it differs from Parked domains. GreenGeeks will offer you unlimited Addon domains even for the cheapest shared hosting plan. In case you didn’t get anything right, feel free to drop me a comment below.
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