Using the Subdomain Interface in cPanel

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Managing Subdomains with cPanel

Updated: January 3, 2025
By: RSH Web Editorial Staff

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cPanel - Domains - Subdomains

Note:
We deprecated this interface in cPanel & WHM version 100, and we removed this interface in version 106. Use the Domains interface to manage addon domains.

addon domain


For Older cPanel interfaces

Subdomains
A subdomain is a domain that is a part of a larger domain name. A subdomain is also a subsection of your website that sometimes exists as a subdirectory of your public_html (document root) directory or your hosting account’s directory.
Subdomains work as if they are a completely separate website.

This feature in cPanel allows you to create, manage and delete Subdomains for your hosting account.

Subdomains use a prefix in conjunction with the domain name.

For example, if the registered domain name is rshweb.com, and the subdomain you want is: "images" the subdomain will be "images.rshweb.com".

You can use subdomains to create unique user accounts, or for almost anything your imagination can come up with.

Note: Visitors may not be able to view your subdomain immediately. Changes to DNS records may require two hours or more to reach all the Nameservers across the world.

Create a subdomain

Warning: Due to the order in which Apache processes its configuration file, wildcard subdomains may disrupt the functionality of service subdomains. We strongly recommend that you use wildcard subdomains only when absolutely necessary, or when you do not need to use a service type subdomain.

sub domain

To create a subdomain, perform the following steps:

1) Enter the desired prefix in the Subdomain text box.

2) Select the desired main domain from the menu.

3) Enter the home directory for the subdomain in the Document Root text box.

Note: The house icon represents the cPanel account’s home directory.
The Document Root text box defines the new subdomain’s directory, relative to the cPanel account’s home directory.
For example, if you enter subdomain in the Directory text box and the cPanel account uses the /home/example home directory, the subdomain will exist in the /home/example/subdomain.example.com/ directory.
The system automatically populates this text box with the subdomain’s fully-qualified domain name (FQDN).

Click Create.

When you create an addon domain, parked domain, subdomain, or main domain, the system will attempt to automatically secure that domain with the best-available existing certificate. If no certificate exists, the system will generate a self-signed certificate to secure the new domain.

If AutoSSL is enabled for the account that owns the new domain, the system will add a request for an AutoSSL certificate to secure the new domain and install it when it becomes available.

To open the subdomain’s main directory with the File Manager interface

Click the link under Document Root that corresponds to that subdomain.

Search subdomains

To search existing subdomains, perform the following steps:

1) Enter the search criteria in the Search text box.

2) Click Go.

Modify a subdomain

Modify the document root for a subdomain

To modify the document root for a subdomain, perform the following steps:

1) Click the notepad icon that corresponds to the subdomain that you want to manage.

2) Enter the new file path that you want to use as the document root in the available text box.

3) Click Change.

Enable or disable subdomain redirection

Note: If you wish to redirect a particular URL within a subdomain, or if the URL includes a www. prefix, use cPanel’s Redirects interface.

To enable or disable redirection of a subdomain, perform the following steps:

1) Click the Manage Redirection link that corresponds to the subdomain that you wish to manage.

2) If you wish to redirect the subdomain, enter the link to which you want to redirect the subdomain in the available text box.

3) Click Save.

To disable the redirect, click Disable Redirection.

Remove a subdomain

To remove an existing subdomain, perform the following steps:

1) Click the Remove link that corresponds to the subdomain that you want to remove.

2) Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the subdomain.

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