This guide will walk you through the process of creating and managing subdomains in cPanel. Subdomains allow you to create separate sections of your website using a prefix before your main domain. For example, if your domain is example.com, a subdomain could be blog.example.com.
What is a Subdomain?
A subdomain is a subsection of your website that exists as a subdirectory of your public_html directory or your account's home directory. Subdomains use a prefix in conjunction with your main domain to create a unique URL. You can use subdomains to create separate user accounts, landing pages, or unique content areas for your website.
Pre-requisites
- Access to your cPanel account.
- A registered domain on which you can create a subdomain.
Steps to Create a Subdomain in cPanel
- Log in to your cPanel account.
- Navigate to the Domains tab.
- In the text box, enter the desired prefix for your subdomain.
- In the Document Root field, enter the home directory for your subdomain. The system will automatically populate this text box with the subdomain’s fully-qualified domain name (FQDN). You may want to adjust this as needed.
- Click Create.
Important Notes
- It may take up to 48 hours for DNS changes to propagate, which means the subdomain might not be immediately accessible.
- Wildcard subdomains should be used cautiously as they may interfere with service subdomains, which provide access to cPanel and WHM interfaces and services.
Managing Subdomains
To manage your subdomains:
- Go to the Domains section in cPanel.
- Search for existing subdomains by entering your search criteria in the search box and clicking Go.
- To access the subdomain’s main directory via the File Manager, click the link under Document Root for that subdomain.
SSL Certificates for Subdomains
When you create a new subdomain, cPanel will automatically secure it using the best available SSL certificate. If no SSL certificate exists, cPanel will generate a self-signed certificate. If AutoSSL is enabled, the system will automatically request an AutoSSL certificate to secure the subdomain.
Subdomains are an excellent way to organize your website and create unique sections. Follow the steps above to create and manage subdomains within your cPanel account easily.
