How to Create and Remove an Addon Domain

An addon domain is an additional domain hosted under your existing hosting plan. Each addon domain typically functions as its own independent website with separate content.

For a website or email service to function correctly with an addon domain—whether the domain is registered with Bluehost or a third-party registrar—you must complete the following steps:

• Point or connect the domain to your Bluehost server
• Add the domain to your cPanel as an addon domain
• Add the domain to your Bluehost Portal as an external domain (if applicable)
• Update the domain’s DNS records

Please keep in mind that an addon domain will not work until it is registered and connected to the server hosting your website files. Your hosting plan must also support multiple domains.

This guide explains how to add your domain to both cPanel and the Bluehost Portal.

• How to Add an Addon Domain
• How to Remove an Addon Domain
• How to Change an Addon Domain's Folder or Directory in cPanel
• Summary
   

How to Add an Addon Domain

Follow the steps below to add an addon domain to your hosting account, regardless of where the domain is registered.

• Step 1: Connect your domain to your Bluehost server
• Step 2: Create the addon domain in cPanel
• Step 3: Add the domain to your Bluehost Portal
• Step 4: Update the domain’s DNS records

Step 1: Connect your Domain to your Bluehost hosting server

Domains registered with Bluehost are automatically configured to use our name servers and DNS settings.

If your domain was registered elsewhere or already owned prior to hosting with Bluehost, you must manually point it to your Bluehost server. Instructions can be found in the following article:

• Troubleshooting Domains: Connect Your Domain to Bluehost Hosting

Step 2: Create an addon domain in your cPanel

For VPS and Dedicated Hosting: WHM users must ensure that Max Addon Domains is set higher than zero in the hosting package. The allowed number of subdomains must also be equal to or greater than the number of addon domains. Learn more here:

• VPS & Dedicated Hosting: How to Add a New Package in WHM

To add an addon domain in cPanel:

1. Log in to your Bluehost Portal.
2. Click Hosting in the left-hand menu.
3. In the hosting details page, click the cPanel button.

   
    

4. Your cPanel will open in a new tab.

   
    

5. Under Domains, click Domains.

   
    

6. Click Create A New Domain.

   
    

7. Enter the domain name.

   
    

8. Ensure the Share document root option is not selected.

   
    

9. Specify the document root directory where the website files will be stored.
10. Click Submit.

Your addon domain has now been successfully created.

Step 4: Update the domain's DNS records

Domains purchased from us are automatically listed in your Bluehost Portal’s Domains section. DNS modifications can be made through the Advanced Tools area. For detailed instructions, see the article below.

• Guide to the DNS Tab in the Bluehost Portal

Once your external domain has been added to your Bluehost Portal (Step 3 ⤴), you can begin managing its DNS records.

How to Remove an Addon Domain

Removing an addon domain deletes only the DNS and server-level configuration. The domain’s files and databases remain intact and accessible through the File Manager, even though the domain name itself will no longer load the content.

• cPanel
• Bluehost Portal

cPanel

Go to How to Remove a Domain Name to learn how to remove an addon domain using cPanel.

The domain will no longer appear in the Domains section of your cPanel after removing it.

Bluehost Portal

To delete an external domain from your Bluehost Portal, follow the steps provided in Removing an External Domain from the Bluehost Portal.

The domain will no longer be listed as an External Domain in your Bluehost Portal.

How to Change an Addon Domain's Folder or Directory in cPanel

If your website files already exist in a specific directory, or if you prefer to store your site’s content outside the default folder, you can specify a custom location using the Document Root field.

If the selected folder already exists, you may see a warning message. This is expected when intentionally assigning an existing directory and can be safely ignored.

For step-by-step instructions, refer to the article below:

• What Is a Document Root? Understanding Website Directory

Please note that certain directories cannot be assigned as the document root for addon domains. These include:

• The account’s root home directory (/)
• Directories outside the home directory (./ and ../)
• .cpanel
• .trash
• etc
• mail
• ssl
• tmp
• logs
• .cphorde
• spamassassin
• .htpasswds
• var
• cgi-bin
• ssh
• perl5

Summary

The content below walks through how to add, manage, and remove addon domains in cPanel and the Bluehost Portal. It explains how to connect a domain to your hosting server, set up the addon domain in cPanel, link it in the Bluehost Portal, update DNS records, and optionally change the domain’s document root. Following these steps helps ensure each addon domain works independently and runs smoothly.