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People who ask this nearly always want one of four different things. Pick the right row before touching anything, because the roads really are different.
| What you want | The road |
| The second name to reach the same site | A parked domain, also called an alias. |
| To replace the site name with the new one | Change the plan’s main domain, then adjust the address inside WordPress. |
| Two different sites on one account | An addon domain, with a second WordPress installation. |
| Several sites run as one | WordPress in network mode, which carries costs of its own. |
The same site under two names
A parked domain makes the second name serve the same files as the first. On the hosting side it works well, and it is done in cPanel: parked domains explained.
On the WordPress side there is one thing to know, and it catches everybody out: WordPress always writes out the address stored in its settings. Someone arriving on the second name sees the page, but the links, the images and the forms all point at the first. In practice the visitor ends up on the main domain.
| For most cases that is exactly what you want. You bought a second name to protect the brand or to catch people who mistype, and what you need is for those people to reach the site. A redirect from the second name to the main one does precisely that, and it is cleaner than pretending there are two sites. |
| Two names showing the same content, with no sign of which is the real one, confuse search engines. Instead of adding up, they split. Choose one domain as the official one and redirect the other to it. |
Replacing the site name
Two steps, and it has to be both. First change the domain on the hosting plan: changing the domain on your plan. Then change the address inside WordPress, which is where things break if it is done in a hurry. That second step has its own article in this same set, on adjusting the site address.
Two different sites
If the sites really are two, with different content, then they are two WordPress installations on one account. You add the domain: adding another domain or a subdomain. Then you install WordPress into that new folder from the panel.
Check first how many sites your plan allows. It is on the hosting plans page and in your account.
| Two installations mean two lots of maintenance. Two cores, two sets of plugins, two update lists. The WordPress tool in the panel shows both on one page, which helps, but the work doubles. |
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Not sure which of the four roads is yours? Tell us what you want to happen and we will point you. Open a support ticket |
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SEE ALSO |
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT WordPress hosting One-click install, updates handled, and speed that holds up. See plans |
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