Hosting multiple websites on your Web Hosting plan

Last updated 04th November 2022

Objective

You can host multiple websites on a single Web Hosting plan, even if the domain names are not registered with OVHcloud.

Find out how to host several websites on your Web Hosting plan.

Requirements

• a compatible OVHcloud Web Hosting plan
• one or more domain names
• the right to modify your domain name's configuration (the DNS Zone)
• access to the OVHcloud Control Panel

Instructions

Step 1: Access multisite management

First, log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel and select Web Cloud. Click Hosting plans, select the plan concerned, then choose the Multisite tab.

The table displayed will list all of the domain names and subdomains added to your Web Hosting plan. Some of these will have been created automatically, when your hosting was set up.

Step 2: Add a domain or subdomain

To add a new domain or subdomain to your Web Hosting plan, click on Actions on the left of your screen then Add a domain or sub-domain, then select your domain in the window that appears.

• Adding an OVHcloud-registered domain:

Only OVHcloud domain names for which you are a technical contact and/or administrator in the OVHcloud Control Panel appear here. Choose one from the list, then click Next. Then continue to Step 2.1: Adding an OVHcloud-registered domain.

• Adding an external domain:

For a domain name that is external to your customer account (another NIC handle) or external to OVHcloud (third-party domain name provider), select Add an external domain, then click Next. Then continue to Step 2.2: Adding an external domain.

Step 2.1: Adding an OVHcloud-registered domain

You will now need to customise the way you add your domain or subdomain. Some of the choices offered cannot be selected, depending on which Web Hosting plan you have.

Information	Description
Domains	The domain that you have selected will be automatically entered by default. You can add a subdomain (e.g. blog.mydomain.ovh) to it, and create the corresponding "www" subdomain at the same time (e.g. www.blog.mydomain.ovh). This domain will represent the website that you want to put online.
Root folder	Define the folder on your storage space to which the domain points. The website files need to be placed in this folder. For example, for blog.mydomain.ovh, the root directory could be "blog". If the directory does not exist, it will be created automatically.
SSL	Provides you with a secure connection (HTTPS://) on the selected domain. Find out more about this on our SSL page. By enabling SSL and the CDN (Content Delivery Network), you can also benefit from the HTTP2 protocol (the latter is enabled by default in our Gravelines data centre).
Enable CDN	Enables the CDN (which replicates and caches your website’s static elements, e.g. images) on the selected domain. To find out more about this, go to our CDN page. By enabling SSL and the CDN, you can also benefit from the HTTP2 protocol (the latter is activated by default in our Gravelines data centre).
Geolocated IP	Provides you with a geolocated IP address (from a country list) for the selected domain. To find out more about this, go to our IP page.
Enable firewall	Enables a firewall (request analysis) for the selected domain. To find out more about this, go to our ModSecurity page.
Separate logs	Activates a new space for logs on the selected domain. You will need to choose a domain name from the list. The selected domain will be used as an access name for this new space. Find out more about this on our detailed statistics page.

Once you have entered this information, click Next. Then check the summary that appears.

Once you have selected an OVHcloud-registered domain, you can automatically or manually modify its DNS configuration.

• For automatic DNS configuration: tick the Automatic configuration (recommended) box.
• For manual DNS configuration: untick the Automatic configuration (recommended) box, then note down the information that appears. If you would like to configure your DNS zone manually, you can use our guide on Editing an OVHcloud DNS zone.

Click Confirm to start adding the domain. This may take up to an hour. Changes made to a domain name's configuration can take between 1 and a maximum of 24 hours to propagate fully.

Now that you have added your domain, go to Step 3: Put your website online.

Step 2.2: Adding an external domain

This step only applies if you have selected "Add an external domain".

Your domain name is not registered with OVHcloud or it is not associated with your OVHcloud account.

Before you proceed, it is best to modify the DNS zone of the external domain name before adding the multisite record.

The external domain name’s configuration (its DNS zone) must be modified using the interface of the service provider managing it. If you are using OVHcloud, please follow our guide on Editing an OVHcloud DNS zone. Once you have configured your domain, you will need to allow between 1 and 24 hours for the changes to propagate fully.

Below are the 2 elements you need to modify in your external domain name's DNS configuration:

Field	Where to find this information	Action to take
TXT	On the Multisite tab, click Configuration of ovhcontrol token	Allows OVHcloud to ensure that each external domain name is added legitimately. Ensure that you create the TXT record with the subdomain ovhcontrol (e.g. ovhcontrol.mydomain.ovh) in the DNS zone authoritative for the domain name to be added. It is important to note that if you want to add blog.mydomain.ovh you have to create the record for the subdomain ovhcontrol.mydomain.ovh and not ovhcontrol.blog.mydomain.ovh To find the right zone, find the DNS servers your domain is linked to. You will need to validate only the primary domain, not all subdomains.

Field	Where to find this information	Action to take
A and AAAA	General information tab, under IPv4 and IPv6	Makes your domain display the website you will put online using your Web Hosting plan. Attach your domain or subdomain to the IP address of your Web Hosting plan.

You will now need to customise the way you add your domain. Please note that some of the options included in your Web Hosting plan cannot be enabled during this process. You will need to finalise this operation in order to use them, by modifying the multisite settings once the domain is attached.

Information	Description
Domain	Enter the domain name you want to use. Add subdomains (e.g. blog.mydomain.ovh) if required, and create the corresponding "www" subdomain at the same time (e.g. www.blog.mydomain.ovh). This domain will correspond to the website that you want to put online. As a reminder, you must have the appropriate rights to modify the domain’s configuration (its DNS zone) to finalise this addition.
Root folder	Define the folder on your storage space to which the domain points. The website files need to be placed in this folder. For example, for blog.mydomain.ovh, the root directory could be "blog". If the directory does not exist, it will be created automatically.
Enable IPv6	Enables the IPv6 protocol on the selected domain. To find out more about this, go to our IP page.

Once you have entered this information, click Next. Then check the summary that appears.

Attempting to attach a non-OVHcloud domain name requires additional validation. This allows us to ensure that the attachment of the external domain is legitimate. You will receive a message prompting you to modify the domain name's DNS configuration.

Check the information displayed, then click Confirm. Once you have done this, the domain name is added temporarily, until you have modified its DNS configuration.

Step 3: Put your website online

Once you have added your domain name, you just need to put your website online. As a reminder, you will need to make this change in the root folder, which you defined in the previous step.

To help you with this, you can use OVHcloud 1-click modules, which provide you with a ready-to-use website structure. The website will then be set up automatically in the root directory you configured earlier. You can find out more about this option by referring to our guide on Setting up your website with 1-click modules.

However, if you would like to set up your website manually, you can put it online by moving all of your website files into the correct root directory on your storage space. You can find out more about this option by referring to our guide on Publishing a website on your Web Hosting plan.

Go further

Setting up your website with 1-click modules

Editing an OVHcloud DNS zone

Publishing a website on your Web Hosting plan

If you would like assistance using and configuring your OVHcloud solutions, please refer to our support offers.

Join our community of users on https://community.ovh.com/en/.

---

---

These guides might also interest you...