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Adding and verifying a domain

A hosting site can serve several domains and subdomains. Before a name goes live, you prove that it is yours. This is a one-off step that takes a few minutes, and the name's certificate is issued after it.

A site's addresses

  • Main domain: the domain you ordered the hosting with. It cannot be removed.
  • Preview address: an address we provide, on which the site is reachable even before your own domain points here. It also belongs to the site and cannot be removed.
  • Additional domains and subdomains: you add these, up to your plan's domain allowance. The main domain, its www twin and the preview address do not count towards the allowance.

A name can belong to only one site across the whole platform.

1. Verify the domain with a TXT record

Open the site, go to the Domains tab and choose How to verify this name.

  1. Add the TXT record at your domain's DNS provider. The portal shows the exact record name (for example _carbonhost.example.com) and value (carbonhost-verify=…). Copy both exactly.
  2. Check: click Check. If the record is not visible yet, wait a few minutes; DNS changes can take a while to spread.
  3. Point the domain here: set the domain's A record to the address the portal shows under Where your domain has to point.

If we host the domain's zone and it belongs to your account, there is nothing to do: we handle the verification and the records ourselves.

2. Add another domain or subdomain

On the Domains tab, type the name (for example blog.example.com) into Another domain or subdomain and click Add. Then verify it as above.

You can add the www twin in the same step: both names then serve the same content from the same folder. This is not a redirect; each address serves the site on its own.

A folder per domain

A newly added domain gets its own folder inside web/ by default, named after it (for example web/blog.example.com). You can change this with Use another folder; left empty, the name serves the site root, the web/ folder. Per-domain folders are not available with the OpenLiteSpeed web server.

Redirects

You can send a domain to a full web address with Forward, permanently (301) or temporarily. The path and the query are kept: /cart arrives at /cart on the target. The main domain cannot be redirected.

Changing the main address

Make this the main address turns a verified additional domain into the site's main address. The previous main domain stays and keeps serving the site; invoices stay on the name you ordered with.

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