Adding a subdomain to a NearlyFreeSpeech-hosted domain #

Unlike some cPanel-based shared hosting platforms that allow mapping subdomains to subdirectories, NearlyFreeSpeech.NET requires a new site setup for each subdomain. However, multiple aliases can be created for a single site. For example, both foo.example.com and bar.example.com can point to shortname.nfshost.com with the hostname example.com.

These steps outline how to create a new subdomain for an NFS-hosted domain with an external DNS host:

At NFS:

  1. NFS Member Login → sites → under "Actions", click "Create a New Site" (even if your domain is already hosted with them).

  2. Select your NFS account from the dropdown menu → assign a unique "Site Short Name" (which serves as a unique identifier for the subdomain within the NFS system).

  3. Enter desired subdomain URL (e.g., docs.example.com) into Canonical Name field.

  4. Click No for "Set up DNS for new domains?" → Next.

  5. Select desired Server Type → Next.

  6. Select desired Site Plan → Finish.

  7. Verify the site details on the summary page → click Create This Site.

  8. When "Success! Everything looks OK, though it will take a minute or two to finish setting up." appears, click Continue.

At your DNS host:

  1. Create a new CNAME record, setting the host to your subdomain and the address to your shortname.nfshost.com (replace shortname with your site's NFS short name).

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/misc | May 25, 2024


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