Parked domain

Overview

This article explains how to 'Park' a domain in the DreamHost panel.

Background

When adding a domain to your panel, you can configure it in several ways:

• Fully Hosted — This means it appears on the Internet
• Redirect — This redirects your domain to a Fully Hosted website
• Mirrored — This mirrors a Fully Hosted website
• DNS Only — This removes hosting and allows you to point your DNS outside of DreamHost

There is a final option called 'Parked'. A Parked domain doesn't do anything and has no settings. All of the options above either display a site or point to a site to display. A Parked domain is just a placeholder until you decide to do something with the website. 

How to park a domain

You can add a new or set an existing domain as Parked.

Adding a new domain as Parked

1. Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
2. Click the Add Website button.
3. Select an option to add a domain or subdomain:
   • Enter a domain or subdomain you already own: Select this option if you've already registered your domain.
   • Create a subdomain: Select this option to create a subdomain on a domain you have already registered.
4. Enter the new domain you wish to park, then click the Next: Hosting button to proceed.
5. Select the Park Domain (no hosting) option on the next page and click the Park Domain button.
6. Return to the Manage Websites page, where you'll see it's now set as Parked.

Setting an existing domain to Parked

1. Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
2. Click the Manage button to open the Domain Settings page, which allows you to adjust various settings for your site.
   • If in Grid view, click the Manage button at the bottom of the website box.
   • If in List view, click the Manage button at the far right of your domain name.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Scroll down to the Non-Hosting Options section and select the Park Domain option.
5. Click the Park this Domain button.
6. Click the Yes, Park this Domain button that appears.

How to unpark a domain

To unpark a domain, you must assign it a different hosting type. The following are all options you can change to:

• Fully Hosted — This means it appears on the Internet
• Redirect — This redirects your domain to a Fully Hosted website
• Mirrored — This mirrors a Fully Hosted website
• DNS Only — This removes hosting and allows you to point your DNS outside of DreamHost

After changing the hosting type, the new DNS values must propagate online, which could take up to 6 hours.

See also

• What types of hosting plans are available?
• DNS propagation overview