Overview
To display a website on the Internet, you need to do two things:
- Purchase the domain registration
- Add hosting to the domain
This article walks you through the different options in the panel to add a domain. The steps are different depending on if you have already registered the domain or if you're adding a subdomain. The following topics are covered in this article.
- Option 1 — Enter a domain or subdomain you already own
- Option 2 — Create a subdomain
- Option 3 — Register a new domain
- Option 4 — Create a free DreamHost Subdomain (dreamhosters.com subdomains)
Troubleshooting errors
It's possible you may encounter an error message when adding a domain. If so, please review the following article for common solutions:
Adding a domain
The following steps describe how to add a domain to a hosting plan or register a new domain.
- Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
- On the top right, click the Add Website button.
- Make a selection from the following four options:
- 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.
- Register a new domain: Select this option to first register your domain name.
- Create a free DreamHost Subdomain: Select this option to create a free dreamhosters.com subdomain.
Option 1 — Enter a domain or subdomain you already own
- Enter a domain name you have already registered. If it's registered at another company, check the box to confirm you are the owner of this domain name.
- On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.
- A list of your hosting plans appears.
- To the right of a plan you wish to add this domain to, click the Select button.
- On the bottom right, click the Set Up Website button to add hosting to the domain.
- A success message displays confirming the site has been added to the hosting plan.
Pointing DNS to DreamHost
The site is now hosted on DreamHost's servers, but unless your DNS is pointed to DreamHost, it will not resolve online. View the following sections depending on where you purchased your domain registration.
If you purchased a registration with DreamHost
If you purchased the registration at DreamHost, the DNS is already configured correctly (unless you customized it).
If you purchased the registration at another company
You would need to point your DNS to DreamHost. View the following article for details:
Option 2 — Create a subdomain
- Enter your subdomain in the first text field. For example, blog or forum.
- From the Parent domain dropdown, select an existing domain on your account.
- On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.
- A list of your hosting plans appears.
- To the right of a plan you wish to add this subdomain to, click the Select button.
- On the bottom right, click the Set Up Website button.
- A success message displays confirming the site has been added to the hosting plan.
Option 3 — Register a new domain
The Register a new domain option takes you to the Manage Registrations page where you can purchase the registration for the domain. View the following article for further details.
Once purchased, you can then add hosting to the domain.
Option 4 — Create a free DreamHost Subdomain
Select the Create a free DreamHost Subdomain option to create a free .dreamhosters.com subdomain.
- Enter your subdomain in the first text field. For example, blog or forum.
- On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.
- A list of your hosting plans appears.
- To the right of a plan you wish to add this domain to, click the Select button.
- On the bottom right, click the Next: Options button.
This page allows you to choose various options to add to your website (e.g., installing WordPress). Click the Select button only if you wish to add WordPress.
- On the bottom right, click the Set Up Website button.
- A success message displays, confirming the site has been added to the hosting plan.
After a domain or subdomain is added, the DNS must propagate, which can take 4-6 hrs. For more information on DNS propagation, view the following article:
Next Steps
At this point, your website is hosted and resolving online, but if you visit it in a browser, you will see a 'Coming Soon' page generated by DreamHost. You must now upload your own website content to your DreamHost server.
If you already have a website created
If you already have a website from another hosting company or one that you created on your home computer, you can just upload the content to your server via FTP. View the following article for instructions on uploading your website files and database.
If you do not have a website
If you need to create a new website, you can install WordPress in the DreamHost panel. This allows you to create a website without the need for writing code. View the following articles for further information:
