Adding a website and hosting

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 — Choose a domain later (dreamhosters.com subdomains)

The following steps describe how to add a domain to a hosting plan or register a new domain.

1. Navigate to the Manage Websites page.

   

2. On the top right, click the Add Website button.

   

3. 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.
   • Choose a domain later: Select this option to create a free dreamhosters.com subdomain.

1. 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.

   

2. On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.

   A list of your hosting plans appears:

   

3. To the right of a plan you wish to add this domain to, click the Select button.

   

4. On the bottom right, click the Next: Options button.

   

5. 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. 

   

6. 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

1. Enter your subdomain in the first text field. For example, blog or forum.
2. From the Parent domain dropdown, select an existing domain on your account. 

   

3. On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.

   A list of your hosting plans appears:

   

4. To the right of a plan you wish to add this subdomain to, click the Select button.
   

   

5. On the bottom right, click the Next: Options button.

   

6. 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.
   

   

7. On the bottom right, click the Set Up Website button.

   

   A success message displays confirming the site has been added to the hosting plan.

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.

• How to purchase a domain registration

Once purchased, you can then add hosting to the domain.

Select the Choose a domain later option to create a free .dreamhosters.com subdomain. 

1. Enter your subdomain in the first text field. For example, blog or forum.

   

2. On the bottom right, click the Next: Hosting button.

   A list of your hosting plans appears:

   

3. To the right of a plan you wish to add this domain to, click the Select button.
   

   

4. On the bottom right, click the Next: Options button.
   

   

5. 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.

   

6. On the bottom right, click the Set Up Website button.
   

   

   A success message displays confirming the site has been added to the hosting plan.