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Managing Multiple Websites on a Single Shared Hosting Account

Are you fed up with paying several bills for individual web hosting plans? If that is the case, running multiple websites on a single hosting server could be an intelligent way to low priced web hosting. But how do you get started?
While this blog will guide you through managing multiple websites, it's important to consider the hosting price for 1 year when choosing a plan. If you search online for "how to host several websites on a single shared hosting account," you must have found lots of guides. The majority of guides on the web are too tech-savvy to baffle you.

But don't be worried; running several websites on one shared web server doesn't need to be so difficult.

In this blog, we'll be sharing 5 simple steps on how to manage multiple websites on a single shared hosting account, making it too easy for everyone, i.e., even non-techies, to host like an expert.

Key Benefits Of Hosting Multiple Websites On A Single Hosting Account

Before understanding how to manage multiple websites on a single hosting account, let's first review the benefits of doing so.

Reduce Expenses

It reduces the total hosting cost per website because server maintenance charges are distributed among all the hosted websites.

Effectively Optimizes Resources

Websites can seamlessly use disk space, CPU, and RAM on a shared hosting server, making it more proficient for managing growing traffic without incurring additional hardware costs.

Scale Up As You Require

It is simple to adjust server resources for separate websites, allowing smooth scaling up as per your needs.

Easy To Manage

It is simple to manage one server since it minimizes the amount of work for IT staff and reduces the chances of errors.

Provides You Flexibility

By running multiple websites on a single server, you can easily add or remove websites, making it a highly flexible option for businesses of all sizes.

Let's go into more detail and find out how you can do it:

Step 1: Purchase Domain Names And A Shared Hosting Plan

Purchasing A Shared Hosting Plan

Not every shared hosting plan authorizes you to host and administer multiple websites on a single shared hosting server. If your hosting plan doesn't have a multi-site hosting option, upgrade your plan to one that does.

MilesWeb's affordable and highly scalable shared hosting plans allow you to host multiple websites on a single shared hosting account. Check out their pricing list:

  • Ignite starts at: $1 / month
  • Elite starts at: $2/ month
  • Stellar starts at: $3/ month
  • Alpha starts at: $7.6/ month

From a technical standpoint, if you already host your websites on a shared hosting plan, you get to enjoy unmetered bandwidth. This indicates you can host as many sites as you want.

Having said that, hosting multiple websites on a single shared server is a brilliant idea if you do it right.

Purchasing Domain Names, You Wish To Add

In order to add domain names to your web server, you need to first have them. Hence, the next important step is to buy all the domain names you require to add to the shared hosting server.

If you don't have any idea where to start looking for the ideal domain names, check, register, and buy domain names from MilesWeb's domain page.

By having your multi-site shared hosting plan and purchased domain names in your hands, you're ready to take the next step.

Step 2: Add A Domain To The Shared Hosting Server/Cpanel

The next step is to log into your shared hosting account's cPanel.

  • Navigate to the "Domains" section.
  • Click on the "Addon Domains" icon.

A "Addon Domains" page will appear. Enter your new domain name in the following two places:

  • New Domain Name, and
  • Subdomain

Once you are all set, click on the "Add Domain" button. A success message will appear confirming the domain has been created. Based on your shared hosting service provider, you might need to wait some time while the new domain name gets added.

In order to check that you've taken the right steps, click the back button. You'll see your new domain name there under the "Addon Domains" section. Repeat the same steps to enter as many domain names as you want. If you want to remove any domain name, you can do so from the "Actions" column.

Step 3: Update The Nameservers

The next step is to update the nameservers. This step tells your domain name registrar to which server they must point the domain names. This is a very crucial step for all the domains you wish to configure your new host with.

This is a very crucial step for all the domains you wish to configure your new host with. The nameserver update process differs from domain registrars, but usually, it involves the following steps:

  • Log into your cPanel account.
  • Choose the domain name.
  • Update the nameserver settings with your shared hosting service provider's nameservers.

After updating the nameservers, wait for 2 to 4 hours for the changes to take effect.

Step 4: Install WordPress On The Shared Hosting Server (Optional)

If you're planning to use WordPress for all your websites, you are required to install it. Therefore, in the next step, install WordPress on your server by using a 1-click installer without overspending on costly developers.

You can install WordPress in several ways. We'll use the cPanel "Autoinstallers" option. Here are the steps to do that:

  • Log into your cPanel account.
  • Go to the "Autoinstallers" section.
  • Click on the "WordPress" icon.
  • Next, click on the "Install Now" option.
  • After that, click "Choose Protocol" and select "SSL Certificate" for a secure HTTPS WordPress website. If your website doesn't have an SSL certificate, select the default http option instead. Then click "Choose Domain" to choose your website's domain name.
  • The next section is the "In Directory" option. Leave it blank.
  • Now, scroll down to the "Site Settings" option and add your "Site Name" and "Site Description." Just add the essentials. You can update it later.
  • Don't check the "Enable Multisite (WPMU)" option. It is a special version of WordPress, and that isn't the purpose of what we're doing.

Finally, add a user for your website and create a password manually or utilize the auto-generated password. Congratulations! Now, you've successfully installed WordPress on your server.

Step 5: Setting Up The Basics On Your WordPress Websites

Now is the time to set up the basics on your WordPress websites. In this step, you are required to set up all the required WordPress settings to meet your preferences. It includes:

  • General Settings: This includes the website title, tagline, website address, admin email address, language, and more.
  • Writing Settings: It includes blog post categories and formats, the default editor for users, and sending posts via email.
  • Reading Settings: It includes your website's home page displays, the total number of blog posts to display per page, and search engine visibility.
  • Discussion Settings: These include primarily the post and comment settings that govern how visitors interact with your website content and engage with your website.
  • Media Settings: This includes how to enter media files into the media library and your website content.
  • Permalinks Settings: This includes instructions on how to develop a custom URL structure for your permalinks and archives.
  • Privacy Settings: This includes how to create a privacy policy for your WordPress website.

Why Opt For Milesweb's Premium Shared Hosting Services?

When looking for a multi-site shared hosting service provider, you'll come across several companies, but it is important to do thorough research before buying any shared hosting plan.

At MilesWeb, all shared hosting plans include an all-inclusive range of server resources and top-notch features. This includes multi-site hosting options, SSL certificates, WordPress options, email accounts, free malware scanning and removal, premium CDN, and free website migration at a very affordable price.

You'll get 24*7 tech support, on-demand backups, 99.95% guaranteed uptime, a free 1-click WordPress install, unmetered bandwidth, and LiteSpeed + LSCache for increased page speed. You can also choose your choice of data center location from 32+ options.

Wrapping It Up

Thus, you can easily host multiple websites on a single server. It's not as challenging as it looks initially, right? It's pretty simple! If you're aware of exactly what to do and how to do it. So, just follow these five easy steps and reap the advantages of managing multiple websites on a single shared hosting account.

But keep in mind that it is just a start. Ensure that your websites are up to date by regularly updating your website's software and content management system plugins for better safety and performance. Always monitor resource utilization and upgrade your hosting plan if needed.

Take a daily backup of your website to avoid data loss. If you've got any questions about managing multiple websites or browsing cPanel, feel free to contact us or send an email to [email protected]. We'll be happy to see you become a hosting pro!