Can I show one Wordpress Blog under multiple domains?
February 26, 2010 10:47 AM Subscribe
Two Domain Names pointing to One Wordpress Blog - This shouldn't be the pain that it's been
YANMWG (You Are Not My Wordpress Guru) and I've searched the wordpress.org forums and talked to my host but I've received incomplete and contradictory answers and so I'm hoping some helpful MeFite can lay this out for me in simple terms. I have a client who has been using a blog under one domain name (we'll call it domainone.com) and wants to transition to a new domain name (domaintwo.com) without disrupting any of the visitors who are used to visiting domainone.com. So she wants to keep everything about domainone.com the same and just have domaintwo.com point to domainone.com.
That part is easily accomplished with a simple redirect but once the site visitor has been redirected, the url address now says http://www.domainone.com/... which my client doesn't like. She wants it to continue to say domaintwo.com which seems reasonable to me. The answer appears to be masking, but here's where it gets murky. Her hosting company offers redirecting as part of the control panel, but not masking and says to get what she wants she'll need a separate hosting account for each domain which seems wonky to me since she's just physically hosting one set of files.
I'm wondering if what she wants can be accomplished from within wordpress with the Site URL setting but don't want to play around with it to see if I'm right.
So - any thoughts? Changing hosts is a pain, but an option we're willing to consider.
YANMWG (You Are Not My Wordpress Guru) and I've searched the wordpress.org forums and talked to my host but I've received incomplete and contradictory answers and so I'm hoping some helpful MeFite can lay this out for me in simple terms. I have a client who has been using a blog under one domain name (we'll call it domainone.com) and wants to transition to a new domain name (domaintwo.com) without disrupting any of the visitors who are used to visiting domainone.com. So she wants to keep everything about domainone.com the same and just have domaintwo.com point to domainone.com.
That part is easily accomplished with a simple redirect but once the site visitor has been redirected, the url address now says http://www.domainone.com/... which my client doesn't like. She wants it to continue to say domaintwo.com which seems reasonable to me. The answer appears to be masking, but here's where it gets murky. Her hosting company offers redirecting as part of the control panel, but not masking and says to get what she wants she'll need a separate hosting account for each domain which seems wonky to me since she's just physically hosting one set of files.
I'm wondering if what she wants can be accomplished from within wordpress with the Site URL setting but don't want to play around with it to see if I'm right.
So - any thoughts? Changing hosts is a pain, but an option we're willing to consider.
Shot in the dark: it looks like they're doing redirect by re-framing the new domain. That is, something retarded like this on domainone.com:
<frameset>
<frame src="http://domaintwo.com/" />
</frameset>
Lord in Heaven, I hate it when people do this shit.
If they were using a proper redirect (say: status 301) the URL would change. Get a better host provider.
posted by sbutler at 11:31 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
<frameset>
<frame src="http://domaintwo.com/" />
</frameset>
Lord in Heaven, I hate it when people do this shit.
If they were using a proper redirect (say: status 301) the URL would change. Get a better host provider.
posted by sbutler at 11:31 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
When you forward one domain to another, there's usually an option asking if you want to mask the domain name and it sounds like that option is turned on. That's assuming you did this at the hosting/registrar level and not as code in a web page.
posted by Kimberly at 11:42 AM on February 26, 2010
posted by Kimberly at 11:42 AM on February 26, 2010
Oh I'm an idiot, I missed the part where you already figured that out. Sorry.
posted by Kimberly at 11:43 AM on February 26, 2010
posted by Kimberly at 11:43 AM on February 26, 2010
Ahh, you know, I missed part of it too. I thought she wanted to move to domaintwo, but that's not it. Nevermind.
posted by sbutler at 11:46 AM on February 26, 2010
posted by sbutler at 11:46 AM on February 26, 2010
She needs to set up a 301 redirect from domainone to domaintwo. Who does she host with?
My guess is GoDaddy.
posted by syzygy at 12:43 PM on February 26, 2010
My guess is GoDaddy.
posted by syzygy at 12:43 PM on February 26, 2010
Whoever her host is, I can assure you there are better ones out there. It's ridiculous for them to require her to purchase a second hosting account to get this working.
I like WebFaction - you can host an unlimited number of domains and WordPress blogs there, and you've got full control over your account. Search ask for other host recommendations. If her current host is serious about her having to buy a second hosting package to get this working, she should really consider switching to a better host.
posted by syzygy at 12:47 PM on February 26, 2010
I like WebFaction - you can host an unlimited number of domains and WordPress blogs there, and you've got full control over your account. Search ask for other host recommendations. If her current host is serious about her having to buy a second hosting package to get this working, she should really consider switching to a better host.
posted by syzygy at 12:47 PM on February 26, 2010
One other note - if she wants to keep the google ranking she's got for articles originally posted on domainone, the current set up is not a good idea. She should really move to a host that allows 301 redirects and do this correctly. I'll butt out now :-)
posted by syzygy at 12:53 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by syzygy at 12:53 PM on February 26, 2010
Response by poster: Additional info:
1: domaintwo is parked at godaddy and she has the ability change the nameservers for the domain.
2: Domainone is hosted at another host (one I previously liked!). They are telling her that she needs to get a second hosting account with them and then they will give her the nameserver information she needs to enter at godaddy.
3: I think that's crap and that she can just go to godaddy and enter the nameservers of domainone for domaintwo and be done with the whole thing. Is that true or will that cause problems?
posted by katyjack at 1:11 PM on February 26, 2010
1: domaintwo is parked at godaddy and she has the ability change the nameservers for the domain.
2: Domainone is hosted at another host (one I previously liked!). They are telling her that she needs to get a second hosting account with them and then they will give her the nameserver information she needs to enter at godaddy.
3: I think that's crap and that she can just go to godaddy and enter the nameservers of domainone for domaintwo and be done with the whole thing. Is that true or will that cause problems?
posted by katyjack at 1:11 PM on February 26, 2010
If your client's other host doesn't have a way to do redirects, you're probably out of luck.
Regarding #3 - no, that won't do the trick on its own.
The whole thing sounds a little strange. None of the hosts I've worked with would require you to buy a second hosting account to set something like this up. I'd check with them one last time and if this is really their policy, I'd say they're being unreasonable.
I'd back up the DB and all of the files, then inform the host that you're going to move to a new host if they can't figure out a way to work with you that doesn't require you to purchase a second hosting account.
Moving WordPress to a new host is not a big deal. GoDaddy has an easy-to-use WordPress installer, as do many other hosts (Webfaction, etc.).
posted by syzygy at 2:13 PM on February 26, 2010
Regarding #3 - no, that won't do the trick on its own.
The whole thing sounds a little strange. None of the hosts I've worked with would require you to buy a second hosting account to set something like this up. I'd check with them one last time and if this is really their policy, I'd say they're being unreasonable.
I'd back up the DB and all of the files, then inform the host that you're going to move to a new host if they can't figure out a way to work with you that doesn't require you to purchase a second hosting account.
Moving WordPress to a new host is not a big deal. GoDaddy has an easy-to-use WordPress installer, as do many other hosts (Webfaction, etc.).
posted by syzygy at 2:13 PM on February 26, 2010
Not really. If they don't have it set up on the server, then entering the name servers at godaddy won't go to her domain, it will just sit at whatever default web site her host has set up. Unless she happens to have a static IP and can manage the dns via godaddy, but it is pretty unlikely she has a static IP.
Basically what has to happen on the server end is that the server must translate the domain name into what directory on the server it needs to go, in this case, the same directory that has the files for domain one.
Having said that, you really shouldn't have to pay anything extra to do this. Most hosting providers offer it as part of their hosting as a value-added service. Its usually configured in such a way that the host doesn't have to do anything, its part of the control panel (hence no extra cost).
Is her hosting provider perhaps old? I know back in the good old days of web hosting, something like this might cost extra. But it really shouldn't now.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 2:16 PM on February 26, 2010
Basically what has to happen on the server end is that the server must translate the domain name into what directory on the server it needs to go, in this case, the same directory that has the files for domain one.
Having said that, you really shouldn't have to pay anything extra to do this. Most hosting providers offer it as part of their hosting as a value-added service. Its usually configured in such a way that the host doesn't have to do anything, its part of the control panel (hence no extra cost).
Is her hosting provider perhaps old? I know back in the good old days of web hosting, something like this might cost extra. But it really shouldn't now.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 2:16 PM on February 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
or
B) She needs a new web host that offers that service. Most do at no additional charge.
Possibly a combination of both.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 11:03 AM on February 26, 2010