Wildcard DNS, What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Wildcard DNS lets all subdomains use the same set of files. This is useful for multisite web applications or when you want subdomains to display the same content as the main site.

An example of Wildcard DNS is when a site visitor tries to use a subdomain such as example.domain.com. It would work the same as if the visitor had gone to the designated domain: http://domain.com/.

Wildcard DNS for the Primary Domain

You can set up wildcard DNS via cPanel by following these steps:

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Navigate to the Domains icon in the Domains section.

   

3. On the next page, click Create A New Domain.

   

4. Enter a subdomain name called * into the Domain Field and set the document root to your public_html folder.

   

5. Click Submit.

Wildcard DNS for Addon Domains

Setting up wildcard DNS for an addon domain is mostly the same, except for the document root used.

1. Log in to your cPanel
2. Navigate to the Domains icon in the Domains section.

   

3. On the next page, click Create A New Domain.

   

4. Enter a subdomain name called * into the Domain Field and set the document root to match the addon domain's document root.
5. The document root can be found inside your cPanel within the Domains area.

   

   If attempting to add a wildcard subdomain for one of your addon domains, using the wrong document root will cause some issues with resolution.
6. Click Submit.