How To Set up Domain Name Parking in Plesk

A Parked Domain, also commonly called an Alias, is NOT another website. Instead, it is a domain name (e.g., mydomain1.com) that points to another domain name of your choice (e.g., mydomain2.com), so that when a person tries to access mydomain1.com, it automatically loads the website for mydomain2.com. In this article, you’ll learn why you need a Parked Domain and how to set it up via Plesk.

Why Do I Need a Parked Domain

There are many reasons why a Parked Domain Name is important, but it is commonly used when:

• You have no website for your new domain name, or do not want to create one for the time being.
• You have other domains that need to be directed to your primary domain.
• Your primary domain name is commonly misspelled.

However, like every domain name, a Parked Domain must be registered, and configured to point to your Name Servers before it can be usable. If you are using Crazy Domains Windows Hosting, the Name Servers for your Parked Domain should be set to the following records:

• ns1.syrahost.com
• ns2.syrahost.com

How To Set up Domain Name Parking in Plesk

There are two ways you can park your domain name in Plesk, you can do this via Add Domain or via Add Domain Alias. Instructions for both can be found below:

If via Add Domain

Use these steps to quickly add a new domain name into your Plesk panel:

1. Access your Hosting Manager.
2. Click Websites & Domains from the left-side menu.
3. Click on the Add Domain button at the top of the page.
4. In the field after www., enter the Domain name you want to park, e.g., mydomain.com
   This is the domain name that does not have a website or whose website you do not want to show at the moment.
5. In the Hosting type drop-down list, select No Hosting. Below is a description of the options found here, for your reference:
   
   
   • Website hosting - Allows you to create a separate, fully functional website for the added domain name.
   • Forwarding - Allows you to create a 301/302 redirect or frame forward for the added domain name.
   • No hosting - Allows you to park the added domain name.
6. Click OK to save.

Note: Parking the domain via Add Domain using the No Hosting option will switch-off your website service but leave your email services working. If you want to park your domain and route it to your primary domain's website, use the steps for Add Domain Alias below.

If via Add Domain Alias

Use these steps to route your primary domain, or any other registered domain in your Plesk, to any domain name that is registered with us or with another provider:

1. Access your Hosting Manager.
2. Click Websites & Domains from the left-side menu.
3. Click on the Add Domain Alias button at the top of the page.
4. In the Domain alias name field after www., enter your primary domain or the Domain name of the website that you want to appear for your Parked Domain, e.g., mydomain.com
5. From the for the domain drop-down list, select the Domain Name that you want to park from the list of available domains you have in your Plesk. This domain will be redirected to the primary domain entered above.
6. Tick/un-tick the box beside the option you want to enable/disable. Below is a description of each option:
   

   Synchronize DNS zone with the primary domain	Enable this if you want your Parked Domain's DNS zone to sync with the primary domain's DNS.
   Mail service	Enable this if you want all mail sent to mail@parkeddomain.com to be available at mail@primarydomain.com. Otherwise, your Parked Domain's email service will not function and no mail will be received.
   Web service	Enable this if you want your primary domain's website to appear with the Parked Domain's URL showing in the browser.
   Redirect with the HTTP 301 code	Enable this if you want your primary domain's URL to show in the browser once a visitor enter's the Parked Domain's URL. In this way, search engines will only rank the primary domain, avoiding issues with the indexing of website content.

7. Click OK to save.

You've just set up Domain Name Parking in Plesk. If you have questions in setting up your parked domain for Windows Web Hosting, please don't hesitate to contact us.