10Web Help Center

Hi, how can we help?

How to point your multisite's domain to 10Web

Copy article URL

in this article

With a WordPress multisite network, you can use a unique domain name for your main website and different domain names for subsites in the network. 

Before you begin

You will need to have a domain. If you don’t have a domain, here is how to choose and purchase a domain.

Types of multisite networks

There are two ways WordPress structures a multisite network; subdomains and subdirectories. You can tell the difference between the two by the formatting of the URLs.

Subdomains result in URLs like: subsite.example.com.

Subdirectories result in URLs like: example.com/subsite.

Note:

You should have chosen either subdomains or subdirectories during the multisite installation process. If you haven’t created a multisite network yet, you will need to do that before pointing a domain. 

In either case, you can point a domain to your main WordPress multisite or any of the subsites using the 10Web dashboard.

Multisites using subdomains

Pointing a domain to the main network site in a multisite network

Step 1: Adding a domain for the main network site

  1. From the 10Web dashboard, click Manage on the multisite network
  2. Click on My Sites.
  3. Go to the main multisite at the top of the list and click on Manage
  4. Go to Hosting Services
  5. Click on Point Domain
  6. Click Add Domain
  7. Fill in your domain name and click Add Domain

Step 2: Pointing a domain to the main network site

There are two ways to point your domain: Nameservers or A record.

Point with nameservers

Once you add your domain in step 1, you will see 4 nameservers. To point the domain using nameservers:

  1. Sign in to your domain registrar
  2. Go to manage DNS records
  3. In the main multisite’s 10Web Dashboard, go to Domains
  4. Click Manage DNS for the domain you want to point
  5. Copy the 10Web nameservers at the top of the page
  6. Replace your domain’s registrar nameservers with the copied 10Web nameservers
  7. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps to change nameservers will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Changing nameservers at NameCheap

Changing nameservers at Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours for the new nameserver changes to take effect. Once your domain starts resolving to your website on 10Web, all of your DNS records can be managed from your 10Web dashboard.

Point with A record

  1. In your multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on Credentials
  2. Copy the IPv4 address in the Datacenter & IP section
  3. Sign in to your domain registrar
  4. Go to manage DNS records
  5. Replace the existing A record or add an A record using the copied IPv4 address
  6. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps for changing or adding an A record will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Adding an A record in GoDaddy.

Adding an A record in NameCheap.

Adding an A record in Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours after adding or updating the A record for the changes to take effect.

Step 3. Make the main network site’s domain primary

Once your website’s domain is resolving to your website on 10Web, you should make it the primary domain.

  1. In the multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on My Sites
  2. Click on Manage for the main multisite at the top of the list
  3. Click on Domains
  4. Click on Make Primary

Result:

Now that the main network site has a domain, all the subsites are accessible using that domain, as well. For example, subsite.yourdomain.com.

Pointing a domain to a subdomain in a multisite network

These steps will allow you to point different domains to subsites in the network. The steps are exclusively for subdomain type multisite networks.

Step 1: Adding a domain for a subsite

  1. In the multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on My Sites
  2. Click on Manage for the subsite you would like to add a domain for
  3. Click on Domains
  4. Click Add Domain
  5. Fill in your domain name and click Add Domain

Step 2: Pointing a domain to a subsite

Note:

If nameservers have been used to point the main network site’s domain, the subsite domain’s A record will be added automatically in the Manage DNS section after completing Step 1 above. In that case just make sure that the domain’s A record has been added properly and skip this step.

Point with A record

  1. Copy the IPv4 address in the Datacenter & IP section
  2. Sign in to your domain registrar
  3. Go to manage DNS records
  4. Replace the existing A record or add an A record using the copied IPv4 address
  5. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps for changing or adding an A record will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Adding an A record in GoDaddy.

Adding an A record in NameCheap.

Adding an A record in Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours after adding or updating the A record for the changes to take effect.

Step 3. Make the subsite’s domain primary

Once your website’s domain is resolving to your website on 10Web, you should make it the primary domain.

  1. In the multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on My Sites
  2. Click on Manage for the subsite
  3. Click on Domains
  4. Click on Make Primary

Multisites using subdirectories

Pointing a domain to the main network site in a multisite network

Step 1: Adding a domain for the main network site

  1. From the 10Web dashboard, click Manage on the multisite network
  2. Go to Hosting Services
  3. Click on Point Domain
  4. Click Add Domain
  5. Fill in your domain name and click Add Domain

Step 2: Pointing a domain to the main network site

There are two ways to point your domain: Nameservers or A record.

Point with nameservers

Once you add your domain in step 1, you will see 4 nameservers. To point the domain using nameservers:

  1. Sign in to your domain registrar
  2. Go to manage DNS records
  3. In the main multisite’s 10Web Dashboard, go to Domains
  4. Click Manage DNS for the domain you want to point
  5. Copy the 10Web nameservers at the top of the page
  6. Replace your domain’s registrar nameservers with the copied 10Web nameservers
  7. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps to change nameservers will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Changing nameservers at NameCheap

Changing nameservers at Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours for the new nameserver changes to take effect. Once your domain starts resolving to your website on 10Web, all of your DNS records can be managed from your 10Web dashboard.

Point with A record

  1. In your multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on Credentials
  2. Copy the IPv4 address in the Datacenter & IP section
  3. Sign in to your domain registrar
  4. Go to manage DNS records
  5. Replace the existing A record or add an A record using the copied IPv4 address
  6. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps for changing or adding an A record will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Adding an A record in GoDaddy.

Adding an A record in NameCheap.

Adding an A record in Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours after adding or updating the A record for the changes to take effect.

Step 3. Make the main network site’s domain primary

Once your website’s domain is resolving to your website on 10Web, you should make it the primary domain.

  1. In the multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on Domains
  2. Click on Make Primary

Result:

Now that the main network site has a domain, all the subsites are accessible using that domain, as well. For example, yourdomain.com/subsite.

Pointing a domain to a subdirectory in a multisite network

These steps will allow you to point different domains to subsites in the network. The steps are exclusively for subdirectory type multisite networks.

Important:

Please make sure that you point a domain to your main multisite before pointing domains to subsites.

Step 1: Adding a domain for a subsite

  1. In the multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on Domains
  2. Click Add Domain
  3. Fill in your domain name and click Add Domain

Step 2: Pointing a domain to a subsite

 

Point with A record

Note:

The steps below are only used if you have chosen to point a domain for the main network site using A record.

  1. In your multisite’s 10Web dashboard, click on Credentials
  2. Copy the IPv4 address in the Datacenter & IP section
  3. Sign in to your domain registrar
  4. Go to manage DNS records
  5. Replace the existing A record or add an A record using the copied IPv4 address
  6. Click Save

Note:

The exact steps for changing or adding an A record will vary depending on your domain registrar.

Here are a few examples:

Adding an A record in GoDaddy.

Adding an A record in NameCheap.

Adding an A record in Google Domains.

Important:

It can take up to 24 hours after adding or updating the A record for the changes to take effect.

Step 3. Update the site address

After adding and pointing a domain, edit the subsite's URL in the WordPress Network Admin.

  1. From the 10Web dashboard, click the stacked house icon on the multisite network
  2. Click Sites on the Network Admin's left navigation
  3. Hover over the subsite's line, and click Edit
  4. Enter the new domain name in the Site Address (URL) field
  5. Click Save Changes

What's next

Generate a free SSL certificate

in this article