Apache .htaccess for Shared Hosting Setup (Alias Domain Instead of Addon Domain)

This .htaccess file is useful for shared hosting environments where the number of Addon Domains is limited.

🔧 Use Case

Instead of configuring real Addon Domains in cPanel or your hosting panel, you can simulate them using folders and Apache rewrite rules.

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📁 Folder Structure

Place this .htaccess file inside your public_html directory. Then, create a folder for each domain you want to simulate. Use folder names that are different from the domain name for clarity:

public_html/
├── .htaccess
├── foo_site/
├── bar_site/

Point your domains (e.g., foo.com and bar.net) to the same public_html directory. Apache will internally redirect each request to the correct subfolder based on the requested domain.

🧪 Example Domains

• foo.com will load files from the folder public_html/foo_site
• bar.net will load files from the folder public_html/bar_site

📝 .htaccess Code

RewriteEngine On

# Match domain: foo.com
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^foo.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /foo_site/$1 [L,QSA]

# Match domain: bar.net
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^bar.net$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /bar_site/$1 [L,QSA]

✅ Notes

• Make sure mod_rewrite is enabled on your Apache server.
• Use [NC] for case-insensitive domain matching.
• [L,QSA] ensures query strings are preserved and no further rules are processed.
• You can add as many domains/folders as needed by copying the RewriteCond + RewriteRule blocks.

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This approach effectively mimics Addon Domains using simple rewrite rules.