SOLVED Trouble adding domain alias

[cheit34]

Hello, new user here. I have an account using CPanel on GoDaddy as well as a number of domain names registered on GoDaddy as well. I have my primary domain (for reference, let's call it www.abc.com) assigned to my account, already have it correctly set to the /public_html directory, and the main website/domain (abc.com) is all functioning correctly. Now, I need to add a couple of domains from the ones I own and are already available in my GoDaddy.com account as domain aliases to the same website. I need these to be aliases, not just redirects or permanent forwards, as I need the end-user to see the alias domain in the URL, (not the main www.abc.com). For example, I need to add www.def.com as an alias, so then the end-user goes to www.def.com, the see the same content as www.abc.com, but the alias domain, def.com, is what is showing as the URL in the browser. Per my understanding of CPanel thus far, Domain Aliases are the correct way to do this.

I have added the domains I wish to add as aliases to the Aliases section of the CPanel, and the Nameservers for the alias domains are already pointing to GoDaddy as that is where they are housed. In the CPanel instructions (Aliases | cPanel & WHM Documentation), this is all I should have to do (I think), but yet it is not working. In order to make it work, I needed to remove the "Parked" A record on the alias domains DNS, and add an A record @ pointing to the IP address of the my CPanel account. This got the alias working correctly, but the alias domain is coming up as "not secure." When I check the SSL/TLS Status on CPanel, the alias domain is returning this error: "DNS DCV: No local authority: “def.com”; HTTP DCV: “def.com” does not resolve to any IP addresses on the internet." I added the A record pointing to the IP about 6 hours ago, so I'm wondering if I am just noting giving it enough time to populate and the AutoSSL to run and recognize it?

Basically, I need to know if I am missing anything in my domain alias setup. Having to add the A record to the alias domain DNS wasn't indicated in the instructions, so I'm just a bit confused.

Additionally, our main franchise office has a handful of domains on a different registrar (DNS is off-site), that need to be added as aliases as well, and I just need to make sure I can correctly instruct them on what they need to do on their end to their domains. Am I correct that I just need them to change their nameservers to the GoDaddy nameservers listed on the DNS record of my primary domain (abc.com)? Do they also have to create an A record pointing to my account's IP? Any insight on this part is grately appreciated.

 

[cPRex]

Hey there! I'll go through and break this down by paragraph to keep things organized.

Paragraph 1 - Sounds completely correct to me!
Paragraph 2 - When you say it's not working, what behavior are you seeing on the domains? That really should be all you need to do. AutoSSL typically runs within an hour for most domains, but if it can't completely the DCV check there is something wrong with the DNS or the webserver configuration.
Paragraph 3 - Nope, it sounds like you're doing everything correctly.
Paragraph 4 - Those domains would need the A record created to point to the server's IP address in order for those to function.

 

[cheit34]

Ok, thank you so much. Yes, the domain aliases I added that are also in GoDaddy.com are now working perfectly. I just wasn't being patient enough for the AutoSSL to run its course. I was confused about needing to add the A record, as that it's listed in the instructions for adding an alias domain, but now that I know that, I think I'm all set.

I'll now have our franchise office simply update/add the A record @ to point to my account's IP address. Do I need to have them update the Nameservers as well?

 

[cPRex]

If the DNS isn't handled locally by the cPanel server, you would still need to create that A record wherever the nameservers are controlled, whether that is the GoDaddy domains or the franchise office.

 

[cheit34]

Great - thank you. I really appreciate your help.

 

[cPRex]

You're welcome!