Windows Hosting Done Right – Cytanium

If you have a Basic Hosting Plan at Cytanium you already have the ability to point unlimited domain names to your initial site. Each of the domains points to the single site though so if you want to host multiple sites (each domain bringing up different content) you either need to write some code to handle this yourself, or you can now upgrade your service to include additional sites at $2/month each. Each additional site gets its own dedicated application pool and shows as an additional item in the control panel so all of the IIS settings can be customized as needed.

Here’s a walk-through of adding the additional site through the control panel.

While logged on to your control panel, select My Ecommerce then My Services:

You’ll then see a list of your existing services, one of which should be your Basic Hosting Plan. Click the Upgrade Service button next to that service listing.

The next screen will show the upgrade options for the Basic Hosting Plan. At the top you’ll notice that a domain name purchase option is listed. If you need to purchase a domain name, be sure to select this option. Otherwise you’ll need to use a domain name you already own or you’ll need to purchase a domain name from another provider – and in either of those two cases you’ll need to manage the name server and/or DNS information yourself.

Lower on the screen you’ll see the option for Additional Website. Select this option then determine what payment cycle term you would like to use.

After submitting payment you should be back at your main control panel homepage. With the site purchased, you now need to do a few more steps to actually set it up. There are two paths to choose from here. If you already have a domain purchased elsewhere that you just need to register on the Cytanium servers, click on Domains:

Then click Add Domain on the next screen:

Then click Domain to create a top-level domain:

On the next page you enter the domain name that you already own and that you want linked to the new site. Notice on this screen that there are a few checkboxes. I suggest you leave each one selected. The first tells the control panel to set up the site in IIS for you at the same time that the DNS is updated. The second confirms for the control panel that the Cytanium name servers will be responsible for managing the domain. The third creates an instant alias which is an alternate way to access your site during development or while waiting for any domain name transfers or updates to take place.

After completing this step, you’ll see the additional domain listed in the Domains list:

Click on the WebSites navigation option also now shows two sites set up and ready for management and use:

Okay. I mentioned there were two options to set up the new site. If you already have an additional domain name set up in the control panel (purchased through us or just set up but not assigned to a site) you would (instead of the above) follow these steps…

Click the Web Sites icon and you’ll see your first default site listed. From there click the Create Web Site button:

The Add Web Site dialog shows and presents a drop-down list of any domain names that are already set up in DNS but that aren’t already linked to an existing site. Choose the domain name you want to use for the new site and click the Create Web Site button.

You are then dropped to the main Web Site Properties view for the newly created web site:

Click the Web Sites link and you’ll now see both sites listed, active, and ready for use or further configuration if needed.

The only other thing you might want to do is enable Web Deploy on the site so that you can publish your content using WebMatrix or the Visual Studio tools which is cover in this other blog post.