Adding and Managing Domains

📌 Purpose & Quick Summary

The Domain Management center allows you to add, configure, and manage all websites and VirtualHosts associated with your account. BoostonCP provides an enterprise-grade domain ledger where you can provision top-level domains, subdomains, configure custom document roots, assign isolated PHP versions, toggle web server backends, and monitor active SSL certificates with zero downtime.

Figure 4: Active domain ledger showing domain names, document root paths, PHP versions, and quick action controls.

🖥️ Interface Tour & Elements

1. Search & Filter Bar: Located above the domain ledger, allowing you to instantly search across your active domains by name or extension.
2. Add Domain Button: Prominent action button at the top-right that launches the Add New Domain modal.
3. Active Domains Ledger Table:
   • Domain Name: Displays the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) with direct link icons.
   • Root Directory: The absolute path on disk (e.g. /home/user/public_html or /home/user/subdomain.domain.com) where website files reside.
   • PHP Version: Current PHP runtime version assigned to the domain (e.g. PHP 8.2, PHP 8.3).
   • Web Server Engine: The active webserver architecture handling requests (Host Nginx, Apache 8080, or OpenLiteSpeed 8081).
   • SSL Badge: Visual badge indicating whether Let's Encrypt or custom SSL is active, expiring, or uninstalled.
   • Action Buttons: Direct controls to open the Manage Domain Studio modal or safely delete the VirtualHost.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Adding a New Domain

1. In the sidebar, click Domains (icon: fa-globe).
2. Click the Add New Domain button in the top-right corner.
3. In the modal dialog that appears:
   • Domain Name: Enter your domain name without http:// or www (e.g. mybusiness.com).
   • Document Root: The system automatically suggests /public_html/mybusiness.com. You may customize this path if needed.
   • PHP Version: Select your preferred PHP runtime from the dropdown (e.g. PHP 8.2 (Recommended)).
4. Click Create Domain. The backend provisions the Nginx vhost, sets directory permissions, and refreshes the ledger within seconds.

Figure 4.1: Add Domain modal for entering domain name, document root directory, and PHP version.

Step 2: Accessing Domain Management Studio

1. Locate your domain in the ledger table.
2. Click the Manage button (or settings gear icon) in the right-hand Actions column.
3. The Domain Studio modal opens, providing 14 modular tabs for advanced domain management.

Step 3: Deleting a Domain

1. In the Actions column, click the Delete button (trash icon).
2. Review the confirmation prompt carefully.
3. Choose whether to retain or purge the underlying directory files.
4. Click Confirm Delete to decommission the VirtualHost.

⚙️ Complete Field & Parameter Reference Table

❓ Troubleshooting & Common Errors

1. Error: "Domain already exists on this server"

• Cause: The domain name is already assigned to another user account on the BoostonCP node or configured as an alias.
• Solution: Verify if the domain is listed under your subdomains, aliases, or another user account. Remove the conflict before re-adding.

2. Website Displays "403 Forbidden" Immediately After Creation

• Cause: The document root directory does not contain an index.php or index.html file, or directory permissions are incorrect.
• Solution: Open the File Manager, navigate to the domain's document root, and ensure an index file exists with standard file permissions (0644 for files, 0755 for folders).