Wondering how to add special character domain names in cPanel? We can help you with it.

Recently, one of our customers was trying to add a new DNS zone that contains a special character. But he received the following error.

The domain you have specified does not conform to domain name rules

These are IDN’s and we should use the ACE codes for the domain names.

An Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) is a domain name that may contain characters that are not defined by the ASCII standard. These characters are, the common accented letters in many European languages​​, as well as other characters that do not belong to the Latin alphabet, including Arabic or Cyrillic.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such cPanel-related installations as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today we’ll see how to add special character domain names in cPanel.

How we add special character domain names in cPanel

Now let’s take a look at how our Support Engineers add special characters to the domain name.

Usually, it is not possible to add special characters in domains in cPanel. Because it will result in the error mentioned above.

In order to resolve this, we need to convert the domain name to ASCII before adding it to WHM. Here are the steps for it.

Step 1: IDN to ASCII conversion

First, we need to convert domains from IDN to ASCII.

For example, suppose that the domain name to be added is bobcarés.com.

IDN: bobcarés.com
ASCII: xn--bobcars-gya.com

Step 2: Add the ASCII domain name to cPanel or WHM

Add the domain name in WHM:

1. If it is the first domain on the server, then first, we need to create a package. Here are the steps to create a package.

• First, we navigate to Add a Package
• Next, we select Package Name
• After that, we create Resource Limitations

  Disk Quota (MB)
  Monthly Bandwidth (MB)
  Max FTP Accounts
  Max Email Accounts
  Max Email Lists
  Max Databases
  Max Sub Domains
  Max Parked Domains
  Max Addon Domains
  Maximum Hourly Email by Domain Relayed
  Maximum percentage of failed or deferred messaged a domain may send per hour

• Finally, under Settings: This is where we can specify if we want the package to have a dedicated IP, offer shell access (SSH), cPanel access (CGI), or Digest Authentication. Typically we can leave the Settings as default.

2. After creating a package, we go to Account Functions >> Create a New Account
3. Then we fill all required fields (Domain, username, choose a strong password, and Email)
4. After that, we choose a pre-defined package or click on ‘Select Options Manually’ to allocate disk space, traffic, and other features to the new domain/account.
5. Finally, we click on ‘Create’.

Add domain names in cPanel:

1. First, we log into hosting cPanel.
2. Next, we click on Addon Domains that is located under the Domains section.
3. Here we enter the domain in the ‘New Domain Name’ section.
4. After entering the domain, we click The Subdomain field and the Document Root (usually public_html/domain.com) will automatically fill in. Check “Create an FTP account associated with this Addon Domain” if we want an FTP added. The FTP account would only have access to that specific Addon domain.
5. Finally, we click Add Domain.

[Need any further assistance with cPanel queries? – We are here to help you]

Conclusion

Today, we saw how our Support Engineers add special character to domain names in cPanel