Hosting multiple websites with a virtual domain

Setting multiple domains on a single server is a very commonly asked question. In fact, it is very easy to do this with virtual host. In this recipe, we will set up two domains on a single server and set up a sub-domain as well. We will also look at IP-based virtual hosts.

Getting ready

You will need access to a root account or an account with sudo privileges.

You will need the Apache server installed and working. This recipe describes configuration for Apache version 2.4

You may need a DNS set up if you want to access configured domains over the Internet.

We will set up two domains, namely example1.dom and example2.com, and a sub-domain, dev.example1.com.

How to do it…

Follow these steps to host multiple websites with a virtual domain:

1. Change the directory to /var/www and create a directory structure for the required domains and sub-domain. Also create a blank index.html for each domain:

   $ cd /var/www
   $ sudo mkdir -p example1.com/public_html...