{"id":1265,"date":"2017-03-21T19:56:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T14:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2026-09-17T14:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:30:31","slug":"setup-serveralias-ngnix-webserveralias-domain-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/setup-serveralias-ngnix-webserveralias-domain-name\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Configure Multiple Domain Names in Nginx Using Server Name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When multiple domain names need to point to the same website or document root, Nginx can be configured to respond to all of those domain names using the server_name<\/code> directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Apache, the ServerAlias<\/code> directive is commonly used for this purpose. Nginx does not use a separate ServerAlias<\/code> directive. Instead, multiple domain names can be specified in the same server_name<\/code> directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will configure both the root domain and its www<\/code> version to serve the same website from the same Nginx server block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before proceeding, ensure that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Nginx is installed on the server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. You have root or sudo access.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The domain names point to the Nginx server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. You have access to the Nginx virtual host configuration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The website document root is already configured.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For example, the following domains will be configured:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    domain.tld\nwww.domain.tld<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Both domains will use the same Nginx server configuration and document root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Step 1: Open the Nginx Configuration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    If the default Nginx configuration is being used, open:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    vi \/etc\/nginx\/sites-available\/default<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    If your website has a separate Nginx configuration file, open the corresponding configuration instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Step 2: Configure Multiple Domain Names<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Locate the existing server_name<\/code> directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name _;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Replace it with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The complete server block may look similar to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server {\n    listen 80;\n    listen [::]:80;\n\n    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld;\n\n    root \/var\/www\/html;\n    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;\n\n    location \/ {\n        try_files $uri $uri\/ =404;\n    }\n}<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The important configuration is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    This tells Nginx to use the same server block when a request is made for either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    domain.tld<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    or:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    www.domain.tld<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Adding Multiple Domain Names<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Multiple domain names can be specified within the same server_name<\/code> directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld example.com www.example.com;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    All of these names can use the same server block and document root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Step 3: Test the Nginx Configuration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Before applying the changes, check the Nginx configuration for syntax errors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    nginx -t<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    A successful test should return output similar to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    syntax is ok\ntest is successful<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    If the configuration test reports an error, correct the configuration before reloading Nginx.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Step 4: Reload Nginx<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    After successfully testing the configuration, reload Nginx:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    service nginx reload<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Alternatively, on systems using systemd<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    systemctl reload nginx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    A reload applies the configuration changes without requiring a full service restart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Verification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Open the configured domains in a browser:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    http:\/\/domain.tld<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    http:\/\/www.domain.tld<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Both requests should be handled by the same Nginx server block and serve content from the configured document root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You can also verify the DNS records to ensure that both domain names resolve to the correct Nginx server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Note: Alias vs Redirect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Configuring multiple names in server_name<\/code> means Nginx can serve the same website for both domain names. It does not<\/strong> automatically redirect one domain to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    allows both names to serve the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    If the requirement is to redirect www.domain.tld<\/code> to domain.tld<\/code>, or the other way around, a separate Nginx server block with a return 301<\/code> redirect should be configured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Nginx does not use the Apache ServerAlias<\/code> directive. Instead, multiple domain names can be configured using the server_name<\/code> directive within an Nginx server block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    In this example, we configured domain.tld<\/code> and www.domain.tld<\/code> to use the same Nginx configuration and document root. We also verified the configuration using nginx -t<\/code> and reloaded Nginx to apply the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    1. Does Nginx support the ServerAlias<\/code> directive?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Nginx does not use Apache’s ServerAlias<\/code> directive. Multiple domain names can be specified using the server_name<\/code> directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    2. How do I configure both www and non-www domains?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Add both domain names to the same server_name<\/code> directive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    3. Can I add multiple domains to one Nginx server block?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Yes. Multiple domain names can be specified in the same server_name<\/code> directive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server_name domain.tld www.domain.tld example.com www.example.com;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    4. How do I check whether the Nginx configuration is valid?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Run:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    nginx -t<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    5. Do I need to restart Nginx after changing the configuration?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    A reload is generally sufficient:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    systemctl reload nginx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    or:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    service nginx reload<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    6. Will configuring multiple domain names automatically redirect www to non-www?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    No. server_name<\/code> allows Nginx to serve requests for multiple names. A separate redirect configuration is required if you want one hostname to redirect to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Related Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n