Domains
This page is about the domains attached to a specific site and their per-domain SSL. To manage a domain's DNS records through a connected DNS provider, see Domains.
Introduction
Every site in Vito is reachable through one or more hosted domains. The domain you enter when creating a site becomes its primary domain, and you can attach additional domains to the same site at any time, either as aliases or as redirects.
Each domain has its own DNS resolution status and its own SSL configuration, and Vito keeps the webserver vhost in sync as you add, change, or remove domains.
Domain types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Primary | The site's main domain, set when the site is created. It cannot be deleted or deactivated. |
| Alias | Serves the same site content under another domain (e.g. www.example.com shows example.com). |
| Redirect | Sends visitors to the primary domain via an HTTP redirect (e.g. old.example.com to example.com). |
Adding a domain
From the site's Domains page, click Add Domain and fill in:
- Domain - the hostname to add, for example
sub.example.com. - Type - Alias or Redirect (see above).
- SSL - how the domain's certificate is handled (see SSL per domain).
A domain must be unique per server. Vito will reject a domain that is already in use by another site on the same server.
DNS validation
When you add a domain, Vito checks that it actually resolves to the server before activating it.
A domain that does not yet point at the server is held in a pending state and flagged on the site, rather than being activated with a configuration that would not work. Vito automatically re-checks pending domains every 5 minutes for the first 24 hours, activating them as soon as they resolve.
You do not have to wait for the scheduled check. From the UI you can validate the domain on demand: if it now resolves to the server, the domain activates immediately and the pending warning clears.
Domain status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| creating | The domain is being set up on the server. |
| updating | A change to the domain is being applied. |
| pending | The domain does not yet resolve to the server. |
| active | The domain resolves and is serving traffic. |
| inactive | The domain has been deactivated and is not served. |
| deleting | The domain is being removed. |
Validation behind a proxy
If your server sits behind a proxy or load balancer, a plain DNS-to-IP check is not always enough.
For these cases Vito performs an HTTP/HTTPS challenge: it writes a short-lived token and serves it
from /.well-known/vito on the site, then fetches that path over each address the domain resolves
to and confirms the response matches.
The challenge is signed with your instance's APP_KEY, so another Vito installation cannot spoof
ownership of your domain.
SSL per domain
Each domain can have its own SSL method:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Disabled | No SSL is configured for the domain. |
| Generate Let's Encrypt Certificate | Vito issues and manages a Let's Encrypt certificate for the domain. |
| Custom Certificate | Use an existing server-level certificate, including wildcards. |
When you choose Custom Certificate, Vito lists only the server-level certificates that match the domain you entered. Server-level and wildcard certificates are managed from the server's SSL settings.
Wildcard Let's Encrypt certificates are renewed automatically when they are within 30 days of expiry, provided the domain is still reachable through a configured DNS provider. Let's Encrypt certificates issued per domain also auto-renew, and Vito keeps the recorded expiry date in sync.
The available SSL methods depend on the webserver. Some webservers manage certificates differently, so the options shown reflect what that webserver supports.
Activating and deactivating domains
You can deactivate a non-primary domain to temporarily stop serving it without deleting it, and reactivate it later. The primary domain cannot be deactivated.
Deleting a domain
Non-primary domains can be deleted from the Domains page. A domain cannot be deleted while it is still assigned to a server-level (for example, wildcard) SSL certificate. Remove the assignment first, then delete the domain.
VHost generation
Adding, changing, or removing domains regenerates the site's vhost from its template. In v4.x the vhost is rendered with Mustache rather than Blade.
On sites that existed before upgrading to v4.x, vhost generation is disabled by default so the upgrade does not overwrite a working configuration. You must review and enable the new template per site before Vito will regenerate the vhost. See Custom VHost Configuration for details, and the site Settings page to preview and enable the new template.