WordPress Blog Setup for CommercePad

WordPress Blog Setup via Softaculous (cPanel)

Main Domain: domain.com
Blog URL: www.domain.com/blog/
Subdomain: blog.domain.com

1. Add DNS Record for Subdomain

Before doing anything in cPanel, make sure the subdomain points to your hosting server:

• Go to your DNS Zone Manager (domain registrar or cPanel → Zone Editor).
• Add an A Record:
  • Name: blog.domain.com
  • Type: A
  • Value: your hosting server’s IP Address

👉 After propagation, blog.domain.com will point to your hosting account.

2. Create Subdomain in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Go to Domains → Subdomains.
3. Create a subdomain:
   • Subdomain: blog.domain.com
   • Root Directory: public_html

👉 This ensures blog.domain.com points to your hosting root.

3. Install WordPress Using Softaculous

1. In cPanel, go to Softaculous Apps Installer → WordPress.
2. Click Install Now.
3. Choose settings:
   • Choose Domain: select your main domain domain.com (not the subdomain).
   • In Directory: enter blog
     (this means WordPress will be installed in public_html/blog).
4. Fill out site details, admin user, password, and email.
5. Click Install.

✔ WordPress is now installed at domain.com/blog.

4. Update WordPress URLs

Once installation finishes:

1. Log in to WordPress Dashboard → Settings → General. Or You can update via database in wp-options table
2. Update:
   • WordPress Address (URL): https://www.domain.com/blog
   • Site Address (URL): https://www.domain.com/blog
3. Save changes.

5. Replace .htaccess in Root (public_html)

Go to public_html/.htaccess and replace with:

# BEGIN WordPress
# Custom redirect: Force all traffic to /blog

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /

# Redirect everything except already in /blog
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/blog/
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?domain\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /blog/$1 [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

6. Modify wp-blog-header.php in /blog

Open public_html/blog/wp-blog-header.php and replace with:

This code is for custom redirect logic: Ensures all traffic goes to https://www.domain.com/blog

<?php
/**
 * Loads the WordPress environment and template.
 *
 * @package WordPress
 */

if ( ! isset( $wp_did_header ) ) {

	$wp_did_header = true;

	// Load the WordPress library.
	require_once __DIR__ . '/wp-load.php';
	

	$path = str_replace("/blog","",$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
	
	if($_SERVER['HTTP_X_ACCESS_FROM_SUBDOMAIN'] == null || $_SERVER['HTTP_X_ACCESS_FROM_SUBDOMAIN'] != "true")
	{
		header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
		header("Location: https://www.domain.com/blog{$path}"); 
		exit;
	}

	// Set up the WordPress query.
	wp();

	// Load the theme template.
	require_once ABSPATH . WPINC . '/template-loader.php';

}

✅ Final Behavior

• domain.com/blog → 301 redirect → www.domain.com/blog
• blog.domain.com → 301 redirect → www.domain.com/blog
• www.domain.com/blog → ✅ Blog loads correctly