Subdomains: what are they and why should you care? After all, you’ve already chosen your domain name, and you shouldn’t have to stress about the rest, right? Well, sure, but if you really want to optimise your web potential, these handy little URL subsections work wonders for your online campaign!
Here, we are going to talk about this nifty little extension additions and how they can amplify your website’s online potential:
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But first, What are Subdomains?
When it comes to securing first class business domain names, you want quality subdomains to help users navigate to other parts of your website. You can have as many subdomains as you need to help users reach other parts of your website.
For example, you might run a gallery that hosts exhibitions but also sells merchandise (think art prints!). Your gallery’s web address reads mirandagallery.com. To sell your prints you would need an ecommerce page with a title store.mirandagallery.com.
Therefore, the “store” part is your subdomain, whilst “mirandagallery” is your actual domain name and the .com is the site’s top-level domain (TLD). You can choose whatever you like for your subdomain, but in the context of an online store it is definitely best to choose a word like store or shop.
Why you Might Need a Subdomain
Subdomains are especially useful for business owners testing new or updated versions of their website. You can easily install online platforms on your subdomain and manage them as a separate website whilst testing it out. You can even test your plugins and updates on your subdomain website to see if they are effective before adding them to your actual website.
When testing with subdomains, the extension will likely be something that Internet users can’t actually search, especially if you don’t want them to see that content before it’s ready. They can be used as hidden pages that allow you to test new content, features and plugins without the fear of prematurely sharing them with users.
How to Utilise Your Subdomain
A subdomain is an integral part of every website but is considered separate from the main website. Therefore, you can use them to organise and update your website without search engines like Google being able to index certain site elements.
Website owners typically use subdomains to separate a section of their website from the main site. This is because certain website sections (like stores or blogs) might require their own content hierarchy so that it can be properly organised with the most important web content at the top.
You can Even Sell Subdomains
There are many savvy Internet investors who have made a good trade out of selling subdomains. But how? They simply buy high quality domain names before selling the registrations to the subdomains.
Content management systems like WordPress enlist similar techniques through allowing users to produce their own profiles with unique subdomains and for this reason you will always find a subdomain within a WordPress web address.
So, are They for You?
If you have a website that has plenty of content that needs organising then subdomains are a great option for you. What’s more, when used correctly they can be a highly efficient tool for climbing the SEO rankings. Finally, they allow you to test website elements before publishing them to your site, making them a necessary tool for updating and organising your website!
