digitalMAMMOTH


Multiple Website Hosting - Subdomains are the Answer!


Many business owners find themselves in a quandary over the ways to make the most of their company's web site. This is especially true of those who have the need to maintain more than one web site but do not wish to pay for multiple hosting accounts. If this is you, a subdomain may be the answer.

Subdomains are sort of a site within a site. They are not, however, simply additional pages of an existing web site. The subdomain can have a web site all its own, completely separate from the site located at the main domain name.

To understand the use and purpose of subdomains, it may be necessary to first understand the concept of an internet domain name. Every web site that is active on the internet (and there are literally billions of them now - it was estimated as long ago as 1996 that there were more web pages in existence than there were people on Earth) has a unique domain name. There can be only one Ebay dot com, for example, on the entire internet. The domain name, however, is really just a way for humans to relate to the site. Internet servers see web site names as unique I.P. addresses. It is the domain name server that translates those numbers into names and back again.

A subdomain is simply an offshoot of your web site's domain. In terms of the way it appears on the server, the subdomain is simply a folder or a sub directory located within your domain's root directory. Any sub directory can serve as a sub domain. For example, if your web site is "www.mycompany.com" and you store the images for your site in a directory called "images," then you could, if you wished, create a subdomain at "images.mycompany.com". As long as you put an "index.html" page in the folder you should be able to pull it up in a web browser that way. In most cases you will create a new sub directory to be associated with a subdomain and some web hosts do not support subdomains on their servers or put a limit on the number of subdomains you may associate with your site.

The benefits of using subdomains as opposed to opening multiple hosting accounts are twofold. First, you get the obvious benefit of only having to pay for one hosting account. You also benefit from being able to have a completely separate web site, but one that your customers will easily recognize as being associated in some way with your business. Some companies will set up subdomains for various divisions (xyz.com may also have sales.xyz.com or support.xyz.com) and some will use subdomains for various businesses that are all offshoots of the same parent company.

That association could be a downside to using subdomains as well. If you want to keep the relationship between your companies under wraps (like Disney tried so hard to do with Touchstone Pictures so many years ago), you may want to use multiple accounts rather than subdomains. The web address clandestineproducts.megamall.com would clearly betray that there was some connection between Clandestine Products and Megamall, whether you wanted that information to be known or not.

John Michaels is a freelance author for WebHostPacks.com where he regularly publishes articles on how to find a cheap web host and reviews of low cost web hosting services.


MORE RESOURCES:

Web Hosting Provider, DreamHost, Debuts New Year Discounts
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - 7 hours ago
It is the web hosting branch of New Dream Network, LLC, founded in April 1996 by Dallas Bethune, Josh Jones, Michael Rodriguez and Sage Weil, ...


Web Hosting Data Center, Self-Repairing Automation Solution, Debuts
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - 6 hours ago
Oslo, Norway - (The Hosting News) - January 7, 2009 - Recently formed support company Cfengine AS, has released a major upgrade of the Open Source, ...


DemoDemo.com Launches Monthly Subscriptions for Web Hosting Tutorials
HostSearch.com - Jan 6, 2009
COM) – DemoDemo.com has launched monthly subscriptions for web hosting tutorials, it was announced recently. The Canadian company, which bills itself as ...
DemoDemo Launches Monthly Subscriptions Web Host Industry Review
DemoDemo.com Launches Monthly Subscription Tutorials MyHostNews.com (press release)
all 3 news articles


Web Hosting Provider, The Planet, Premieres Migration Promotion
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Jan 6, 2009
Houston, Texas - (The Hosting News) - January 6, 2009 - Privately held dedicated web hosting company, The Planet, has released a new promotion, ...


Web Hosting Application Security Upgraded, at FireHost
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Jan 6, 2009
FireHost, Inc. is based in Dallas, Texas and focuses on delivering enterprise quality fast and secure managed web hosting to SMBs. ...


Web Hosting Provider JBW Series Hosting Solution Boosts Reseller Plans
HostSearch.com - Jan 6, 2009
COM) – Web hosting provider JBW Series Hosting Solution has announced a boost in the resources available through its reseller web hosting plans, ...


Web Hosting Small Business Platform Enhancements, at Cbeyond
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Jan 6, 2009
Atlanta, Georgia - (The Hosting News) - January 6, 2009 - Web hosting and managed integrated VoIP services provider, Cbeyond, has released a new Enhanced ...


Web Hosting Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Instituted, at Host ...
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Jan 6, 2009
Union City, New Jersey - (The Hosting News) - January 6, 2009 - Web hosting provider, Host Department, has debuted the launch of its upgraded Microsoft SQL ...


Web Hosting Provider, Host Color, Debuts VPS Plesk 9.0
WebSite Host Directory (press release), OR - Jan 5, 2009
South Bend, Indiana - (Website Hosting Directory) - January 5, 2009 - Web hosting provider, Host Color, has unveiled the launch of its Plesk 9.0 web hosting ...


Verizon Web Hosting Provider, Expands Global Government Network
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Jan 6, 2009
Basking Ridge, New Jersey - (The Hosting News) - January 6, 2009 - Web host and Internet solutions firm, Verizon Business, has expanded and improved its ...

Web-Hosting - Google News

home | site map
© 2006