Subdomain Or Subdirectory for WordPress Addon blogs

Wordpress subdomain vs subdirectory
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When I started with Shoutmeloud after a while I was looking for option to increase its visibility by adding more category on it, but this may create an issue with existing niche topics and I might get good traffic but lose my niche authority. So I was left with three options :

  • Create a new WordPress blog
  • Create a WordPress blog in subdomains
  • Create a WordPress blog in Sub directory

Now I will discus issue, problems and solution :

Create a new WordPress blog

Major problem is with this option is branding from scratch and above all I need to work from starting to promote this blog. Obviously this will be an issue as I need to spend more time for these blogs. Probably I might end up sailing on two different boats and might end up not promoting my current and new blogs.

SubDirectory or Subdomain

Subdirectory : A subdirectory will be something like Shoutmeloud.com/iPhone

subdomains : A subdomains will be something like iphone.shoutmeloud.com

Obviously, I was not sure which one is best at that time and I went with different blog and I guess it was a wrong decision for me. Anyways, this post might help you and will help you not to make such mistakes which I did for my new blogs.

I was reading Matt Cutt Article on this topic and that gave me enough insight and which i can share with you.

subdomains

You need a subdomains only if your content is different from your current niche. That is if you have a blog on technology and you would like to write for entertainment. You should go for something like

www.shoutmeloud.com

entertainment.shoutmeloud com

Subdirectories

In case if you planning to add a different blog on particular topic related to your niche, suppose WordPress Theme.

You can have something like :

Home

Subscribe on YouTube

Remember WordPressThemes is a different directory or sub directory in your domain. This will help you to get more authority in your domain.

This is especially good for businesses , who have a static website, and they want to start with a blog, instead of going for blog.company you can go for company.com/blog.

I believe I have made things clear to you, in case if you have questions, feel free to ask me.

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Authored By
A Blogger, Author and a speaker! Harsh Agrawal is recognized as a leader in digital marketing and FinTech space. Fountainhead of ShoutMeLoud, and a Speaker at ASW, Hero Mindmine, Inorbit, IBM, India blockchain summit. Also, an award-winning blogger.

21 thoughts on “Subdomain Or Subdirectory for WordPress Addon blogs”

  1. Naman Dwivedi

    hi harsh, i have a website, and i want to serve Hindi and English Both Content on the same subject, so please let me know what would be better, hindi.mysite.com or mysite.com/hindi, and also please let me know how can i make a sub directory on my word press blog

    1. Harsh Agrawal

      @Naman
      I would recommend have a new domain mysitehindi.com or if you want to use the same domain, then go for hindi.mysite.com

  2. Hello, do you know if there is any limitations on how many subdirectory can one create in wordpress on shared hosting using ehost?

    I have a new lifestyle magazine blog. My key categories is wellness which include food nutrition, workout, health, green living topics and which i will have an eshop selling organic product on woocommerce.
    I plan to create a subdirectory for another category on travel blog. So when reader click on travel it will go to a new team with travel articles, search, travel videos and travel eshop.
    I also plan to create another subdirectory on Home Decor, it will have topics on home design, improvement diy, and will include an eshop. This eshop is selling my personal new decor handmade products.

    I do not want to get new domain and hosting due to costs and time on rebranding and social media mktg etc
    Any idea if this is possible?

    Thank you

  3. Fani

    Thank you for sharing this topic Harsh..
    I read this article when I confuse to choose whether subdomain or subdirectory. This help me … Once again, thank you so much 🙂

  4. Abhijit Guha

    Hi Harsh bro, I need a suggestion from you.
    I have a tech blog, android – iOS – Computer these are the base of my site.

    Now because I have interest in blogging, I want to start a blog where I will write about GENESIS framework customization.

    So I wanna know if it is good to start a new blog, a sub domain or sub directory ?

    1. Harsh Agrawal

      @Abhijit
      I would recommend get a new domain and start there.

  5. Otel

    Simple and to the point.
    The question whether to add sub-directory or sub-domain came up in my mind when I needed 4 years back. At that time, I was able to make my decision by reading through Matt’s blog. Now in 2013, after 4 years gap in my SEO career, I encountered with the same question. So, when I search for this issue in search I skipped the Matt’s link and arrived here. I guess nothing have changed during that period and now I will go with sub-directory as my blog will be related to the same as main domain.
    Thanks.

  6. Sawboo

    I am about to start a new site with wordpress MU. I plan to have buddypress enabled.

    I was going to have subdomains enabled and have the main site be about one topic and have subdomains of different topics. Will buddpress work with all this as long as I use bp themes? It won’t matter if I use subdomains or subdirectories?

    Also, when I add a subdomain to my site for a different topic like classifieds.my-site.com, instead of my-site.com/classifieds, will I be able to have the classifieds theme in the subdomain, then add a few more themes to that subdomain and put them in a subdirectories…..meaning… classifieds.my-site.com/services, classifieds.my-site.com/blog, etc?

    Just wondering how I can mix up the subdomain and subdirectories so I can install themes for different topics, then install themes in subfolders for the same topic.

    Is is possible. Can’t find a plugin for it..

  7. Noticias de Bogota

    I believe the following to be correct:

    A subdomain will access files in a directory.
    subdomain1.domain.com => domain.com/subdomain1

    Since a directory = category in WP, I have a question:

    Won ´t all subdomain=directory automatically be realized
    if I create a subdomain with a domain name directory=category
    in WP?

  8. Tech Buzz

    i have a main site and i am thinking to start a blog like mainsite.com/supportingblog
    supporting blog will be useful for interlinking the main site pages so that will be better for main site indexing & seo purpose

    wat do u say ?

  9. Nihar

    It means hosting a new blog under directory is better than subdomain.

    1. TechOfWeb

      I wud always prefer to get new domain instead of in subdomain or subdirectory..the reason being soon going to elaborate in one of my coming posts 🙂

  10. Chethan

    I think, Focusing on one single niche is enough.. if we choose to write on different niche under different subdomains or subdirectory… we must take care that each blog is updated regularly..

  11. Rahul

    Hi, harsh nice article. I think making monster blog using sub domains or sub directory will give you authority. Don’t know which is easy. But, i will use sub directories for sure.
    About.com is one example. This domain dominates in various niches these days. It has sub domains for various topics.

    1. Harsh Agrawal

      Rahul Sub Directories are easy to manage though it depends on for what purpose you need a blog, that actually decide either you need a sub-directory or sub-domain.

  12. Jaspal

    good post .. just wanted to know is it possible to create subdomains with same control panels in wordpress .. is there any plugin regarding it or any hack which is to be done ..

    the subdomain thing is really a good option and as matt cutts says it improves credibility of site..

    1. Harsh Agrawal

      Jaspal I use Dreamhost for my hosting and in my cpanel I can install wordpress in subdomain with single click. I have to check with other hosting to give you the correct info.

      1. Jaspal

        Harsh .. i think you got me wrong .. i am not asking about installing a wordpress in sub-doamin or sub-directory . I was asking that .. if i have two wordpress installed .. one on main domain and one at sub-domain .. can these two have SAME wp-admin or wordpress control panel …… so i can blog from one panel and can post on both domains (sub-domain) ..

        thnx

        1. Harsh Agrawal

          Jaspal in that case you should consider Installing wordpress MU , I have not worked with WordPress MU personally, but I guess that will fulfill the requirement.

  13. Webmaster Forum UK

    Nicely explained Harsh! + rep added 🙂
    If you are starting a new project in a completely different niche, itâ„¢s obvious that you should buy a new domain and host it as an add-on domain
    However, if you use a sub-domain you can choose to put the blog on a completely different platform or server. Subdomain is free and itâ„¢s technically as flexible as a new domain, but subdirectory is the simplest option for website structuring..

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