Domain Name Registration

Subdomains play a part in the way that the internet is organized. They are part of the overall domain name of a website's address, and are hierarchical. For example, the name "order.example.com" has three parts, each separated by a period. The first part is ".com", the second is "example" and the third part is "order". The third part is a subdomain of the second part, and the second part is a subdomain of the first. It's a bit like a Matryoshka doll. For more on how domains are structured, see the topic "What should you know about domains?".

Subdomains are useful for dividing your website into different categories. Here is a quick overview of some of the possible categories and advantages:

Target geographical areas, or language groups.

For example, if your website is in English and Spanish, a subdomain may be used to indicate that this section of your website will be in Spanish, and not English – instead of just domainname.com, es.domainname.com is used. Product-oriented sectionIf your website offers a variety of different services or products, you can create a subdomain for each one, for example: smartphone.domainname.com, or blog.domainname.com.

Gated content

Having a separate subdomain for logins or account pages on your website is a useful way of organizing your site, both for your clients as well as for yourself.

Better tracking

By using a subdomain, you'll be able to track the success of your website more specifically, by being able to see which exact area is doing well and where there's room for improvement.

Importance for SEO

Subdomains are quite a useful tool for SEO, and although subdirectory and subdomain optimization is not as significant for successful SEO as it was a few years ago, it's still worth doing. For example, you can insert keywords into your subdomain URL where they don't make sense in your main one. Furthermore, you can build up your website's authority in a smaller, niche market because subdomains are seen as their own entity. This will help boost the authority of your main domain too. It's helpful to have the option for several subdomains, because several subdomains also increase your chances of being visible in search engine results. IONOS offers 10,000 free subdomains with any domain name registration — a good number to get your website kicked off!

It depends on where you have registered your domain — if you're still researching, it's worth knowing that not every domain registrar will offer this service – sometimes not at all, and sometimes for an extra fee. IONOS offers this service for free, and so if you register a domain, or even a few, with IONOS, you'll have access to a free email account under the same name. For example, if your domain name is mycompany.com, having a customized email address such as myname@mycompany.com is a great way to show your professionalism and give the impression of a well-established, well-organized business.

You can set up your IONOS email address quickly and easily by visiting the IONOS control panel and selecting "create new email user." It's also possible to upgrade your mailbox features here in case you need more than the 2GB complimentary email storage.

It's easy for you to move your domains to IONOS, and you can start enjoying the benefits of our affordable hosting services right away. It's clear that you won't want to lose your unique domain name, or the hard work you've already put into your website — that's why we make every domain name registration or transfer hassle free. Start by selecting a hosting package from our website that best matches your needs, then enter your existing domain name into the domain checker.

At this point, you'll be informed that your domain already exists; simply select "transfer" and then enter the authentication code you'll receive from your former provider.

Make sure you have created backups of all your site's files, plus any databases or email accounts with your former domain provider before you initiate the transfer. This data will not transfer automatically with the domain. You should also copy your previous DNS settings and subdomains with that domain. There's no rush — as an existing IONOS customer you can easily transfer your domain from another provider at any time.

Additional advice Transferring domains to IONOS