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A '''subdomain''', occasionally referred to as a "canonical," and sometimes called a "third-level" domain, is another [[URL]] address that can be created instead of a [[Web site]] [[subdirectory]]. Whereas, a particular web page domain is a folder that contains the site files; a subdirectory is a folder contained within this main folder. A subdomain, on the other hand, is basically an alias, as any [[Internet]] user can enter the subdomain in a [[Browser|browser's address bar]] to view the subdirectory with which it's associated.
A subdomain combines a unique identifier with a domain name to become essentially a "domain within a domain." The unique identifier simply replaces the "www" in the web address. [[Yahoo!]], for example, uses subdomains such as mail.yahoo.com and music.yahoo.com to reference its mail and music services, under the umbrella of www.yahoo.com.<ref>[http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/smallbusiness/domains/subdomains/subdomains-01.html What are subdomains?], ''Yahoo!''</ref>
==Unique identifier==
This table shows the structure of a subdomain.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! http:// !! '''subdomain''' !! '''.''' !! '''domain''' !! '''.''' !! '''com'''
|-
| 3rd level || || 2nd level || || 1st level
|-
|}
The logic is that ".com" is the first level domain, "[[Conservapedia]]" (etc.) is the second level, and "www" or "http://" is therefore the third level. Thus, the domain name "conservapedia.com" is therefore a "real" domain name; however, "encyclopedia.conservapedia.com" would be a subdomain.
==Machine names==
Subdomains are sometimes used to identify individual computers, each having an [[IP address]] of its own. In that case, the term "machine name" is sometimes used instead of "subdomain." For instance, a company could have two servers called "marketing.somefirm.com" and "accounting.somefirm.com." The two computers would serve different departments, and contain different information, but share the same domain name.<ref name=info>[http://www.forbeginners.info/web-hosting/subdomains.htm Subdomains], ''Web Hosting''</ref>
==Organizational tool==
In most cases subdomains are used to organize information with a [[website]]. For example, an on-line shop could use the subdomains "books.onlineshop.com," and "clothing.onlineshop.com," etc., to store related information together. An excellent example of a site that uses subdomains for this purpose is ''About.com''.
A Web site that uses subdomains could have used subdirectories, for example "about.com/antiques/" instead of "antiques.about.com." But the use of subdomains allows for a company or the host of a domain to more easily move a topic to a dedicated [[computer]] if it turns out to be very [[popular]]. The larger a site is, the more likely this "scalability" could be an important benefit and factor for using subdomains over subdirectories. For smaller sites, however, subdirectories work fine; it may not need the two-hundred or more subdomains included in a hosting package. Subdomains are available only in [[Web Hosting]] and Merchant Solutions plans.
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Websites]]
A subdomain combines a unique identifier with a domain name to become essentially a "domain within a domain." The unique identifier simply replaces the "www" in the web address. [[Yahoo!]], for example, uses subdomains such as mail.yahoo.com and music.yahoo.com to reference its mail and music services, under the umbrella of www.yahoo.com.<ref>[http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/smallbusiness/domains/subdomains/subdomains-01.html What are subdomains?], ''Yahoo!''</ref>
==Unique identifier==
This table shows the structure of a subdomain.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! http:// !! '''subdomain''' !! '''.''' !! '''domain''' !! '''.''' !! '''com'''
|-
| 3rd level || || 2nd level || || 1st level
|-
|}
The logic is that ".com" is the first level domain, "[[Conservapedia]]" (etc.) is the second level, and "www" or "http://" is therefore the third level. Thus, the domain name "conservapedia.com" is therefore a "real" domain name; however, "encyclopedia.conservapedia.com" would be a subdomain.
==Machine names==
Subdomains are sometimes used to identify individual computers, each having an [[IP address]] of its own. In that case, the term "machine name" is sometimes used instead of "subdomain." For instance, a company could have two servers called "marketing.somefirm.com" and "accounting.somefirm.com." The two computers would serve different departments, and contain different information, but share the same domain name.<ref name=info>[http://www.forbeginners.info/web-hosting/subdomains.htm Subdomains], ''Web Hosting''</ref>
==Organizational tool==
In most cases subdomains are used to organize information with a [[website]]. For example, an on-line shop could use the subdomains "books.onlineshop.com," and "clothing.onlineshop.com," etc., to store related information together. An excellent example of a site that uses subdomains for this purpose is ''About.com''.
A Web site that uses subdomains could have used subdirectories, for example "about.com/antiques/" instead of "antiques.about.com." But the use of subdomains allows for a company or the host of a domain to more easily move a topic to a dedicated [[computer]] if it turns out to be very [[popular]]. The larger a site is, the more likely this "scalability" could be an important benefit and factor for using subdomains over subdirectories. For smaller sites, however, subdirectories work fine; it may not need the two-hundred or more subdomains included in a hosting package. Subdomains are available only in [[Web Hosting]] and Merchant Solutions plans.
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Websites]]