What Is Subdomain?

A subdomain is a prefix added to a domain name that creates a separate address within the same domain hierarchy — for example, blog.example.com or shop.example.com. Subdomains are set up as DNS records under the parent domain.

Why It Matters

Subdomains let you create distinct sections of your web presence under a single domain: blog.example.com, shop.example.com, support.example.com. Each subdomain can point to a different server, service, or application.

For domain forwarding, subdomains are important because:

The www prefix is itself a subdomain
After a rebrand, you need to forward not just the apex domain but all subdomains
Wildcard forwarding can catch all subdomains in one rule

How It Works

Subdomains are created by adding DNS records. To create blog.example.com, you add a CNAME or A record for blog in your domain’s DNS zone.

Unlike apex domains, subdomains can freely use CNAME records because they don’t share the name with required SOA/NS records.

Common Use Cases for Subdomain Forwarding

www to apex (or vice versa): Ensure www.example.com and example.com both work
Post-rebrand cleanup: Forward *.old-brand.com to the new domain
Service consolidation: Forward blog.example.com to example.com/blog
Regional subdomains: Forward uk.example.com to example.com/uk

How Domain Forward Handles This

Domain Forward lets you configure forwarding rules for individual subdomains or use wildcard forwarding (Ultimate plan) to catch all subdomains at once. Each subdomain gets its own SSL certificate provisioned automatically.

Related Features

Dns Setup Wildcard Forwarding