There's a lot of terminology flying around regarding domains. It can be hard to keep up.

You should know about add-on domains and subdomains though - because We Recommend Them. They can be incredibly helpful for your website - particularly if you want to do some tricky things, or want to make the most out of your hosting package.

An add-on domain is basically a 'website within a website'. It allows you to create a subfolder in your account, in which you can store website files for a whole other website from your main one. Best of all, if someone visits that website - they'll NEVER KNOW that they are actually visiting the same account as your main website.

For example - you have a hosting package set up with us. You have a domain name for your account - bigwidgets.ca, and you upload all your files - the website looks glorious, and all your friends think you're neat. There might be a party - influential people, more business opportunities. Awesome.

You have an idea for another business though - and so you register a new domain name - summerhockey.ca. You have some website files ready to go - but you don't want another hosting package.

Enter the Addon Domain.

Simply create an addon domain from within your cPanel (under the 'Domains' group) and you can place your website files within the folder associated with that addon domain. Then people can happily visit www.summerhockey.ca without ever knowing that bigwidgets.ca exists. Two websites hosted for the price of one!

Please note - not all hosting packages allow addon domains - check your hosting plan details for more information.

Sub-Domains are different things - they are, quite simply, a 'subset' of the main part of your domain name, taking the form subdomain.domain.ca (for example).

If, for instance, your website was www.bigwidgets.ca, that website might have a main section, an e-commerce section and a blog section. Instead of having a very complex navigation structure, you could set up two subdomains - shop.bigwidgets.ca and blog.bigwidgets.ca.

Website files for each subdomain are uploaded to a specific folder in your account (you control which folder). The advantage of subdomains is that they can function as a mini-website, but clearly defined by a relationship to your main website. With care and planning, subdomains will enhance the professional look of your website.

Once again - please check the details of your hosting package as not all packages have subdomains included.

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