How To Install WordPress On A Subdomain: 2 Easy Methods

To install WordPress on a subdomain is a small portion of your main WordPress website with its own a specific address. If your website is example.com, a subdomain could be blog.example.com. This setup helps you organize content better by having different site sections under separate names. For example, if you want to create a blog and keep it separate from your online store, a subdomain is how you would do this.

Using a subdomain has some significant benefits. First, it keeps things organized. Each subdomain can have its specific purpose, like a blog, a shop, or a forum, so visitors know exactly where to go based on the subdomain’s name.

It also gives you flexibility because you can manage each subdomain independently. For instance, you can install WordPress on a subdomain for your blog, making it easy to customize and manage separately from your main site. Additionally, a subdomain can improve the user experience by letting you create focused, specific areas that feel like a unique space, even though they’re still connected to your main site.

In this tutorial we discuss two proven methods to install WordPress on a subdomain. We cover everything from creating a subdomain to setting up WordPress. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to use a subdomain to make your website more organized and user-friendly.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. When considering whether you want to install WordPress on a subdomain, one of the main reasons, is that it helps keep content organized and gives each section of your WordPress website its own space.
2. You can use your hosting control panel’s auto Softaculous option to set up WordPress on your subdomain.
3. For a more hands-on approach, the manual method lets you upload WordPress files via FTP and File Manager, create a database, and configure settings directly.
4. Subdomains are ideal for separate site areas, like blogs, stores, or testing environments, while keeping them linked to your main domain.
5. Consider the impact on SEO, resources, and maintenance needs to create a subdomain.

Prerequisites

Before installing WordPress on a subdomain, you should have a few things ready. Let’s ensure everything is set up correctly so the process goes smoothly.

First, you’ll need a registered domain. This is your website’s main address, like example.com. Without a registered domain, you won’t be able to create a subdomain. If you haven’t registered a domain yet, you can easily do so with a popular domain registrar or your hosting provider.

Next, check you can access your hosting control panel, such as cPanel. The control panel is where you manage everything about your website, like creating subdomains, installing software, and handling files. Ensure you can log in to this control panel before moving forward. Most hosting providers will give you a login link, username, and password when you set up your hosting account.

Lastly, confirm your hosting plan supports subdomains. Some basic hosting plans may limit this feature, so check with your provider. You can usually find this information in your hosting plan details or by contacting support. A plan that allows subdomains is essential, as it’s the only way to create separate areas under your main domain, like blog.example.com.

With a registered domain, control panel access, and a hosting plan that supports subdomains, you’re ready to create subdomains and install WordPress on a subdomain. Let’s move on to the steps to make it happen!

Create a Subdomain

Before you can install WordPress on a subdomian, you have to create one. There are 3 ways to create a subdomain. They include:

1. Through Hosted Dashboard
2. Using cPanel
3. By Adding a DNS Record.

Through Hosted.com Dashboard

First, log in to your Hosted.com Account. Then, click Manage Services and expand the dropdown list. Next, choose a hosting package for your domain, which, in this example is WordPress Hosting. Now, click Manage next to the domain name you wish to access.

On the next screen, navigate to the Quick Manage block and click Sub Domains.

Now, click Create Sub Domain.

Choose your primary domain name, specify the name of your subdomain, and click Create Sub Domain.

You can find your subdomains on the same page in the Sub Domains block.

Using cPanel

First, go to your hosting provider’s website and log in to your cPanel account. If you’re a Hosted.com user, refer to the following guide to login to cPanel:

– How To Log in to cPanel

In the cPanel Dashboard, click Domains under the Domains section.

Next, click on Create A New Domain, on the right side of the Domains page.

Type the desired subdomain name into the Domain field. The Document Root (File System Location) will automatically fill in. This is the folder where the subdomain’s files will be stored. Ensure you uncheck the Share document root (/home/username/public_html) with “domain.tld” option.

By unchecking this, you ensure the subdomain has its unique directory instead of sharing the same root directory with the main domain. This separation is useful for keeping the files and structure of the subdomain independent, which helps avoid conflicts and keeps the main site organized.

Then, specify the directory where you want to store the subdomain’s files. Finally, click Submit to complete the process.

By Adding a DNS Record

Another option to create a subdomain is to add a Domain Name Systems (DNS) record. Here’s how Hosted.com users can do this:

Log in to your Hosted.com account. Head over to Manage Services → Domains. Click on the Manage dropdown menu and choose Manage DNS.

Enter the subdomain name in the Host field. In the Type dropdown menu, Choose A. Fill in the Value box with an IP address the subdomain should point to, and the desired TTL (time-to-live) value.

A Priority in a DNS record specifies the order in which servers are contacted when there are multiple records for the same service. We’re using 0 because a lower priority number means the server is contacted first. For example:

If you have two MX records, one with priority 10 and another with priority 20, the mail server with priority 10 will be tried first. If it’s unavailable, the server with priority 20 will be used next.

Once you have filled everything out, click Add to complete the setup.

If the process is completed successfully, the new DNS record will show up in the DNS records list. It may take up to 24 hours for the changes to fully propagate.

How to Install WordPress on a Subdomain

Now that you are ready, you can install WordPress on a subdomain trough either of these two methods:

1. Use Auto Installer
2. Manually install WordPress on Subdomain.

Use Auto Installer

This part is easy, especially with the help of your hosting control panel like cPanel, which provides an auto installer. These tools make the process fast and simple. Here’s how you can do it:

First, log in to your hosting control panel and navigate to Software → Softaculous App Installer.

Once you open the installer, you’ll see a list of applications available for installation. From this list, select WordPress and click Install, as it’s the platform you will use to install WordPress on a subdomain’s (i.e. the recently created subdomain) site.

Next, you must choose the WordPress installation URL. To do this:

1. Pick up a protocol. If your website has a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), choose HTTPS protocol.
2. Select your new subdomain from the dropdown menu. This dropdown will display all the domains and subdomains you have set up, so ensure you choose the correct one.
3. The In Directory box represents a directory relative to your domain and should not exist. For example, to install WordPress at https://mydomain/dir, type dir. However, to install it only on https://mydomain/,leave this empty.

After choosing the subdomain, scroll down to fill in a few details. For example:

You can update your Site Settings and Admin Account details. Enter a WordPress site name (like “My Blog” or “Shop”), create a secure admin username and password, and provide an email address for your admin account. This information will be used to manage your WordPress site.

You can also select the language of your site and the plugins to install them on your WordPress website.

Now, scroll down a little further and expand Advanced Options. Here, you can do the following:

1. Fill in your Database Name and Table Prefix.
2. Check Auto Upgrade WordPress Plugins and Auto Upgrade WordPress Themes options if you want all your plugins and themes installed for this installation to be automatically upgraded to the newest version (this happens every 24 hours).
3. Select the Auto Upgrade preference for this WordPress installation when a new version is available.

Once you have filled everything out, double-check your entries then click Install.

The installer will begin setting up WordPress on your subdomain. This process may take a few moments, but once it’s done, you’ll be directed to the Hosting Dashboard for your new subdomain. From there, click on the Administrative URL to enter the WordPress Dashboard and start customizing your site.

Install WordPress on Subdomain Manually

Another way to install WordPress on a subdomain is by doing it manually. You may use this approach if the automatic installation doesn’t work, or you don’t want the built-in WordPress plugins offered by your web hosting provider.

The manual method is comparatively complicated, but it is a great way to learn more about how websites work. Here’s how to do it:

First, go to the WordPress.org official site. Click Get WordPress, download the latest version, and unzip it to your computer.

Now place these WordPress files into your public_html/subdomain directory. You can do this in two ways: You can use an FTP client like FileZilla or the File Manager in your hosting control panel. For this tutorial, we use the Hosted.com File Manager; however, if you’re using an FTP client, you must provide your FTP credentials to connect to your web server.

If you’re a Hosted.com user, you can go through the following knowledgebase articles to find out how to configure a site in FileZilla, how to use File Manager, and how to upload a document to a website using the Hosted.com File Manager:

– How To Use cPanel File Manager

– How To Configure A Site In FileZilla

– Use File Manager to Upload a Document to a Website

Go to the root directory of your subdomain. This folder is usually named after your subdomain, like a blog, if your subdomain is blog.example.com. In our case, we used blog.domainname.tld as our root directory. Upload all the WordPress files (that you previously extracted) to your subdomain’s root directory.

Remember, WordPress needs a database to store all the WordPress website information. So, to create a database for your subdomain, go back to your Hosted.com control panel and click Manage My Databases.

Name your database and click Create Database.

Scroll down to the Database Users section. Enter the details for Username, Password, and Password (Again). It’s important to use a strong password, which you can create manually or generate using the Password Generator tool. Once complete, click Create User to finish.

Important:

Write down your database name, username, and password. You’ll need these while editing the wp-config.php file. We’ll show you how to edit it shortly.

Now, you need to assign your newly created user to your newly created database. Assigning a user to a WordPress database is essential because it grants that user the necessary permissions to access, modify, and manage the data within the database.

To do this, scroll further to the Add User to Database section. Select your recently created user and database, then click Add.

Now, you’ll be redirected to the Manage User Privileges section. Ensure you grant all required privileges and click Make Changes.

Now tell WordPress how to connect to your new database. In the files you uploaded to your subdomain, look for a file named wp-config-sample.php. Rename it to wp-config.php.

Now, select your wp-config.php and click Edit to open it in an editor.

Find the lines that say ‘database_name_here’, ‘username_here’, and ‘password_here’,and replace them with your database name, username, and password, respectively (these are the details we asked you to write down previously). Once done, click Save Changes in the top-right to save your modifications.

Now, it’s time to finish setting up WordPress through your web browser. In your browser, type in your subdomain’s address (like blog.example.com) and click Enter. You should see the WordPress installation page. Choose your language and click Continue.

Enter the name of your site. Create a username and a strong password for your WordPress admin account. Specify your email so you can recover your password if needed. Lastly, click Install WordPress.

You have successfully completed the “how to install WordPress on a subdomain” tutorial. Now you can log in to your WordPress Dashboard by going to blog.example.com/wp-admin (replace blog.example.com with your actual subdomain). You can also personalize your site, install themes, change fonts, and create content.

Common Uses for Subdomains

Subdomains can help keep your website organized and add new features without affecting your main site. Here are some popular ways people use subdomains:

1. Hosting a Blog: If you want a blog separated from your main site, a subdomain like blog.example.com works well. It keeps blog content organized while still being part of your main website.
2. Creating a Staging Environment: A staging environment (a staging subdomain) is perfect for testing changes before they go live. You can try out new designs, plugins, or updates on a subdomain without affecting the main site.
3. Setting up Regional Versions: If your business operates in different regions, subdomains like us.example.com or uk.example.com let you create customized versions for each audience. This approach can make your site more relevant to local visitors.
4. Launching an Online Store: If you want a dedicated shop, a subdomain like store.example.com keeps your online store organized and easily manageable. This makes it easy to grow your eCommerce presence while linking it to your main website.

When you want to install WordPress on a subdomain, it allows you to add features and stay organized, giving each section its unique space.

Considerations Before Creating a Subdomain

Before adding a subdomain, there are a few important things to consider.

First, think about the impact on SEO. Search engines treat subdomains as separate sites, so this may take extra work if you want to rank well in search results. However, subdomains can also help organize content better for specific audiences to boost user engagement.

Maintenance and updates are also essential. Each subdomain will need its unique updates, backups, and security checks. This requires more time and effort, especially if you run multiple subdomains.

Finally, consider resource allocation and performance. Hosting multiple subdomains can use more resources, which could slow down your website. Ensure your hosting plan can handle this or consider upgrading if you want a high-traffic subdomain.

Subdomain vs Subdirectory: Which is Better?

Subdomains and subdirectories both organize content but work differently. A subdomain (like blog.example.com) is a separate site linked to your main domain. A subdirectory (like example.com/blog) is a folder within your main site.

Each option has pros and cons. Subdomains are great for keeping content separated, especially for stores or blogs, but they need unique SEO efforts. On the other hand, subdirectories share SEO benefits with your main site, making them easier to manage.

Regarding SEO and organization, subdirectories often work better to boost overall site rankings. However, subdomains offer a clear structure for large sites with different functions. The choice depends on your goals and how much separation or integration you want between different parts of your website.

FAQs

Other Related Tutorials & Blogs:

– How to Add WordPress Custom CSS: 5 Easy Methods

– How To Use WordPress Tags Effectively And Their Purpose

– WordPress Admin Dashboard Tips for Accessing and Using WP Admin

– How To Create A WordPress Child Theme

– How To Create A 301 Redirect In WordPress: 4 Easy Ways