Initially, when starting out with a blog, you will read all about how to blog effectively and how to get started. One burning issue is whether to use a subdomain or subdirectory for blogging, and your first instinct may be to place your blog on a subdomain, as this was previously commonplace.
Third-party blogging platforms are often much better than their native counterparts, but they often sit on a subdomain. However, subdirectories present more advantages, and here we’ll explain why.
Table of Contents
Subdomain or Subdirectory?
A subdomain is like a separate website but closely connected to the main domain, whereas a subdirectory is like having folders within your main domain. Subdomains typically look like this blog.yourstore.com, while a blog placed in a subdirectory will look more like this yourstore.com/blog.
While Google says they treat subdomains and subdirectories the same for SEO purposes, that’s not entirely true.
Where Subdomains Go Wrong
The main way subdomains go wrong is with SEO and building authority for your main domain. There are many reasons online businesses start a blog, but one of them is the SEO benefits that come from regularly publishing posts.
However, because a subdomain is seen by search engines as a separate website, you don’t get the same trickle-down benefits from your SEO efforts, which means any boost in SERP ranking won’t help your main site.
When Using a Subdomain Is Warranted
Having your blog on a subdomain can be worthwhile in some circumstances, though. Enterprise-level companies, or those with an extra large amount of content, can sometimes benefit from having their blog separate from the main website. Some companies feel using a subdomain keeps their website architecture more organized and they like operating each section of their website independently.
Think of websites like Hubspot – this company has many business branches and has decided to use a subdomain for its blog.
How a Subdirectory Is Better
On the other hand, subdirectories are a more convenient way to manage one site.
You can still organize the different sections for ease of navigation. And, using a subdirectory can save you money because you don’t have to pay for separate hosting or subscription fees.
That said, the real gains come in the form of SEO benefits. All of the efforts you put into drawing organic traffic to your site and improving your ranking in SERPs will directly benefit your main site.
DropInBlog Provides a Neat Subdirectory Blogging Solution
Finding a subdirectory-based blogging solution is easy. DropInBlog is a third-party blogging app similar to WordPress, but unlike WordPress and other third-party blogging apps that sit in a subdomain, it drops straight into your site as a subdirectory.
It’s simple yet powerful and makes it easy to manage your content. Better yet, its lightweight structure means it won’t slow down your page loading speed.
User-Friendly and Feature Rich
The content editor is similar to WordPress but highly user-friendly. It includes a wide range of professional features to help you create great blog posts time and time again. DropInBlog gives you the ability to schedule posts, add multiple authors, edit meta tags and descriptions, and fully edit page URLs.
It even comes with a built-in SEO Analyzer tool that scores your content and provides you with helpful recommendations for improvement.
Easy Integration
Worried about compatibility? DropInBlog is easily integrated with a wide variety of site builders, membership platforms, and e-commerce stores. Blogging is made fast and easy because your site CSS and style are automatically adopted for the blog pages. This means you don’t have to spend time adjusting and reformatting after each post.
FAQs
How does using a subdirectory for your blog compare to using a subdomain?
A subdirectory is essentially a set of folders within your website, whereas a subdomain is more like a separate site entirely. A subdomain can have big implications for SEO, so it’s worth considering when you choose where to place your blog.
Can using a subdomain or subdirectory impact website page load speed and performance?
Having your blog on a subdomain can slow down page load speed, but not always. It really depends on how the subdomain is set up and managed.
A subdirectory, however, will not have a negative impact on page load speed, even if you have 20 sub-folders.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this has made the decision easy for you – will it be a subdomain or subdirectory for blogging? There are particular situations where a subdomain can work out. However, for the majority of small businesses and e-commerce ventures, a blog located in a subdirectory is a much better way to go.
You’ll get all the SEO rewards with a subdirectory, and your site won’t lag or slow down. We also covered a great blogging platform that sits within a subdirectory on your domain – DropInBlog. You can get started for free and see for yourself.
