Should I Start My Site Under a New Domain Name or as a Subdirectory (Or Subdomain) Of My Existing Site?
by Christopher Heng, thesitewizard.com
I just received a message from a visitor to thesitewizard.com asking me whether she should start a new website under a new domain name, or whether she should simply put the site as a subdirectory of her existing site. As I explained to her, you gain something with either of these choices and lose something at the same time. This article briefly explains the benefits gained and lost with each option.
Benefits of Starting a New Site with a New Domain Name
Thematic Focus Vs Confusion of Aims
New readers of thesitewizard.com may not realize this, but the early articles on thesitewizard.com were originally published in a subdirectory of thefreecountry.com. As time progressed, and more and more articles were published, I realised that the sub-site was taking on a life of its own. It had its own audience and adherents, who, through their links, recommendations to others and email to me, were indirectly influencing the direction the whole site was going.
Since I had a slightly different focus in mind for thefreecountry.com, I thought that if I could spin off the webmaster articles onto its own site, the two sites could take their own separate paths, unhobbled by the other's direction in life (so to speak). And so thesitewizard.com was born.
When you separate two sites under two different domain names (not subdomain names, mind you), you allow both the sites to take on their own personality, themes and target audience, unencumbered by the interests and focus of the other. This is even more crucial if, as is the case for the visitor asking me this question, one of the sites has a commercial purpose and the other has a completely separate theme, unrelated to the commercial enterprise. For example, if your commercial arm sells "Widget X" and your new site is a blog talking about "Life in the Bronx", putting the two sites together might make your potential customers think that your Widget X is only for people living in the Bronx.
Separate Fates and Separate Deaths
It's difficult to predict the fate of any site when you first start out. A site may be successful or it may not. It may be a joy to work on or a massive burden. Separating the domains uncouples the life of one site from the other. It allows one site to be killed off without the other being affected (like what I tried to do, unsuccessfully, with thefreecountry.com a few years ago).
In other words, separating the domains lets one site continue to exist without being dragged down by the fate of the other, should (perish the thought) such a thing ever happen.
atlanta mobile website development experts
by Christopher Heng, thesitewizard.com
I just received a message from a visitor to thesitewizard.com asking me whether she should start a new website under a new domain name, or whether she should simply put the site as a subdirectory of her existing site. As I explained to her, you gain something with either of these choices and lose something at the same time. This article briefly explains the benefits gained and lost with each option.
Benefits of Starting a New Site with a New Domain Name
Thematic Focus Vs Confusion of Aims
New readers of thesitewizard.com may not realize this, but the early articles on thesitewizard.com were originally published in a subdirectory of thefreecountry.com. As time progressed, and more and more articles were published, I realised that the sub-site was taking on a life of its own. It had its own audience and adherents, who, through their links, recommendations to others and email to me, were indirectly influencing the direction the whole site was going.
Since I had a slightly different focus in mind for thefreecountry.com, I thought that if I could spin off the webmaster articles onto its own site, the two sites could take their own separate paths, unhobbled by the other's direction in life (so to speak). And so thesitewizard.com was born.
When you separate two sites under two different domain names (not subdomain names, mind you), you allow both the sites to take on their own personality, themes and target audience, unencumbered by the interests and focus of the other. This is even more crucial if, as is the case for the visitor asking me this question, one of the sites has a commercial purpose and the other has a completely separate theme, unrelated to the commercial enterprise. For example, if your commercial arm sells "Widget X" and your new site is a blog talking about "Life in the Bronx", putting the two sites together might make your potential customers think that your Widget X is only for people living in the Bronx.
Separate Fates and Separate Deaths
It's difficult to predict the fate of any site when you first start out. A site may be successful or it may not. It may be a joy to work on or a massive burden. Separating the domains uncouples the life of one site from the other. It allows one site to be killed off without the other being affected (like what I tried to do, unsuccessfully, with thefreecountry.com a few years ago).
In other words, separating the domains lets one site continue to exist without being dragged down by the fate of the other, should (perish the thought) such a thing ever happen.
atlanta mobile website development experts
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