Do you want to install a forum on an additional domain or the Root Site?
The three choices are to setting up a forum on your website. We’ve covered the main some of the reasons you may want to establish a forum for your website, so I won’t discuss them here yet. Instead, let’s say that you’ve made the decision to make it an excellent idea and are trying to determine what kind of application you’d like to see. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Three options are available to install it in the root, or install it inside an appropriate subfolder of the root or set it up on the subdomain. What does each of these choices refer to? If you wanted to go to the homepage on your website, here’s how you would go about it: – Install Forum Subdomain Root
- Source: www.example.com will take you directly to the forums.
- Subfolder: www.example.com/forum/ brings you to the forum.
- Subdomain: www.forum.example.com brings you to the forum.
There are advantages and drawbacks of each technique.
The Root Method Root Method
I’m going to keep it short in this article, focusing on the fundamental approach, as I’m guessing that this won’t be a good fit for your. If you’re deciding to set up a forum it’s a sign that you own a site that is attracting a significant amount of traffic and has the power to it. This means that you’ve got a well-established website on a well-established domain. A visit to www.example.com is likely to bring users to your site’s homepage, don’t they? – Install Forum Subdomain Root
If you decide to switch the front page of your website to forums, you suddenly run into problems. Where do people go to access your home page? Do you need to create redirects? You’re likely to lose some SEO value for your homepage. And even though it’s not the main page of your site’s traffic but you’ll also lose the value of your website. In addition it could be confusing for those who are already on to see your homepage, but are instead receiving a forum that they might not be interested in. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
The only instance you’d need to set up a forum in your root directory would be if you’re starting your site new and would like the forum to be the main focal point. If you’re planning to create a community instead of creating an entire community around the traffic you already have then you could install it in the root directory. If not, you can make it one of the alternatives. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Subdomain Method: Subdomain Method
In the next article, I’ll discuss the subdomain option. If you choose this scenario, you are able to select one of your preferred subdomains and then make it your forum’s home URL. You could do something like forum.example.com, support.example.com, community.example.com, or whatever else seems to fit the purpose of your forum the most. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
It’s not that common however I’d suggest it’s becoming a bit less popular over the last couple of months. There’s a lot of information available on what kind of subdomain or subfolder is the best choice for divisions on your website or for various reasons however certain of the information is outdated or is built on theories which no longer apply. Let’s look at each one. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
The first thing to note is that the subdomain technique looks like a bit shady and may appear to be an unpaid site. A lot of users in the past utilized free websites that were able to provide spammy content and then fill it with advertisements. Other, more well-known and legitimate sites have and do still use this method, like WordPress.com. Any time you see a non-custom-domain free WordPress site, it tends to look like example.wordpress.com. So, the most obvious problem is that your site could appear as a freesite expansion and that’s not a great thing. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
But in the present, as the crop of web users who are young mature and mature, this notion is gradually disappearing. The majority of users are considering the subdomain as part of the ownership of a website as with WordPress or Blogger or About.com more than they are to think of it as the free site.
However, it creates a second issue: the issue of ownership division. Google and other search engines are known to treat subdomains as divisions between the major sections of websites, like with distinct owners for various WordPress blogs. They don’t want to have each of the sections share PageRank and link worth with one another which would create a site similar to WordPress the perfect choice for SEO. Imagine being able to make a completely new website and then receive several hundred thousand relevant hyperlinks immediately. The site would be used to the max. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
In reality, the word is that there isn’t an SEO distinction between subfolders and subdomains, however, this is based on several older Matt Cutts statements, one of which I’ll go into more detail about below. It’s not the only trustworthy or precise source of information, and it’s clear there is a subdomain separation. Google does have subdomains separated in some instances. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
It is largely dependent on the clearness of the purpose and the unification in branding across the primary website and its subdomain. If the two websites differ significantly and have different goals, they won’t be able to share the SEO benefits. If they’re very similar, they’ll be more alike. However, the homepage of forums and the home page of a website tend to appear and feel different. There’s only one thing one can accomplish with branding and you’ll need to take care of everything to make sure that your site’s pages are able to compete with importance in the search results. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Of course, it is only relevant if you wish for your site to be indexable and an indicator of rank. If you’re not worried whether it’s a private forum , or in the case of a forum that’s more about support rather than to rank You don’t need to be concerned at all. The link won’t slow your site down unless the site is flooded with spam. It just isn’t as effective as a clearer hyperlink, such as an underfolder.
There’s a practical reason to stay clear from subdomains. It’s the technical skills required to run them. Various technical issues may arise, including issues the management and readability of cookies on both the subdomain and the main domain. SSL security is a different issue that is becoming more more of a problem in the present. If you plan to use just one SSL certificate for both your sub domains and root domains it is necessary to purchase a wildcard certification. They can be costlier than non-wildcard equivalent domains due to the fact that they have to validate different variants of URLs rather than having a single base URL. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
It’s only an issue when you have the most limited budget or have access to technical assistance, however. If you’re not interested in SSL or don’t track with cookies, there’s an acceptable reason to avoid subdomains. However, it’s generally simpler to make use of subfolders, which is my recommendation especially if you’re into the intricate tracking and management of security.
Then there’s the level of conceptualization. In the past it wasn’t an issue because the internet was inaccessible. It’s possible to have an video.example.com subdomain to host YouTube-like videos, but this is less common nowadays. Subdomains are now being utilized for more intricate subdivisions of websites. Instead of splitting all the content on the site like the blog, the shop and forum – they’re being used to make applications. You might have developers.example.com, apps.example.com, and so forth. Each subdomain is a distinct application, and not being a separate sub-section of the main site.
This is merely an issue of the organization. A lot of websites use subfolders similarly and it’s mostly an issue of personal preference. We’ll discuss that in the section on the end, but. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Subfolder Methods Subfolder Method
Install Forum Subdomain Root – Subfoldering is quite possibly much simpler than the other methods, and that’s why it’s a lot more prevalent for most apps online today. When you have a subdomain, it is necessary to need to log to the domain registrar of your web host and then access your control panel in order to create the subdomain. To set up a subfolder all you have to do is sign in to your hosting account and create a new subfolder in your web hosting. The process is similar to creating a folder in your local computer environment.
Subfolders are a great alternative to subdomains, you don’t have the same issues as in subdomains. Everything listed above such as security, cookie tracking as well as the separation of sites as well as the freesite implications are not issues with subfolders.
Since subfolders are becoming more prevalent and is the way that most forum software works by default. For instance, if you’re using PHPBB If you wish to setup it in a subfolder, all that you need make is to set up the subfolder, and then let it run. If you were to make it available as a subdomain, you’d need to modify files and other things manually. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Subfolders do not have the same meaning with subdomains in regards to the concept of organization and purpose nowadays. If you’re more likely look at app1.example.com it is more likely to find sections of a website in subfolders. Example.com/forum, example.com/blog, example.com/store These are all legitimate applications for subfolders. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Storefronts could be the only variation in this case, since I’ve seen them more or less evenly in both subfolders and subdomains. It is largely dependent on whether the site views their store to be part of their primary website, and consequently places it in the subfolder, or they decide to put it under a subdomain as it’s an app, and is best left by itself. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
There’s a chance that I’m in the wrong regarding the entire conceptual distinction between subdomains as well as subfolders. However, I think I’m a bit ahead of the pack in defining the distinction. It’s something I’ve noticed increasing in recent years, and is likely to continue to grow and become more apparent because of social pressure. I’m not sure Google will ever determine what content is acceptable for an underfolder or subdomain however, which means you’re free to choose what you like. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
General Questions
In addition to the above issues There are some things you need to take into consideration prior to making your final choice. They aren’t categorized under the any of the pros or cons of either method, and therefore are set aside in this third section. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
The first thing to note is that consistency will always be crucial. If you already have sub-sections of your website that are subdomains or subfolders, then it is recommended to use the schema that you’re currently using. If you already have example.com/blog and you don’t want to make the mistake of creating forum.example.com. This could cause confusion for your users. They may not know what to anticipate and are less likely to explore specific sections of your website. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Naturally, when have lots of subdomains and are encountering an overwhelming task and hassle, you could consider the launch to the forums as an excellent reason to play around with it’s URL scheme and create subfolders to those sections, too. There will be problems with redirects, and loss of SEO and that’s likely to happen regardless of the method you use to add or redirect content. It’s your responsibility to determine if the move is worth it or if a chaotic old scheme is more beneficial.
Both approaches are nearly identical so far the search engine Google can be seen. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
Matt Cutts mentioned this several times as well as a video on the topic in the latter part of 2012. He states that they are “roughly” the same, but it is known that in some instances such as the WordPress example – they may differ quite a bit. It is all about the uniformity in your brand. The forum should have the same name as your brand’s identity and should bear your logo displayed on it and the static content should refer to your main content. There should be an area for discussion of blog posts that is a great place to share hyperlinks to your blog in a prominent manner. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
In the end, you have another alternative. The separate domain option is another one. Instead of using an subdomain or subfolder it is possible to create an entire new domain , with its own brand. If you have www.example.com, you can also make www.exampleforum.com. This offers you a significant advantage, which is the possibility to separate it and turn it a separate entity in the event of a need later on. But, you don’t have the capacity to get it linked to your main website but you won’t be able to gain any SEO benefits until you establish it with the help of community. It’s your decision to decide if this is actually feasible. – Install Forum Subdomain Root
