Difference Between Addon Domain, Parked Domain, and Subdomain

When managing your website, understanding the difference between addon domain, parked domain, and subdomain can be a bit confusing. Each feature provides a unique purpose and can impact how your website operates. In this article, we’ll explore the differences between addon domains, parked domains, and subdomains so you can select the best choice for your website.

• What is an Addon Domain?
• What is a Parked Domain?
• What is a Subdomain?
• What is a Primary Domain?
• Changing a Domain's Assignment
• Summary

What is an Addon Domain?

An Addon Domain is a fully functional domain you can create through your control panel. This addon domain represents a new and unique website hosted in a separate folder within your account, enabling you to manage multiple domains from one control panel. You can also create email addresses, forwarders, and other features for an addon domain, just like you would for your account's primary (main) domain.

When you create an Addon domain, 3 things happen:

1. A folder is created in the 'public_html>' directory
2. A subdomain is created for the primary domain and attached to the new folder
3. The new domain name is associated with the subdomain

For example, if the primary domain was '>abc.com>' and you assign the Addon Domain' >123.com>' to the folder '123', the following routes (URLs) would be true:

• abc.com/123
• 123.abc.com
• 123.com

These three paths will lead to the same directory and display the same website. However, for viewers accessing your website at 123.com, there is no indication that they are routed through 123.abc.com, and everything will function normally.

This happens automatically when an Addon domain is assigned to an account; there is no need for further action other than loading content into the addon domain folder.

What is a Parked Domain?

A Parked Domain is an alias for your primary domain, directing users to the same website. You can have several domains pointing to the same site.

For example, if bluehost.com is your main website, you can purchase bluehost.net and assign it as a parked domain. If visitors were to go to bluehost.net, they would see the same website as if they had typed bluehost.com.

In other words, strong>>primarydomain.com/index.html> and >parkeddomain.com/index.html> will point to the same webpage, ">index.html>."

What is a Subdomain?

A Subdomain is a prefix added to your primary domain name, functioning like a smaller domain within a larger one. It follows the format subdomain.primarydomain.com. Subdomains operate similarly to addon domains and are commonly used to organize different website sections, such as blog.primarydomain.com or store.primarydomain.com.

What is a Primary Domain?

A Primary Domain is the domain your account is primarily associated with or named after. Usually, this is the very first domain that you use in your account. It's also the domain you use to log into your hosting account.

You may rename your account's primary domain in several instances. In most cases, a rename is only a cosmetic change to the domain cPanel shown in the top toolbar. The difference between the primary domain and an addon domain's functionality is that it only has to do with the organization of its files; a primary domain doesn't have any additional benefits over a parked or addon domain.

Changing a Domain's Assignment

Summary

Understanding the difference between addon domain, parked domain, and subdomain is important for good website management. 

• An addon domain lets you host multiple websites. 
• A parked domain acts as an alias for your primary domain. 
• A subdomain helps organize your content. 

Knowing these differences and how to change a domain's assignment can help you make better choices for your website's performance and user experience.