How To Create A Subdomain

A subdomain is a prefix added to your original domain name, like a domain name within a domain name, usually following subdomain.example.com. They behave very similarly to an addon domain and are often created to separate your website's different sections, such as blog.example.com or store.example.com. You can point them to a folder to host a website, just like a normal domain name.

• How To Create a Subdomain
• Hosting Only A Subdomain
• Restrict Subdomain Access to Addon Domains
• Summary

How To Create a Subdomain

1. Log in to your Bluehost Account Manager.
2. Click the Hosting tab from the side navigation.
   
3. Under Quick Links, click on cPanel.
   
4. From the cPanel, click on the Domain Names icon. Click Domains.
   
5. Click the Create a New Domain button.
   
6. Input the desired subdomain name you want to create in the Domain field.
7. Uncheck the option "Share document root (/home/username/public_html) with domain.tld."
8. Choose the directory for the website you want to show, ideally named after your subdomain. Then click Submit.
   

Hosting Only A Subdomain

1. In Bluehost, create the account with the domain name you purchased elsewhere.

   Example: If you are setting up the domain subdomain.example.com, sign up for your account with the name example.com

2. In your Bluehost cPanel, create the subdomain you need to host with us (i.e., "subdomain.example.com.")
3. Contact the host of your domain name's zone file and have them point the A record for the subdomain to the IP of your Bluehost server.

Restrict Subdomain Access to Addon Domains

Each addon domain requires a subdomain. Using mod_rewrite, you can stop people from using the addon domain as a subdomain of the primary domain.

Put this in the .htaccess file located in the subdomains folder, changing the subdomain, primarydomain.com, and addondomain.com:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.primarydomain.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.subdomain.primarydomain.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^addondomain.com$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.addondomain.com/ [R=301,L]

Summary

Creating a subdomain is a straightforward process that enhances your website organization and functionality, while ensuring a more structured and efficient online presence. It involves logging into your Bluehost account, navigating to cPanel, and selecting the Domain Names section to configure your desired subdomain and its directory.

For exclusive subdomain hosting, ensure the domain's A record points to your server's IP. Additionally, restrict access to addon domains by configuring .htaccess in your subdomain's folder.