20 October 2026

What is a subdomain, and how to choose your business domain

A subdomain is a word that sits in front of your domain, separated by a dot. In shop.sanroquebakery.es, "shop" is the subdomain and "sanroquebakery.es" is the domain. It lets you run a separate section or a separate website under the same name without buying another domain. So if you were wondering what is a subdomain, that's the short answer.

Now for the part that matters to you as a business owner: when a subdomain is worth using, and how to choose your main domain well. That's the address that will go on your van, your business cards and your shop door for years.

The parts of a web address

Take www.ruizphysio.es as an example and read it from right to left:

• .es is the extension. It tells people the country or the type of site.
• ruizphysio is the name you choose. Together with the extension it makes up the domain: ruizphysio.es.
• www is, believe it or not, a subdomain. The best-known one of all.

The practical difference is this: you register the domain in your name and pay for it every year. Once you have the domain, you can create as many subdomains as you like at no extra cost.

What is a subdomain used for?

A subdomain lets you keep things apart without leaving your brand behind. Some common uses:

• appointments.soldentalclinic.es for online booking.
• shop.ceramicsworkshop.com for an online shop, separate from the main site.
• blog.martinezadvisors.es for articles.
• web.yourbusiness.com to launch a new website without touching the old one.

Each subdomain can point somewhere different. Your website can live on one platform, your shop on another and your email on a third, and to your customers it all still carries the same family name.

Subdomain or folder?

There's another way to split up sections: a folder, such as yourbusiness.es/blog. The usual question is which is better.

A simple rule:

• If it's part of the same website, use a folder. Google sees it as one whole, and what one page earns helps the rest.
• If it's a different tool altogether (a booking system, a shop run by another company, an internal area for staff), use a subdomain. It's easier to set up and to keep separate.

The subdomains platforms give you

Many website platforms publish your site on a subdomain of their own. With Taraceista, for example, your site goes live at yourname.taraceista.app from day one.

That's fine for getting started: you don't pay for a domain, you're online in minutes and you can test things calmly. In the long run it has drawbacks:

• The address carries another company's name, which looks less professional on a business card.
• If you ever switch platforms, you lose the address.
• Your email can't use that name.

So the usual path is to start that way and move to your own domain once the business is up and running.

How to choose your business domain

Your domain is like the sign above your shop: changing it later is a pain. It's worth ten minutes of thought.

Make it easy to say over the phone

Try this: say it out loud to someone and ask them to write it down. If you have to spell it out, mention a hyphen or explain "that's with a double L", it's not a good domain.

• Avoid hyphens and numbers.
• Avoid accents and the letter ñ. You can register them, but they cause trouble with email and typing. If your business is "Peña Brothers", consider penabrothers.es.
• Shorter is better. elroblecarpentry.es is clear; elroblecarpentryandjoineryasturias.es is not.

.es or .com?

• .es if your customers are in Spain. People instantly read it as a local business.
• .com if you work abroad or the .es is already taken.
• .cat, .gal or .eus if you want to show your roots in Catalonia, Galicia or the Basque Country.
• Steer clear of unusual extensions for a traditional business. An accountancy firm on .xyz is confusing.

If you can, register both the .es and the .com and point one at the other. That way nobody else grabs your name.

Your brand before keywords

Years ago people registered domains like emergencyplumbermadrid.es hoping to rank on Google. Today that gives little advantage and looks like an ad. Your trading name is better: it's what people remember and what they'll search for.

If your name is already taken, add your trade or your town: moralesplumbing.es, anahairdressersourense.es.

Check before you register

• That the name is free on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok, so everything matches.
• That it doesn't clash with a registered trademark. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) has a free search tool.
• That it doesn't read oddly when the words run together. Write it all as one word and read it with fresh eyes.

Make sure it's in your name

This is the most important point and the one most often forgotten. The domain holder must be you or your company, not the agency, the IT guy or the cousin who built your site. When someone falls out with you or disappears, a business can lose both its address and its email.

Turn on automatic renewal too. An expired domain can end up in someone else's hands.

How to put your website on a subdomain of a domain you already own

This happens a lot: you already have yourbusiness.com with working email and maybe an old website. You want a new site without touching anything else.

The answer is a subdomain. You log into the control panel where you bought your domain and add a couple of DNS records provided by your new website platform. Within a few hours, web.yourbusiness.com shows the new site and your email carries on as before, because you haven't touched its records.

With Taraceista it's two records. You can also ask us to register a new domain for you: it stays in your name, and on the El oficio plan (15 €/month including VAT) it's included for the first year. Email on your own domain is included too: 3 accounts at no extra cost. Full details are on our pricing.

Common domain mistakes

• Having it registered in someone else's name.
• Forgetting to renew it.
• Choosing one that's very long or full of hyphens.
• Changing it every so often. Each change throws away what you've built up on Google and confuses customers.
• Owning a domain but still handing out an email like ana.hairdresser.1987@gmail.com. If you have a domain, use it for email too.

In short

A subdomain is a label in front of your domain that lets you separate sections or tools. Your domain is your main address: short, easy to say, built on your brand and always in your name.

If you don't have a website yet, you can start with a free address and move to your own domain whenever you're ready. On Taraceista the Free plan lives at yourname.taraceista.app, with no card and no end date: build your website for free and move to a paid plan when you want your own domain.