By now you know what a domain name is. A top level domain like a dot com, dot net, or dot org is critical to your site being found whether someone directly enters it into a browser or it shows up in a Google search. But do you know about the power of subdomains? Here are 6 ways subdomains supercharge your website.

1. Content organization:

Subdomains are often used to separate different types of content. Think "blog.example.com" or "shop.example.com". Using a subdomain in front of your domain lets visitors go straight to the category of information they're looking for on your site.

2. Regional or language variation:

Let's say your main site is in english, but you want to sell products in Germany. You can use a subdomain to show the german translated version of your site. You can go on to do the same with all the languages. Even if you don't want your site to be translated it may also be helpful to show different products, services, or information depending on the geographic region your site visitor is interested in.

3. Sub-organizations or departments:

This can be helpful when you want to direct site visitors to different channels. For example if you're a business you may want to direct people to your support documentation by sending them to support.example.com or maybe you're an educator and want to send visitor to part of the site devoted to a specific subject like math.example.com.

4. Testing, development, and staging:

When you're in the process of creating your site, it's a good idea to test all the links, proof read the content, make sure all the forms, apps, and interactions are working as expected. Using a subdomain can let you do this all out of the main public domain. 

5. Channeling user experience:

You can use a subdomain to take visitors to certain places on your site to better direct their experience. For example maybe you're an online store and you want to take visitors to part of your site dedicated to just gift ideas for Christmas or another holiday. Or maybe you're hosting an event and want to direct users to information just about the event instead of having to comb the entire site.

6. Marketing campaigns:

If you're a marketer there are a ton of ways to use subdomains. Using subdomains can help you curate a visitors experience, track their behaviors, and direct the user experience. Think about landing pages for a specific email marketing campaign or sales event.