How to Set Up a Subdomain

Before you start

Think of your website address like a street address. If your main website is yourbusiness.com, a subdomain is like adding a room to that address. For example:

• workshop.yourbusiness.com for your workshop pages
• app.yourbusiness.com for a client portal or tool
• landing.yourbusiness.com for a special landing page

It's a separate web address that still lives under your main domain. Visitors still see your brand name in the URL.

Common uses: workshop or course pages, client portals, landing pages, apps or tools, staging or test versions of your site.

Heads up. You need to already own a domain name. If you don't have one yet, you can buy one from Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Cloudflare.

Estimated time: about 10 minutes.

Step 1, Log in to your domain provider

Your domain provider is wherever you originally bought your domain name. Common ones include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, and Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains).

1. Log into your account on your domain provider's website
2. Find the domain you want to add a subdomain to (if you have more than one)
3. Look for DNS Settings or DNS Management in the menu. It might also be under "Advanced Settings" or "Domain Settings" depending on your provider.

Tip. Not sure where your domain is? Check your email for the original purchase confirmation, or try logging into the most common providers.

Step 2, Create the subdomain record

Now you're going to add a new DNS record. This is what tells the internet where your subdomain should go.

1. Click Add Record (or "Add New" or the "+" button)
2. Type: Select CNAME (this is the most common choice). Some setups use an A Record instead, but CNAME works for most situations.
3. Name (or Host): Type just the subdomain part. For example, if you want workshop.yourbusiness.com, type only workshop. Do not type the full address.
4. Value (or Points to): Enter the address your hosting provider gave you. Your hosting provider (Cloudflare, Vercel, Netlify, etc.) will tell you exactly what to put here.
5. TTL: Leave this at the default, or choose Auto if that's an option.
6. Click Save (or "Add Record" or "Confirm")

Not sure what goes in the Value field? Check with your hosting provider. They'll give you the exact address to point to. It usually looks like cname.vercel-dns.com or an IP address like 192.0.2.1.

Step 3, Wait for it to propagate

After you save the record, the internet needs a little time to update. This is called "propagation" and it just means the change is spreading across the internet.

1. Wait 15 to 30 minutes. Most changes go live within this window.
2. Test it by typing your new subdomain into a browser (for example, workshop.yourbusiness.com). If everything is set up correctly, you'll see your content or a confirmation page from your hosting provider.
3. In rare cases, it can take up to 48 hours. But this almost never happens with modern providers.

Don't panic. If it doesn't work right away, give it 15 to 30 minutes and try again. If it's still not working after a few hours, go back and double-check your DNS record for typos, especially the Name and Value fields.

Step 4, Connect it to your content

Now that your subdomain exists in DNS, tell your hosting platform about it so it knows to serve your content there.

1. Log into your hosting dashboard (Cloudflare Workers, Vercel, Netlify, or wherever your site is hosted)
2. Find the Custom Domains section (sometimes called "Domains" or "Domain Settings")
3. Add your subdomain (for example, workshop.yourbusiness.com)
4. Your hosting provider will verify the DNS record you created in Step 2 and activate the connection
5. Once verified, your subdomain is live and serving your content

Next step. Need help connecting to Cloudflare specifically? See How to Link Your Domain to Cloudflare.

Verify it worked

Open your new subdomain in a browser. If you see your content or your hosting provider's confirmation page, you're done. If not, double-check the DNS record for typos and give it another 15 to 30 minutes to propagate.