You want to create a sub-domain? Something with a "tidy" URL like "http://www.sales.MyDomain.com" or maybe a URL redirect for your affiliate link—something like GreatDogFood.MyDomain.com? Sub-domains provide a great way to get more use out of your domains, and they are easy to create!

Getting Started

I will assume that you have already purchased a domain and have it hosted at a web hosting service. I will cover the procedure for two of the web hosts that I am familiar with: 1&1 Internet, Inc. and the web hosting service at Wealthy Affiliate University.

1&1 Internet, Inc. (1 & 1.com)

I chose this company because it is becoming quite popular these days, and they do both domain registration and hosting. Unless you have a particular reason to host your domain with a different company than the one you purchased it from, you should consider a company like 1and1 or GoDaddy.com.

To create a sub-domain on 1&1 Internet, follow these steps:

1. Go to the 1&1 website and click on the "Customer Login" link at the top right of the page.
2. Log in to the 1&1 Control Panel using your domain name and your password (provided when you purchased your domain).
3. Select "Domains" from the Basic Settings section.
4. You will see a table with your domain(s) listed. At the top of this table is a menu bar with "New," "Destination," "Contact," and several other buttons. Select the domain and click the down-arrow next to New and select "Create Subdomain".
5. Select the domain from the dropdown field and enter the desired name for the sub-domain.
6. Click OK.

Your sub-domain should be created within 24 hours.

Wealthy Affiliate University 

For the other example, I chose the web hosting service at Wealthy Affiliate because, though they don't do domain registration, their procedure for creating sub-domains is easier than any I have encountered. Plus, they offer unlimited domain hosting, unlimited sub-domains, unlimited disc space, unlimited capacity... (I could go on further) all free to their subscribers.

To create a sub-domain at Wealthy Affiliate, follow these steps:

1. Log into the member's section of Wealthy Affiliate. Click on the "Web Hosting" tab at the top of the page and log into your hosting account using your domain name and the password given to you when you opened your hosting account.
2. From the Web Hosting page, click on "Add Subdomain". A text field will appear below.
3. Type the desired sub-domain name in the text field.
4. Click the "Add Domain" button.

That's it! Four easy steps, and you have a sub-domain.

Conclusion

If you do a lot of work with websites, create a sub-domain! Create lots of them. They're an excellent tool not only to get more use out of your domain but also to organise your websites under fewer domains without having a domain for each site. Not only that, but using a sub-domain for link masking is an easy and free method to avoid link theft!

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