Addon, subdomain, and parked domains explained

What you'll learn: the difference between the four kinds of domain you can add, in plain English.

When you add a domain in the panel, you'll be asked which kind it is. Here's what each one means.

Primary domain

The main domain on your hosting account — usually the first one you add. For example, yourbusiness.com. This is the address most people will visit.

You only have one primary domain.

Addon domain

A separate website, hosted on the same account. For example, if your account is for yourbusiness.com, you could add mysidehustle.com as an addon — it gets its own folder, its own files, and acts as a completely separate site, but it's billed as part of your same hosting plan.

Use this when you want to host more than one website on one account.

Subdomain

An extension of your primary domain. For example, blog.yourbusiness.com or shop.yourbusiness.com. Subdomains are for when you want a separate area of your main site without buying a new domain.

You don't need to do anything at your registrar for subdomains — they're created entirely within your hosting.

Parked domain

A second name for your existing site. Visitors to a parked domain see your primary site at the same address. For example, yourbusiness.io could be parked on yourbusiness.com — both names show the same site.

Use this when you've bought several spellings of your domain and want them all to point at one site.

Quick comparison

Type	Same site?	Separate files?	Use when
Primary	—	—	Your main website
Addon	No	Yes	Hosting a second, unrelated site
Subdomain	No	Yes	A section of your main site (blog, shop)
Parked	Yes	No	Multiple names for the same site

How to add each one

In the sidebar, Sites → Domains:

Click Add domain for an addon.
Click Add subdomain for a subdomain.
Click Add parked domain for a parked domain.

Each opens a friendly form asking just the name and a few details.

Tips

Pick wisely the first time. Changing a domain's type later involves moving files. It's much smoother to pick the right type up front.
Subdomains don't need a new purchase. You already own everything under your primary domain.
Parked domains are great for typo protection. yourbussiness.com parked on yourbusiness.com catches a common typo.

If something goes wrong

"Domain already in use" — it's already assigned somewhere. If it should be yours, contact your hosting provider.
A subdomain doesn't load — give DNS a few minutes to update. If it's still not loading after an hour, double-check the spelling.

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