3 ms·
Why use subs over directories? If you really want to build a site and brand as well as have your hard work pay off I recommend directories over either option.
by solost 16y ago
Why use subs over directories? If you really want to build a site and brand as well as have your hard work pay off I recommend directories over either option.
From an SEO and link popularit standpoint you will only have to worry about a single domain and all of the link building you do will benefit the site over all. With subs you need to treat each sub as a unique URL from a link popularity standpoint making your SEO efforts that much more work.
From a marketing perspective again directories feel like the better way to go. If you are building a single brand and not differentiating the products greatly other than by subject matter then directories again feel like a better way to go.
Generally I recommend subs for areas of a site that you don't want to have indexed and don't want to worry about natural search for.
As far as unique domains unless you want to operate a network of sites you would just be creating a lot more work for yourself than is probably worth it in the begining.
- maguay 16y agoWell, I was thinking of having the sites feel more unique. E.g. different themes, content style. Sortof like how the Envato network of sites are all similar but unique. So, in your opinion, would it seem too odd to visitors if Techinch.com looks entirely different than Techinch.com/apps? Would apps.techinch.com feel better if the site style is totally different? That said, I plan to get a more homogeneous overall theme by spring...
- illdave 16y agoFrom an SEO point of view, I completely agree with solost - using subfolders like techinch.com/apps is much stronger than subdirectories or individual sites - especially if the topics are all relatively connected. I'm not entirely sure how easy it is to do and it would take a bit of hacking with your Wordpress template, but as a compromise you could look at having each category page (so /apps, /widgets, /whatever) have it's own background image - although I imagine completely different themes or very different styles could be a bit of a nightmare.
- maguay 16y agoWhat I ended up doing is creating http://techinch.com/apps http://techinch.com/apps with a full new WordPress install. Currently the main site and the new /apps site are running fully different themes, but I plan to bring them together with a customized WooThemes Canvas next year. We'll see how it goes!
- solost 16y agoTaking a quick look, I think the experience is okay. While things are different they are not so radically different as to make me feel uncomfortable as a user. I am not sure if this is the approach I would take, I very much like the homepage theme, however I am certain you have reason why you are doing what you are. Good luck and keep us up to date.
- maguay 16y agoHmm ... so you would think it would be better to just keep adding more diverse topics to the main home page? Or you like the main theme and would use it on the sub-site? What I'm thinking is that by having niche sites, I can feature a nice-designed app per day in a small post in a small post without swamping my main content. Similar to Greatwebapps.com ... and I hope to do a network of sorts of sites like that eventually. But, I'm not certain it's a good approach. And, by the way, the content on techinch.com/apps is just filler test stuff, and is in no way the stuff I plan to use once it's publicly live. Thanks for your suggestions ... I really appreciate them.