What a subdomain is and why you might need one

A subdomain is a web address that sits in front of your main domain name. If your domain is example.com, a subdomain might be blog.example.com or shop.example.com. You create subdomains when you want to organize different sections of your website or point visitors to different content without buying a separate domain.

GoDaddy lets you add subdomains through your account dashboard without any technical knowledge. The process takes about five minutes and costs nothing — subdomains are included with your domain registration.

Key Takeaways

  • You add subdomains in GoDaddy by going to your domain settings, finding the DNS records section, and creating a new A record or CNAME record pointing to your hosting.
  • Most people use an A record if their hosting provider gave them an IP address, or a CNAME record if they were given a domain name to point to.
  • After you create the subdomain record, it can take up to 48 hours to work across the internet, though it usually works within a few hours.
  • If your subdomain does not work after 24 hours, check that you typed the record correctly and that your hosting provider has the subdomain set up on their end.

Sign in and find your domain settings

Open GoDaddy.com and sign in with your account email and password. Once you are logged in, look for the "My Products" link, usually in the top left or top right of the page. Click it and you will see a list of everything you own with GoDaddy — domains, hosting, email, and so on.

Find the domain you want to add a subdomain to and click on it. This opens your domain dashboard. Look for a button or link that says "Manage DNS" or "DNS Settings" — the exact wording changes depending on when GoDaddy updated the interface, but it will be somewhere on this page. Click it to open the DNS records editor.

Understand what record type you need

Before you create a subdomain, you need to know what your hosting provider told you to point it to. When you signed up for hosting, they should have sent you either an IP address (a string of numbers like 192.0.2.1) or a hostname (a domain name like server.hostingcompany.com).

If you have an IP address, you will create an A record. If you have a hostname, you will create a CNAME record. If you are not sure which one you have, check your hosting welcome email or log into your hosting account and look for "nameserver information" or "pointing your domain" instructions. Your hosting provider will tell you exactly what to use.

Create an A record for an IP address

In the DNS records section, look for a button that says "Add" or "Create Record" or "Add DNS Record". Click it. A form will appear asking you to fill in several fields.

In the field labeled "Name" or "Host", type the subdomain name you want — just the part before your domain. If you want blog.example.com, type only "blog". Leave off the domain itself.

In the field labeled "Type", select "A" from the dropdown menu. In the field labeled "Value" or "Points to", paste the IP address your hosting provider gave you. Leave the TTL (time to live) at its default value — usually 3600 or 1 hour. Click Save.

Create a CNAME record for a hostname

If your hosting provider gave you a hostname instead of an IP address, follow the same steps but select "CNAME" as the record type instead of "A". In the "Value" or "Points to" field, paste the hostname exactly as your hosting provider wrote it — including any trailing period if they included one.

One important note: you cannot create a CNAME record for the root of your domain (the bare example.com without anything in front). You can only use CNAME for subdomains like blog.example.com or shop.example.com. If you need to point your root domain to a hostname, contact your hosting provider — they may need to set up a special record type called an ALIAS or ANAME.

Wait for the subdomain to propagate

After you save the DNS record, GoDaddy updates its servers right away. However, the change has to spread across the internet to thousands of other DNS servers, a process called propagation. This usually takes between 2 and 48 hours, though most of the time it works within a few hours.

You can check if your subdomain is working by opening a web browser and typing the subdomain into the address bar — for example, blog.example.com. If you see your website, it is working. If you see an error or a blank page, wait a few more hours and try again. If it still does not work after 24 hours, move to the troubleshooting section below.

Troubleshoot if your subdomain does not work

If your subdomain is not working after 24 hours, the problem is usually one of three things: a typo in the DNS record, a mismatch between what you entered and what your hosting provider expects, or a setting on your hosting provider's side that you missed.

First, go back to your DNS records in GoDaddy and check that you typed everything correctly — the subdomain name, the record type, and the value. Even a single wrong character will break it. If you find a typo, edit the record and save it again.

Second, log into your hosting account and check whether the subdomain is set up there as well. Some hosting providers require you to add the subdomain in two places: once in GoDaddy's DNS settings and once in your hosting control panel. Look for a section called "Addon Domains" or "Subdomains" in your hosting dashboard. If the subdomain is not there, add it.

Third, contact your hosting provider's support team with the exact IP address or hostname you used in GoDaddy. They can tell you whether you used the right value and whether anything on their end is blocking the subdomain from working.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have more than one subdomain?

Yes. You can create as many subdomains as you want under one domain. Each one gets its own DNS record in GoDaddy. There is no limit, and they cost nothing.

Do I need to buy a separate hosting plan for each subdomain?

No. All your subdomains point to the same hosting account. Your hosting provider's control panel usually lets you organize them into separate folders or sections so they can show different content, but they all run on the same plan you already paid for.

What if I want to point a subdomain to a different website entirely?

You can do this with a CNAME record pointing to that website's domain, or with an A record pointing to that website's IP address. However, you should only do this if you own both websites or have permission from the owner. Ask your hosting provider or the other website's support team what value to use in the DNS record.

How do I delete a subdomain?

Go back to your DNS records in GoDaddy, find the record for the subdomain you want to remove, and click the delete or trash icon next to it. Confirm the deletion. The subdomain will stop working within a few hours. You may also want to remove it from your hosting provider's control panel if you added it there.

Why does my subdomain show a security warning in the browser?

This usually means your SSL certificate does not cover the subdomain. Ask your hosting provider to add the subdomain to your SSL certificate, or to issue a wildcard certificate that covers all subdomains automatically. This is a hosting issue, not a GoDaddy DNS issue.