Hosting on a subdomain vs a directory

[seanuk]

I'm guessing that a directory is better?

I can't do that with my site as I'm on a special host for WordPress that only allows WordPress.

So I was thinking about a subdomain but then I guess it doesn't help with seo much. Might as well just get a whole new domain?

Did anyone else have to make this choice?

Thanks

 

[Robust]

It's a personal choice and it's not so much a pre-sales question on the software than it is a general webmaster related question.

What I can say...

I can't do that with my site as I'm on a special host for WordPress that only allows WordPress.

You're the customer. If they won't let you do it, move hosts?

 

[seanuk]

It's a personal choice and it's not so much a pre-sales question on the software than it is a general webmaster related question.

What I can say...

You're the customer. If they won't let you do it, move hosts?

Sorry yes I know, but it seems all the other forums I can't post in until I buy it.

I guess because I'm generally happy with my WordPress hosting and with 50k page views a month the forms might flop.

I'm now thinking about just buying a brand new domain, but forum only domains never seem to workout.

 

[Robust]

I'm now thinking about just buying a brand new domain, but forum only domains never seem to workout.

Using a subdomain does not mean you will have poor SEO. For all intents and purposes, www is also just a subdomain. It generally means it won't benefit from the SEO of the rest of the website, perhaps. I'm not a SEO expert, but I am confident that using a subdomain doesn't mean your rankings will be poorer than a non-subdomain. I'd personally use a subdomain if a normal domain wasn't possible.

I guess because I'm generally happy with my WordPress hosting and with 50k page views a month the forms might flop.

The forums might flop, but it doesn't mean you still can't use your new host. I would never use a host that limits you to a certain software or a certain procedure or policy. It limits "dynamicness" in terms of your application and the future of your venture. Of course, the decision is yours. I assume for XF you'd have to purchase a new hosting package anyway. It'll probably be better, cheaper and more efficient to just purchase a VPS according to your needs.

 

[Mr Lucky]

If the forum is tied to the site, I would prefer to have it in a directory as opppsed to a sub domain , so if it was me I'd switch hosts

 

[seanuk]

I see what you're both saying but at the moment my main site is on a managed drempress plan, so it's limited for a reason. I'm busy enough on the site without having to worry about setting up and optermising a vps.

As the forum isn't mission critical I m happy to play around with a vps to set it up. Maybe if it works I'll move it later to a sub directory I guess.