Lately I've noticed a resurgence in the use of 3rd party subdomains like MYSITE.IT.COM as the primary domain in Webflow hosted sites.
If you were around in the early days of the Internet, it was once common for companies to buy a domain, and then support simple site building in a mall-style approach. You got a cheap or free subdomain to access your site, and could bring a simple website online quickly- which generated ad revenue for the host.
Even Google offered this for small websites and blogs.
Today this is resurfacing in a slightly different way. Get a subdomain under IT.COM, or CentralNic, or No-IP and you can do some DNS configuration, maybe get email services, all in one unified system.
Your actual site is hosted somewhere else... like Webflow.
It's often cheap, and it's convenient - and Webflow does indeed support subdomains ( both via quick connect and manual connect ) with a slightly different DNS setup.
However, 3rd party subdomains come with limitations and risks that could affect SEO, branding, and long-term control over your site.
Let's have a look.
What Are Third-Party Subdomains?
A third-party subdomain is a subdomain ( e.g., yourbrand.it.com ) leased from a larger domain owner rather than being registered as an independent domain ( e.g., yourbrand.com ).
This means you don’t actually own the domain—only the subdomain rights under another entity’s control.
Here's how it works
Imagine Bob owns the house at 123 Main St., New York.
Bob decides to "sell" sub-addresses, like "Apt A", "Apt B", and then collect and forward mail and packages to his customers.
Jake likes this a lot. It's cheap, and the address looks good. He becomes a customer, and prints the address on all of his business cards, which looks cool.
Remember. though- Jake doesn't own that address- Bob does.
What happens when Bob's computer gets wiped, or the house burns down? What if Bob moves someday? What if Bob can't pay his mortgage and his house gets repossessed?
What if Bob sells his business and the new owner wants to charge 10x more?
These are some of the ways that Jake can get screwed.
So Many Different Types of Domains
Before we get into the discussion of how 3rd party subdomains are different from actual domains, we need to talk a bit of tech on how domain names work.
On the global Internet, you'll frequently encounter domains like;
- MYSITE.COM.AU
- MYSITE.CO
- MYSITE.IT
- MYSITE.COM.IT
- MYSITE.BIZ
- MYSITE.ME
- MYSITE.IT.COM
- MYSITE-IT.COM
Some of these are Top Level Domains ( TLDs ) or Country-Code Top-Level Domains ( ccTLDs ) which can be purchased and owned legally from a domain registrar. Others are subdomains, which can not.
Can you tell the difference? Most people probably can not.
Here's a quick guide on how to distinguish between domains, country-specific domains, and subdomains.
STEP 1 - Separate the domain into segments at the periods.
e.g. MYSITE.COM.IT has 3 segments, MYSITE.BIZ has 2 segments, and MYSITE-IT.COM has 2 segments.
STEP 2 - Start by looking at the last segment first. We work in reverse.
- If the last segment is a 2-letter sequence, it is always a country-specific domain.
From there, each country has different rules. - If the last segment ends in 3 or more letters like .COM, .ORG, .COOL, .AGENCY
- If it ends in anything else, like BIZ, AGENCY, COOL, etc. it is also a TLD, but it is managed by an approved authority
STEP 3 - Depending on the country or registrar, you then need to look up their rules to determine whether the second-to-last segment matters.
It sometimes does, and sometimes doesn't;
- e.,g. .AU indicates Australia. Australia divides its ccTLD into topical groupings, like .COM.AU, .ORG.AU, .GOV.AU.
- e.g. .IT indicates Italy. Italy does not divide its ccTLD, so you can have MYSITE.IT. Same with .CO, which is Colombia, .ME which is Meritius, and .AI which is the Aelutian Islands territory.
- e.g. .NZ indicates New Zealand, which does both categorized domains, and uncategorized domains. You can have MYSITE.CO.NZ and also MYSITE.NZ.
Let's Do an Exercise
Before continuing, look again at the examples above and see if you can identify the type of domain each one is.
In our examples above...
- MYSITE.COM.AU - ccTLD ( Australia ) with no subdomain.
- MYSITE.CO - ccTLD ( Colombia ), with no subdomain.
- MYSITE.IT - ccTLD ( Italy ), with no subdomain
- MYSITE.COM.IT
- MYSITE.BIZ - TLD, with no subdomain.
- MYSITE.ME - ccTLD ( Mauritius ) with no subdomain
- MYSITE.IT.COM - Subdomain of a TLD
- Here the TLD is IT.COM and MYSITE is a subdomain
- MYSITE-IT.COM - TLD with no subdomain.
Confused Yet?
Here's why this matters...
Modern domain registrars now support a huge range of TLDs and ccTLDs, which means they're reselling domains from many different countries and domain authorities.
Just like each store chooses the products they carry - the range of authorities a domain registrar supports is completely arbitrary. Even within a ccTLD there can be multiple authorities - which weirdly means that a registrar like Google Domains can support domain registration for MYSITE.CO.NZ ( New Zealand ) but not support the registration of MYSITE.NZ ( also New Zealand ).
Alongside these, major registrars have begun reselling Third Party Subdomains, like MYSITE.IT.COM - and to the untrained eye, these can look very similar to other legitimate domains.
The moral is... know your domains.
The Benefits
Here's why Webflow developers consider third-party subdomains.
- Lower cost: Acquiring a subdomain is often cheaper than registering a unique domain.
- Availability of good names: Popular .com domains are often unavailable, while subdomains offer fresh branding opportunities.
- Ease of setup in Webflow: Webflow allows users to attach subdomains as easily as they can add custom domains.
But mostly...
They can't tell the difference, and don't know the pitfalls.
The Pitfalls
1. Limited Ownership and Control
Since the primary domain is controlled by another company, they can:
- Change policies or pricing at any time.
- Shut down services, leading to loss of your website's domain.
- Restrict DNS settings, preventing full customization.
- Resell your subdomain to another company at any time
Essentially, someone has purchased IT.COM and is reselling subdomains with DNS support off of that single domain. While this might seem convenient, it introduces significant risk.
As long as their tech infrastructure is solid and they never let IT.COM expire, those subdomains should remain stable—but you are ultimately dependent on their business decisions.
2. Google Search Console and SEO Limitations
Google Search Console does not allow you to verify an entire subdomain using Domain Property Verification. Instead, you must verify each subdomain separately, making it harder to track and manage your site’s SEO performance. Additionally:
- Google may treat subdomains as separate sites, meaning your main site and subdomain won’t share SEO authority.
- Some third-party subdomains are seen as less trustworthy, potentially impacting search rankings.
3. Brand Perception and Trust Issues
Using a subdomain rather than a unique domain can affect your brand’s credibility:
- Customers might see
yourbrand.it.comas less professional thanyourbrand.com. - Users may confuse your site with others using the same domain provider (e.g.,
somebrand.it.com). - Subdomains are often associated with free hosting services, which can reduce perceived legitimacy.
4. Security and Reliability Risks
- If the parent domain is compromised, all subdomains under it could be affected.
- You cannot transfer the subdomain to another provider if the main domain owner shuts down or restricts access.
- Malicious actors can take over abandoned subdomains, leading to security vulnerabilities.
5. Email and Third-Party Service Limitations
Some third-party subdomains do not allow custom email addresses (e.g., yourname@yourbrand.it.com). This can make it difficult to set up:
- Professional email services (Google Workspace, Outlook, etc.)
- DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records for email authentication
- Certain API services that require root domain authentication
Webflow supports subdomains as the default domain, but since you do not own the domain or control the top-level DNS zone, there are a number of services you wouldn't be able to set up, like a Google Search Console domain property.
6. Difficulties in Migrating Away
If you decide to move to a unique domain later:
- All SEO authority from the subdomain is lost.
- Redirects can be difficult to manage, affecting traffic and rankings.
- Branding efforts need to be restarted under a new domain name.
As a personal note, I certainly wouldn’t build my business on this, because you don’t own the IT.COM domain or have any legal rights there—including pricing guarantees—so anything can happen. Instead of owning your home, you’re living in a trailer park on a rented lot.
Are There Any Good Use Cases for Third-Party Subdomains?
While they come with drawbacks, subdomains might still be useful for:
- Temporary websites or microsites (e.g., campaigns, limited-time events)
- Non-business-related projects where branding is not a priority
- Webflow testing environments before launching a full-fledged website
Conclusion
For serious businesses, owning a unique domain is always the better long-term investment.
While subdomains can work in certain cases, their limitations in control, branding, and SEO make them a risky choice.
If you’re building a Webflow site that you want to grow and establish as a professional brand, registering your own domain is the best strategy to ensure security, stability, and scalability.
