Let me be blunt: if you’re still buying a brand-new domain every single time you want to test an idea, spin up an app, or deploy a project, you’re not just wasting money—you’re missing one of the most powerful tools every developer should know by heart.
We’re living in a time where apps are spun up in days, not months. Frameworks, APIs, hosting platforms, and automation have compressed the dev cycle down to a blur. And yet, I constantly meet developers who proudly tell me:
“Yeah, I just buy a new domain for every project.”
That’s insane. Stop doing that.
Why This Matters Right Now
In this era of hyper-development, you need speed. You need agility. And you need cheap, reliable ways to host and test ideas.
Here’s my reality: at one point, I had 50 different apps in the works. There was no chance I was going to buy 50 domains just to point at each one. Not only would that burn through cash, it would bury me in renewal notices, registrar accounts, and DNS sprawl.
So what’s the solution?
Subdomains.
What a Subdomain Really Is
Let’s strip the mystery away. A subdomain is nothing more than a string that comes before your root domain.
If your domain is:
yourcoolproject.com
Then a subdomain is:
app1.yourcoolproject.com
api.yourcoolproject.com
dashboard.yourcoolproject.com
That’s it. No magic. No expensive trickery. Just an extra label pointing to a server you control.
One domain can house dozens, hundreds, even thousands of subdomains. It’s like buying one big piece of land and dividing it into as many plots as you want, instead of buying 50 separate lots.
The Junk Domain Strategy
Here’s the play:
Buy a cheap domain. Don’t get lured into those $0.99 domains that skyrocket to $80 on renewal. Find one that costs a dollar up front and around $12 a year after.
This becomes your “junk domain”—your experimental playground.
Point every single project, test app, and throwaway idea at subdomains of that one domain.
If you’re deep in dev mode for a year, you’ll end up with app1.junkdomain.com, testapi.junkdomain.com, demo.junkdomain.com… and so on.
And when you’re done? Kill the subdomain. Move on. Rinse and repeat.
But… What About SEO?
Yeah, yeah. I can already hear the objections.
- “But Seth, subdomains hurt SEO!”
- “But Seth, won’t this confuse users?”
- “But Seth, won’t it take away from my main site?”
Listen. This advice isn’t for your production marketing site. If you’re trying to build an e-commerce business or funnel organic search traffic, go ahead and buy a clean root domain. Fine.
But if you’re in builder mode, and you’re kicking out apps to test, validate, or demo, SEO is irrelevant. You’re not here to climb Google. You’re here to ship faster without draining your wallet.
How to Create a Subdomain (The Fast Way)
Okay, let’s cut to the chase.
A subdomain is created by adding a record in your DNS provider.
Manual Way:
Log in to your DNS host (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.).
Add a new DNS record:
Type: A (points to an IP) or CNAME (points to another domain).
Name: The subdomain prefix (app1, test, etc.).
Value: The server or platform you want traffic to go to.
Save. Done.
Now if you visit app1.yourdomain.com, boom—you’re looking at your app.
Automated Way:
If you don’t want to babysit DNS settings every time, use tools:
DNSRedo – Connect your domain, click a button, and it creates subdomains for you. Bonus: it keeps long-term DNS backups, which Cloudflare won’t.
Cloudflare – If you’re already using it, you can spin up records quickly. Just note: no backups.
Don’t Skip Security
Let’s be real. DNS does not provide security. It just points people to servers.
If your server is misconfigured, unpatched, or wide open, pointing a subdomain at it doesn’t magically make it safe. All you’ve done is put a big neon sign over your insecure system.
So:
- Harden your servers.
- Patch your software.
- Don’t expose things you wouldn’t expose on a normal domain.
If you’re just serving static sites, React apps, or serverless functions via Cloudflare or Netlify, you’re fine. But don’t confuse convenience with immunity.
The Real Developer Advantage
When you embrace subdomains, you unlock a new way of thinking about development:
- You can spin up dozens of projects without financial friction.
- You can organize environments (dev.yourdomain.com, staging.yourdomain.com, prod.yourdomain.com).
- You can keep demos separate (client1.yourdomain.com, client2.yourdomain.com).
- You can throw away failed projects without feeling like you wasted money.
- It’s cheap. It’s flexible. And it keeps you in control.
Stop Buying Domains Like Candy
Here’s the final word:
TLDR;
Unless you’re launching a public product with branding and payments attached, stop buying a new domain for every idea.
One domain + subdomains = infinite flexibility.
You can’t call yourself a modern developer if you don’t understand this.
So go buy a cheap domain, fire up some subdomains, and start building like it’s 2025.
So, get out there. Code. Build. Create. Make greatness.
My Projects:
DNSRedo.com
Inventorsbookai.com
Projectmythought.com
aiemailbots.com
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