Subdomain vs Root Domain Hosting

Last updated: May 2026

Flint supports two hosting setups: subdomain and root domain. Both are fully supported. The right choice depends on your plan, your existing infrastructure, and your goals. This page covers how each option works so you can decide which fits your situation.

A subdomain is a prefix on your domain. Flint pages are served from a separate hostname.

Your Flint pages live at a subdomain of your main domain:

• •pages.yourdomain.com
• •lp.yourdomain.com
• •go.yourdomain.com

Your main website at yourdomain.com is unaffected and continues to run on its existing platform.

Subdomain setup requires only a DNS change. There is no reverse proxy involved.

1. 1.In your Flint dashboard, go to site settings and enter your desired subdomain (e.g., pages.yourdomain.com).
2. 2.Flint provides a CNAME record value.
3. 3.Add the CNAME record in your DNS provider.
4. 4.Flint automatically provisions an SSL certificate once DNS propagates.

Propagation typically takes 15 minutes to a few hours. Some registrars can take up to 48 hours.

See the full Subdomain setup guide

Search engines treat subdomains as related but separate properties from the root domain. A subdomain can build its own authority over time, and links between your main domain and subdomain do pass equity.

Google has stated publicly that both subdomains and root domain paths are valid setups and that Googlebot can crawl and index both. The impact on rankings depends more on the quality and relevance of your content than on whether you use a subdomain or a root domain path.

Subdomain hosting is a good fit when:

• •You are on the Starter plan
• •Your main site runs on a platform that does not support reverse proxies (e.g., Squarespace, Wix)
• •You need to go live quickly with minimal infrastructure changes
• •Your Flint pages are supplementary to your main site rather than the primary web presence
• •You want to keep Flint pages fully isolated from your main site's deployment pipeline
• •Your team does not have access to server or CDN configuration

• •Search engines index the subdomain as a separate property, so it does not directly inherit your root domain's authority
• •You need to set up separate Google Search Console properties for the subdomain if you want to track it independently
• •Visitors see a different hostname, which may reduce perceived brand consistency depending on your use case
• •Some third-party tools or CRMs may require separate configuration per domain

Root domain hosting serves your Flint pages under a path on your root domain. Your main domain and Flint pages share the same hostname.

Your Flint pages appear under a path on your main domain:

• •yourdomain.com/lp
• •yourdomain.com/pages
• •yourdomain.com/solutions

Visitors never leave your root domain.

Root domain hosting requires a reverse proxy. Requests to your chosen path are forwarded from your existing web infrastructure to Flint's servers.

Supported proxy providers:

• •Cloudflare - Configure via Cloudflare Workers or Page Rules
• •Nginx - Configure via proxy_pass in your server block
• •Vercel - Configure via rewrites in vercel.json
• •Netlify - Configure via _redirects or netlify.toml
• •AWS CloudFront - Configure via origin groups and behaviors

Each provider has its own setup steps. See the links above for per-provider guides.

Note on unsupported platforms: Platforms like Squarespace and Wix do not support custom reverse proxy configuration. If your main site runs on one of these platforms, subdomain hosting is the available option.

All Flint pages served under a root domain path are part of the same property as your root domain in search indexes. They inherit the domain's existing authority, and Google Search Console treats them as part of a single site.

This means new pages can benefit from your root domain's established presence without needing to build authority independently.

Root domain hosting is a good fit when:

• •You are on a Pro or Enterprise plan
• •Flint will host the majority of your public-facing pages
• •You want all pages to appear under a single domain in search results
• •Your team has access to your CDN or server configuration
• •You want a seamless URL experience for visitors with no visible subdomain
• •Consolidating your web presence under one domain is a priority

• •Requires a Pro or Enterprise plan; not available on Starter
• •Requires technical configuration of a reverse proxy (CDN, web server, or serverless function)
• •Some hosting platforms do not support reverse proxies at all
• •Misconfigured proxies can cause routing issues that affect your main site
• •Setup time and complexity vary by provider

Both setups are valid for SEO. Google has stated publicly that it treats subdomains and root domain paths the same way, and that either can rank well. The following points describe how the two setups differ in practice.

Google's official position

Google has confirmed it can crawl and index both subdomains and root domain paths. John Mueller of Google has stated that Google treats subdomains similarly to root domain paths in most cases and that neither is inherently better for SEO.

When root domain consolidation may be relevant

If your root domain already has strong authority and you want new Flint pages to be part of the same index property, root domain hosting keeps everything under one domain. There is no need to build authority separately.

When subdomain separation may be relevant

If your main site and Flint pages serve different audiences or topics, some SEO practitioners prefer keeping them on separate properties to maintain clearer topical focus. A subdomain makes this separation explicit.

Migrating between setups

If you switch from subdomain to root domain hosting (or the reverse) after your pages are indexed, 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new URLs will preserve the majority of link equity. Migrations without redirects can result in temporary ranking changes while search engines re-crawl and re-index your pages.

Use this checklist to identify which setup fits your situation:

You can switch between subdomain and root domain hosting in either direction.

What happens to existing URLs

When you switch setups, your page URLs change. Pages that were at pages.yourdomain.com/landing will move to yourdomain.com/pages/landing, or vice versa. Any inbound links pointing to the old URLs will stop resolving unless you add redirects.

301 redirect strategy

Before switching, document your current published URLs. After the new setup is live, configure 301 redirects from each old URL to the corresponding new URL. This preserves link equity and prevents broken links for visitors.

Plan requirements

If you are moving from subdomain to root domain hosting, you need to be on a Pro or Enterprise plan. If you are currently on Starter and want to switch, see the pricing page for plan options.

For step-by-step configuration instructions, see the relevant guide for your setup:

Subdomain

• •Subdomain setup guide

Root Domain (by provider)

• •Cloudflare
• •Vercel
• •Nginx - refer to your Nginx documentation for proxy_pass configuration
• •Netlify - refer to Netlify's documentation for redirect and rewrite rules
• •AWS CloudFront - refer to AWS documentation for origin groups and cache behavior configuration

Note on unsupported platforms

Squarespace, Wix, and similar hosted website builders do not support the custom reverse proxy configuration required for root domain hosting. If your main site runs on one of these platforms, use subdomain hosting instead.

Can I use both subdomain and root domain hosting simultaneously?

No. Each Flint site is configured with one hosting setup at a time. You can have multiple Flint sites, each with their own configuration, but a single site uses either subdomain or root domain hosting.

Will switching setups affect Google rankings?

Changing your URLs always carries some short-term risk. If you set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new URLs before or immediately after switching, most link equity is preserved and any ranking impact is typically temporary. Switching without redirects is more likely to cause a longer disruption.

Do I need to upgrade to use root domain hosting?

Yes. Root domain hosting is available on Pro and Enterprise plans only. Starter plan customers can use subdomain hosting. See the pricing page for plan details.

How does this interact with ABM pages?

ABM pages follow the same hosting setup as your other Flint pages. If your site uses subdomain hosting, ABM pages are served from the subdomain. If your site uses root domain hosting, ABM pages are served from the root domain path. See the ABM workflow guide for configuration details.

What about regional subdomains (e.g., de.yourdomain.com)?

Regional subdomains are a separate concept from the Flint hosting setup. If you want to serve different language or regional versions of your Flint pages, that is handled through your page content and URL structure, not through the hosting setup choice covered in this document. Contact support if you have a specific regional subdomain configuration in mind.

Will analytics tracking break if I switch setups?

If your analytics tool is configured per domain or per property, you may need to update it after switching. For example, if you are tracking your subdomain as a separate Google Analytics property, switching to root domain hosting means the pages will fall under your root domain property. Review your analytics configuration before and after any hosting setup change.