Domain mapping: What is it and how does it work?

Domain mapping makes it possible to use multiple domains for a single website. This comes in handy when using content man­age­ment systems like WordPress: You can structure multiple domains and subpages and connect them with each other. This makes it easier for users to navigate your web presence, while also allowing you to keep a neat overview of your content. Keep reading to find out how to use domain mapping.

Domain mapping makes it possible to connect several domains with your main domain or content man­age­ment system (CMS). You can use domain name mapping to, for example, register in­di­vidu­al domains for different de­part­ments, product cat­egor­ies, or services and still manage them in the same WordPress in­stall­a­tion. In short, domain mapping makes it possible to have several in­de­pend­ent, dis­tinct­ive domains and manage them centrally. This makes it easier for users to navigate your web content without having to click through subpages.

For example, WordPress makes this possible with its multi-site feature, which you can use to divide up a single WordPress in­stall­a­tion into several connected domains. That way you can create separate subpages for customer service, your company blog, an online shop, or local franchise sites and unite everything under the umbrella of your main domain.

Domain mapping is es­pe­cially useful for companies and website operators that work with diverse sets of products, services, or topics. Mapping a domain makes it possible to connect a network of dis­tinct­ive domains and thus make it easier to claim related domain names for yourself. It also makes it easier for users to find the part of your site that they need. Since all of the separate domains link to your main domain, it makes updating and main­tain­ing your subpages sig­ni­fic­antly easier.

The ad­vant­ages of domain name mapping are pretty clear. If you use a CMS, you can take care of the main­ten­ance and update of your domains all in one place. You’ll save time and money, since all your domains are part of your ‘domain map’.

With domain mapping you can also secure several domains that are relevant to your brand. The domains won’t just sit around ‘parked’ but can be connected with your main domain. That way you can optimise your reach, reach out to new customers, and increase your traffic. And it’s also possible to use domain mapping to integrate existing domains into your system without spending a lot on domain switching, WordPress migration or host changes.

Some dis­ad­vant­ages of domain mapping result from CMS struc­tures like the WordPress Multisite feature. If you don’t have suf­fi­cient knowledge of your CMS, mapping a domain can be difficult to implement. So be prepared to learn about how multi-site networks and domain mapping work before diving in.

The main dif­fer­ence between domain mapping and a complete domain transfer is also one of the main ad­vant­ages of domain mapping: If you have a contract with a service provider for your WordPress site, you won’t be able to transfer or change your WordPress domain without spending a lot of money doing it. It’s much easier to connect in­de­pend­ent domains with already mapped domains without switching your provider or server. While a domain transfer from one provider to another entails trans­fer­ring all content to a new server including the AuthCode, with domain mapping you can simply link your various domains to your main domain.

If you want to secure catchy domains for trademark reasons or increase your reach with similar domain names, domain re­dir­ect­ing might be the thing for you. With domain re­dir­ect­ing, users will be re­dir­ec­ted to your target domain even if they didn’t ori­gin­ally search for it.

With domain mapping, on the other hand, it’s not about being re­dir­ec­ted. Instead, you’re dealing with a separate domain with its own content, which is connected to a multi-site network and links to it. Users are on the secondary domain but are shown content from the main domain. The URL in the browser doesn’t change.