A wildcard subdomain is a DNS (Domain Name System) configuration that directs all unspecified subdomains of a website to the same IP address without having to configure each one individually.

It’s represented by an asterisk (*) in DNS records.

For example, a wildcard subdomain for *.example.com will direct traffic from any subdomain that isn’t explicitly defined (like blog.example.com, shop.example.com, etc.) to the specified IP address.

In this article, we’ll look at what a wildcard subdomain is and give examples of how you can set it up through different hosting providers and DNS services.

This is particularly useful for SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms where users might have personalized subdomains (like user1.example.com, user2.example.com) but managing each as a separate subdomain would be impractical.

Developers often use wildcard subdomains for local testing environments or to allow for dynamic subdomain creation in applications.

Top Domain Hosting Providers

Visit Ultahost

Visit HostArmada

Visit Hostinger

User Rating

4.9

5.0

4.6

Money-Back Guarantee

30 Days

45 Days

30 Days

Wildcard Subdomains Uses

Wildcard subdomains are versatile and you can find uses in various aspects of web management and online services.

Here are some common uses:

• Multi-tenant Applications—In applications serving multiple tenants, such as in content management systems or e-commerce platforms, wildcard subdomains allow each tenant to have their dedicated subdomain.
• Testing and Development Environments—Developers use wildcard subdomains to easily generate new environments for testing or staging without having to configure new DNS records each time.
• Redirection and Default Handling—They are used to redirect traffic from non-existent subdomains to a main domain or a specific page, which can improve user experience and prevent lost traffic.
• Content Localization—For websites with a global audience, wildcard subdomains can route users to locale-specific versions of the site based on their geographic location.
• Load Balancing and Scaling—In load balancing, wildcard subdomains can distribute the load across different servers or clusters, enhancing website performance and reliability.
• SEO Experiments—Some SEO strategies involve using wildcard subdomains to test various content layouts or marketing approaches without affecting the main website.
• Domain Masking—They can be used to mask affiliate links or other external links, making them appear as part of the main domain.
• Hosting multiple websites on the same server—Useful when you need to dynamically generate websites or web pages that have their own unique subdomain, but are hosted on the same server infrastructure.

DNS Wildcard Subdomain Example

An example of a wildcard subdomain in action can be seen in a SaaS application like a project management tool.

Suppose the tool is hosted on the domain projectapp.com. The service offers each user their own subdomain for a personalized dashboard.

This entry means any subdomain of projectapp.com not already explicitly defined will be directed to a default location, typically the application’s main server.

When a new user signs up and chooses a unique username, say ‘johndoe’, they automatically get a personalized subdomain, like johndoe.projectapp.com. This subdomain directly leads to John’s personal dashboard. The beauty of this is that there’s no need for manual DNS configuration for each new user.

If someone types a non-existent subdomain, like random.projectapp.com, the wildcard subdomain setup ensures this request doesn’t lead to an error page but is instead handled appropriately, often redirecting to the main application or a default page.

 How to Add a Wildcard DNS to a Subdomain

Now that you know why wildcards work well for so many website owners, try them out for yourself using these step-by-step instructions for how wildcards work with some of the top hosting providers:

 IONOS Wildcard Subdomain

IONOS is a popular hosting provider known for its support staff that allows you to create and manage multiple websites from one platform.

1. Log in to the Control Panel
2. Select ‘Domains’ and then click on your desired domain name
3. Select ‘Advanced DNS Settings’ and click ‘Add Record’
4. Set the record type as ‘CNAME Wildcard’ to make a wildcard DNS record and enter the destination URL for your site in the value field before saving changes

IONOS

4.0

382 user reviews

$1.00 /mo

Starting price

Visit IONOS

Rating based on expert review

• User Friendly
  4.5
• Support
  4.0
• Features
  4.5
• Reliability
  4.5
• Pricing
  4.3

Hostinger Wildcard Subdomain

Hostinger is a great host of choice for those looking to host multiple websites from the same hostname and account.

1. Log in to your Hostinger Account and select the Domains section from the menu bar
2. Select ‘DNS Settings’ for your desired domain name, then click on the ‘+ Add Record’ button
3. Set the record type as ‘CNAME Wildcard’ and enter the destination URL for your site in the value field before saving changes

Hostinger

4.6

2,439 user reviews

$2.99 /mo

Starting price

Visit Hostinger

Rating based on expert review

• User Friendly
  4.7
• Support
  4.7
• Features
  4.8
• Reliability
  4.8
• Pricing
  4.7

 Let’s Encrypt Wildcard Subdomain

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority (CA) that provides digital certificates to enable HTTPS encryption for websites.

1. Log in to your account on their website
2. Select ‘Certificates’ and then click on the domain name you want to use
3. Click the ‘Add Wildcard Subdomain’ command and enter the destination URL for your site before saving changes

 NGINX Wildcard Subdomain

NGINX is a powerful web server used for hosting websites and servers.

1. Log in to your NGINX configuration file
2. Locate the ‘server’ directive and then add a new ‘location’ block below it
3. Set the ‘location’ as `*.your-domain-name` in the host field and define the root path of the site or page you want to direct visitors to
4. Save changes before restarting Nginx for your changes to take effect

 Cloudflare Wildcard Subdomain

Cloudflare is a DNS service provider that offers users the ability to manage their domain’s DNS settings with ease.

1. Log in to your Cloudflare account and select ‘DNS’ from the menu on the left-hand side
2. Click ‘Add Record’ and set the record type as ‘CNAME Wildcard’
3. Enter your desired destination URL for the site in the value field before saving changes

 Route53 Wildcard Subdomain

Route53 is a popular DNS service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

1. Log in to your AWS Console and select ‘Services’ from the top menu
2. Choose ‘Route53’ and open up the desired hosted zone for your domain name
3. Click on ‘Create Record Set’, set the record type as ‘CNAME Wildcard’, and enter the destination URL before saving changes

 GoDaddy Wildcard Subdomain

GoDaddy is a popular domain registrar and hosting provider.

1. Log in to the Domain Manager
2. Select your desired domain name
3. Click ‘Add DNS Record’ under the ‘DNS Zone File’ tab
4. Set the record type as ‘CNAME Wildcard’ and enter your destination URL in the value field before saving changes

GoDaddy

1.5

617 user reviews

$5.99 /mo

Starting price

Visit GoDaddy

Rating based on expert review

• User Friendly
  4.5
• Support
  4.0
• Features
  4.5
• Reliability
  4.6
• Pricing
  4.0

 cPanel Wildcard Subdomain

cPanel is a web hosting platform that allows you to host and manage multiple websites from the same dashboard, and how to create a subdomain in cPanel is easy.

1. Log in to your cPanel account and select ‘Subdomains’
2. Make a new subdomain and enter an asterisk (*) in the host field before saving changes
3. Select ‘DNS Zone Editor’ and click ‘Add Record’
4. Set the record type as ‘CNAME’ and enter the destination URL for your site in the value field before clicking Save changes

 Final Word

Wildcard domains and subdomains can be a great way to simplify the process of hosting multiple websites on the same server.

It’s important to note that they’re also helpful for directing traffic to a single source, as they will always direct users to your specified website address.

 Next Steps: What Now?

• Get your website ready for new traffic with the Best Website Builders and Best Web Hosting
• Learn more about subdomains and wildcards through articles like this one
• Follow the steps above to add a subdomain to your hosting provider/DNS records service of choice

 Learn More About Subdomains