blog.domain.com vs domain.com/blog [closed]

Question

Other than style, is there any significant difference between the 2, perhaps in something such as SEO?

And style-wise, is there a "standard"/good practice about it, or its just up to your personal preference?

Answer 1

No "best practice" applies.

The decision is more often dictated by administrative considerations that anything else. Some considerations might be:

Subdomain

• you can host it on an entirely different machine to the primary site
• it might make integration with the primary site more difficult (cookies, authentication, database servers, etc)
• the "blog" DNS record is the first point of control

Subdirectory

• the blogging software ideally uses the same technology as the primary site (eg php)
• the blogging software necessarily uses the same technology at the primary site (eg linux)
• the webserver is the first point of control

As far I'm aware it makes negligible difference to SEO. The difference it makes to SEO is a long debated moving target. As of 2015 there is a surge of evidence and opinion toward subdirectories.