Websites, Domains & Internet Infrastructure · WDH-008

Can one domain host several websites?¶

Yes. One domain can support several distinct websites, applications or services. Sharing a domain does not automatically establish common authorship or responsibility.

Services may be separated by subdomains:

• shop.example.com
• support.example.com
• members.example.com

They may also sit beneath different paths, such as example.com/shop and example.com/support.

Why one domain may contain different operations¶

A large organisation may operate some services itself and outsource others. A platform may allow many users to create pages or stores. A compromised account may publish content beneath a legitimate domain. Different departments or contractors may manage separate areas.

The same domain may also show different content depending on account, language, location or device.

Narrow the enquiry¶

The domain alone may be too broad for a useful request. Preserve:

• the full hostname;
• the path;
• the page or account identifier;
• the observed content; and
• the relevant date and time.

Then identify who is likely to hold records for that specific service.

Possible evidence holders include the registrar, website platform, cloud provider and the organisation operating the service. Each may hold a different category of record.

Attribution limits¶

Pages sharing a domain may have a technical or organisational relationship without sharing authorship. Conversely, apparently separate services may share authentication, analytics, payment or administrative systems.