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How Domain Aliases (and subdomains) work in Consent Studio

A commonly asked question is: "can I add my subdomains?" Domain Aliases is the functionality you are looking for!

Thierry Maasdam avatar
Written by Thierry Maasdam
Updated over 2 weeks ago

How does Consent Studio handle my domain's subdomains?

Generally

At Consent Studio, we don’t make things complicated when it comes to subdomains. You can usually register them as domain aliases. The number of domain aliases included for free depends on your subscription plan. Additionally, while the primary domain is automatically scanned for cookies, subdomains registered as domain aliases are not scanned separately. If unique cookies exist on these subdomains, they must be manually registered in Consent Studio.

You have two options:

  1. Register subdomains separately Advantage: each subdomain has its own active Page Scanner and its own consent log.

  2. Register subdomains as domain aliases under a main domain Advantage: doesn’t count as a separate domain, but it won’t be scanned for cookies and it will share the consent log (and MCA budget) with the parent domain. Additionally, these domain aliases can inherit consent banners and settings from the main domain, ensuring uniformity in user experience and compliance.

The www. subdomain is always included with every main domain you register. It is treated as a domain alias.

Cookie Scanning for Primary Domains and Subdomains

  • Primary Domains: These are scanned automatically for cookies, and all detected cookies are processed by Consent Studio.

  • Subdomains and Domain Aliases: These are not scanned automatically. Any unique cookies present need to be manually registered and managed within Consent Studio.

Examples

  • The domain example.com has the subdomain www.example.com. This subdomain is included and supported by default. No need to register www. again.

  • The domain example.com has the subdomain my.example.com. This subdomain is not included and supported by default. It must be registered as a domain alias.

  • Websites redirecting users to third-party subdomains (e.g., for purchases) can register these subdomains as domain aliases. For instance, checkout.example.com could be registered to share the same consent banner and settings as the main domain, ensuring consistency and compliance.

Where to register domain aliases?

Log in to Consent Studio. Look for the Domain dropdown menu in the top navigation bar. Open the Settings panel.

In this panel (Settings), you can modify your Domain Aliases list. Domain aliases listed here will share consent settings and banners with their associated main domain, simplifying compliance management.

You can always contact our support team for a pricing quote if you have many domains to register. Feel free to send an e-mail to support@consent.studio to lay out your case, so we can find a suiting solution together.

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