Running Three Content Sites on One Domain
A Next.js + Vercel sub-path architecture
When you've been running a content site for a while, a natural need arises: I want to start a second site, a third site. The normal approach is to buy a domain for each — 45 to 70 yuan per year, times the number of sites. Three sites = 135 to 210 yuan. Not a lot of money, but it adds up. And managing multiple domains and multiple Vercel projects is a hassle. I worked out a better approach — using Next.js's sub-path architecture to run multiple content sites under one domain, hosted for free on Vercel, saving at least two-thirds on domain costs.
Here's how the sub-path approach works: your main domain is agentclaw.sale (or whatever). Under this domain, you assign different paths to different content sites. For example, tool.agentclaw.sale for tool-related content, wear.agentclaw.sale for apparel content, ops.agentclaw.sale for operations content. Each sub-path looks like an independent site, but they all share the same project, same domain, and same infrastructure.
Why This Topic Matters
The advantages of this architecture are obvious. First, domain costs drop from 135 to 210 yuan per year down to 45 to 70 yuan — saving two-thirds. Second, SEO benefits: all content is under the same domain, so Google accumulates authority to the root domain, and every sub-site benefits from the parent domain's authority. Third, lower management costs — one GitHub repo is enough; no switching between multiple Vercel projects.
How to implement this in Next.js? The core idea is to use middleware (middleware.ts) to route requests based on path to different content modules. Create corresponding folders under the pages directory — pages/tool, pages/wear, pages/ops — and each folder independently maintains its own pages and content files. After deploying to Vercel, visiting agentclaw.sale/tool/some-article automatically maps to the article under that folder.
If you're using App Router (Next.js 13+ directory structure), it's even more intuitive. Create directory groups under /app like (tool), (wear), (ops). Each group independently maintains its own layout and page files. Different sites can use different themes and layouts. The tool site might have a tool listing page, the wear site displays article content, the ops site shows an operations data dashboard. Each site's design and functionality can differ significantly, but since they share one project, common components can be extracted and reused.
Step 1: Find Your Positioning
AgentClaw's real-world example: I run three content sites within the same Next.js project. The agentclaw.sale root path shows a general project introduction, then /tool, /wear, /ops route to different sub-sites. Each sub-site has its own article list, category pages, and detail pages, but they share the top navigation bar, footer, SEO configuration components, and database connections. The code and articles for all three sites are managed in the same GitHub repository. One push updates all three sites simultaneously.
For database, if each site needs independent data, use multiple tables or prefix-based distinction. I use Feishu's multidimensional tables to manage content metadata, with a "site" field in each record marking which site it belongs to. The frontend filters content based on the current path's site value. This way, one data source supports three sites — no need to build separate databases for each.
There are more advanced uses of this architecture. Configure rewrites in next.config.js for cleaner URL structures. Configure headers to return different caching strategies for different sub-sites — the tool site might need high dynamism while the ops site needs strong caching. Configure different sitemap generation logic so each sub-site's sitemap can be independently submitted to Google Search Console.
Step 2: Build the System
Vercel's free plan supports this one-project, multi-site approach extremely well. Vercel only cares about which domain you're deploying to — it doesn't care about your URL structure design. You can bind multiple domains to the same Vercel project, and it's fully supported. Your tool.agentclaw.sale, wear.agentclaw.sale, and ops.agentclaw.sale can all point to the same Vercel project. Vercel automatically handles multiple domain routing based on the Host header.
Here's how to bind the domains. In your domain registrar's dashboard (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, GoDaddy, etc.), add a CNAME record pointing to Vercel's DNS target. For example, CNAME record "tool" pointing to cname.vercel-dns.com. Then in Vercel's project settings, add these three domains to the Domains list. Vercel automatically generates SSL certificates for each domain. The whole process takes under 10 minutes.
The content strategy for each sub-site should also be differentiated. The tool site produces tool-related content like SEO tool recommendations and writing tool comparisons — suitable for AdSense monetization. The wear site produces apparel content like sports suit buying guides — suitable for CPS affiliate monetization. The ops site produces operational content like solo entrepreneur practical experience — suitable for selling courses or consulting services. While the three sites share the same codebase and domain, their monetization strategies, target audiences, and content styles can be completely different.
Step 3: Content Output
Expanding from one content site to multiple isn't really a technical challenge — it's an operational one. You need to understand three different niche markets, maintain three content systems, and track three sets of SEO keywords. So before expanding, I recommend getting profitable with one direction first. Only when one site's traffic is consistently above 500 daily UV and revenue covers your time cost should you start a second. Don't try three at once — you won't be able to manage it.
One hidden benefit of the sub-path architecture: mobile and PWA support. Vercel supports one-click PWA (Progressive Web App) configuration, letting users add your site to their phone home screen like an app. All sub-sites share one service worker; users add it once and can access all sub-sites.
One limitation: if your content sites have wildly different topics — like fitness and programming — using the same domain will confuse Google's contextual understanding. Google judges topic authority based on the site's overall content. If you mix too many unrelated topics under one domain, authority actually decreases. So my advice: sub-sites should have logical connections. For example, all oriented around the broad theme of "solo entrepreneurship," just approached from different angles. This way, Google sees your site as comprehensive, not messy.
Step 4: Traffic Acquisition
Summary: running three content sites on one domain — the technical solution is Next.js's sub-path architecture plus Vercel's free hosting. Cost drops from 135 to 210 yuan per year for three domains down to 45 to 70 yuan — saving two-thirds. Management costs also drop dramatically — one GitHub repo, one Vercel project handles all content sites. SEO-wise, authority concentrates on the root domain, and every sub-site benefits from the parent domain's accumulated authority. If you're planning multi-site operations, this solution is worth trying.
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