When you sign up for Jottings, one of the first things you do is choose a subdomain. Something like vishal.jottings.me or my-thoughts.jottings.me.
I know what you might be thinking: "Why a subdomain? Why not just a path like jottings.me/vishal?"
Good question. And the answer gets at something I think is pretty important about how Jottings is built.
Your Subdomain is Your Real Estate
A subdomain—like username.jottings.me—is your URL. It's your identity on the internet. When you share it, it looks like this:
https://mysite.jottings.me
Compare that to a path-based URL:
https://jottings.me/mysite
They're not the same thing. The subdomain URL has your name up front. It looks like your own little corner of the web. And that matters, especially if you want to own your presence.
The path-based approach works fine for some platforms, but it always feels like you're living in someone else's house. With a subdomain, you have your own address.
Plus, subdomains are easier to remember and share. Try saying "my-thoughts dot jottings dot me" versus "jottings dot me slash my-thoughts." The first one rolls off the tongue.
How Subdomains Actually Work
Here's the technical bit, which is kind of cool:
When you create a site on Jottings with the subdomain "mysite," your site becomes instantly accessible at https://mysite.jottings.me. No manual configuration. No waiting around.
Here's what happens behind the scenes:
- You create a site with a subdomain like "mysite"
- Jottings builds your site - generates all the HTML, feeds, sitemap
- Files are uploaded to Cloudflare R2 - a fast, reliable storage service
- A Cloudflare Worker routes requests to the right files based on your subdomain
- Your site is live at
https://mysite.jottings.me
The beauty of this architecture is that it's fast. When someone visits your site, they're hitting a global CDN edge node close to them. Your home page loads in milliseconds. And it's static HTML—no servers to manage, no databases slowing you down.
It's serverless infrastructure, but you don't have to think about it. You just publish your jots and your site updates automatically.
Choosing Your Subdomain
When you sign up, you'll pick your subdomain. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Keep it simple. Short subdomains are better than long ones. "alex" instead of "alexander-smith-writes." Think about what you want to be known as, not your full name.
Make it memorable. This is the URL you'll share, so make it something people can remember and type easily. Lowercase, hyphens okay (for word separation), but avoid numbers unless they're part of your brand.
Avoid reserved words. Some subdomains are reserved for Jottings' own systems (like api, dashboard, status). You won't be able to claim those, but your dashboard will show you available options.
Once you've claimed your subdomain, it's yours. No one else can have it. It's like domain registration, except you don't have to pay renewal fees.
Custom Domains: The Next Level
Here's where it gets even better.
Once your site is up and running, you can map a custom domain to it. If you own blog.example.com or thoughts.yourname.com, you can point it at Jottings and your site lives there instead.
When you upgrade to Jottings Pro, custom domain mapping is included. You add a couple of DNS records, and Jottings handles the rest—including automatic SSL certificates.
The magic here is that your [subdomain].jottings.me becomes the source of truth. All your site data, all your jots, live there. The custom domain is just another URL pointing to the same site.
This means you get:
- Ownership: Your content lives on your own domain
- Flexibility: You can point any domain you own at Jottings
- Portability: Your subdomain URL still works as a backup
- Simplicity: Jottings handles the technical complexity
So if you ever leave Jottings (though I hope you don't), you can point your custom domain elsewhere. Your [subdomain].jottings.me stays alive with all your content.
Why Subdomains Matter
I built Jottings around subdomains because I wanted every user to feel like they own their space. Not rent it. Not borrow it.
A subdomain gives you that. It's more real than a path. It's an address—yourname.jottings.me. That's yours.
And the technical architecture that powers subdomains is actually what makes Jottings fast and cheap to operate. Cloudflare R2 for storage, Workers for routing, static HTML for speed—none of that happens without subdomains.
So when you're sitting there trying to pick your subdomain, remember: you're not just choosing a URL. You're claiming your piece of the internet. Make it something you're proud to share.
Let's Get Started
Ready to claim your identity? Sign up for Jottings and pick your subdomain. It takes two minutes, and your site is live immediately.
Whether you stay with [yourname].jottings.me or upgrade to Pro and use a custom domain, you're building on a platform that respects ownership. Your words, your site, your rules.