Hosting a Hub on a Subdirectory

A content hub is a centralized online destination where a collection of content is organized and presented to users in a cohesive and structured manner. It serves as a repository or focal point for various content related to a specific topic, brand, or audience.

Hubs are a custom functionality. To get started with Hubs, you need to contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM), and they will enable the Hub. Once the Hub is enabled, Hubs is displayed in the Left Navigation Menu.

To create a Hub, setting up a domain is mandatory. The objective of defining a domain is to make it seem to users that your resource center is part of your website, even though it is hosted on Hushly’s servers. Learn more about managing and adding a Domain

Hosting a Hub on a subdirectory requires reverse proxy capabilities on your web server. 

What Does a Reverse Proxy Do?

A reverse proxy acts as an intermediary between your website and the Hushly Hub. It receives requests from visitors and forwards them to the appropriate destination, allowing you to host a Hub on a subdirectory of your existing website.

For example, you can make your Hub available at: www.yourdomain.com/resources 

without requiring the Hub to be hosted directly on your website's infrastructure.

How a Reverse Proxy Works

When a visitor accesses a Hub hosted on a subdirectory, the request follows this general flow:

1. A visitor enters the Hub URL in their browser, for example:  www.yourdomain.com/resources.
   
   
2. Your web server receives the request.
   
   
3. The reverse proxy identifies the /resources path.
   
   
4. The reverse proxy forwards the request to the Hushly Hub.
   
   
5. Hushly processes the request and returns the Hub content.
   
   
6. The reverse proxy sends the response back to the visitor.
   
   

From the visitor's perspective, the Hub appears to be part of your website because the Hub URL uses your existing domain and subdirectory.

Why Use a Reverse Proxy for a Hub?

A reverse proxy allows you to:

• Host a Hub on your existing domain: Use a URL such as www.yourdomain.com/resources.
  
  
• Use a subdirectory: Serve the Hub from a specific path without creating a separate website.
  
  
• Maintain a consistent URL structure: Keep Hub content organized under your primary domain.
  
  
• Provide a seamless visitor experience: Visitors can access Hub content without being redirected to a different domain.
  
  
• Keep your existing website: Your website continues to handle its own URLs while the reverse proxy routes Hub requests to Hushly.
  
  

Hushly provides the Base Path option to host a Hub on a subdirectory. The Base Path tells the reverse proxy where the Hub should be available within the domain.