You may have encountered websites that use “www” in their URLs, as well as those that do not, leaving you to wonder about the difference. This question often arises when deciding on the URL structure for your own website. You might find yourself asking, “Does it matter?” “Does it affect SEO?” or “What is the difference between WWW and non-WWW?” We are here to answer all of these questions for you.
Let’s get started!
What Does WWW and Non-WWW Mean?
When discussing website URLs, you might notice that some begin with “www,” while others don’t. But what exactly does this mean?
WWW stands for World Wide Web, which is the vast collection of multimedia files and textual documents accessible through the internet.
Technically, www is a subdomain used to indicate that the address points to a website. Originally, it was common practice to prefix websites with “www” to differentiate web services from other services like FTP or email on the same domain.
A name server (DNS) translates a website’s domain name (URL) into an IP address so your browser can locate and load the webpage.
When the internet was first created, most websites used “www” as their default prefix. Over time, many websites began using non-www or naked domains, which are URLs without the “www” at the beginning.
Here’s how URLs with and without “www” look:
With www: www.example.com
Without www (naked URL): example.com
Both versions usually point to the same website, but website owners can configure their servers to treat them differently.
WWW vs. Non-WWW: Which is better for SEO?
When it comes to SEO, it doesn’t really matter whether you use www or non-www in your website address. What’s important is that you pick one version and stick with it.
If you choose the non-www version (for example, example.com), make sure that if someone types in the www version (www.example.com), they get automatically redirected to the non-www version. This is known as a 301 redirect.
Why is this important?
If both versions of your website are indexed by search engines, Google could see them as separate sites. This can divide your website’s traffic and link authority, which means your site could lose some of its SEO rankings.
For example, Amazon uses the non-www version for its main site (amazon.com), and if you go to www.amazon.com, it redirects you to amazon.com. This way, Amazon makes sure they don’t have duplicate versions of the same site online.
Also, make sure you use a 301 redirect (a permanent redirect) instead of a 302 redirect (temporary). Many people confuse a 301 redirect with a 302 redirect. A 301 redirect tells search engines that the non-www version is your preferred site and passes all the link authority to that version. To learn more about 301 vs. 302 redirects, read our latest blog post on it.
What do we learn from this?
- You should choose just one version, either www or non-www.
- Then you should set up a 301 redirect from the non-preferred version to the preferred one.
- And, avoid using 302 redirects, because they don’t pass SEO value as well as 301s do.
Which One Should I Use: www or non-www?
You can choose either one. However, there is a growing trend toward using the non-www version, as most people don’t bother typing www anymore when searching for a website. Browsers like Google Chrome on both desktops and mobile devices are also starting to hide www by default.
But once you have picked the version you want to use, you need to make sure that you are consistently using it throughout your website. In simple words, all your sitemap URLs and internal links should point to your preferred version. Along with that, if possible, try to make sure your backlinks also use the same version as well.
Can I Use Both Non-WWW And WWW?
You can, but it’s not a good idea, as we explained earlier. It’s a common SEO mistake that you should avoid. If you use both versions, you might end up confusing the search engines. Search engine bots might treat them as separate websites. This can lead to duplicate content issues and split your SEO value between the two versions. To avoid this, you’d need to set up 301 redirects from one version to the other to make sure everything points to your preferred version.
So, while it’s possible, it’s much safer and smarter to just pick one version and stick with it.
Pros and Cons of Choosing www vs Non-www
Now that we have understood why choosing both simultaneously is not right. Now you may be wondering which option is preferable. To determine the best course of action, let us review the advantages and disadvantages of each:
www
Pros:
- The www version is considered better for DNS configuration and performance.
- It offers clear separation when you are using multiple subdomains.
Cons:
- It adds an extra part to the URL, making it slightly longer.
Non-www
Pros:
- Without www, your URL appears cleaner, shorter, and more modern-looking.
- It is simple to set up, and there is no need to manage a subdomain.
- People perceive it as more professional.
Cons:
- It might cause compatibility issues with some older systems.
- It has slightly less flexibility when configuring DNS and subdomains.
Conclusion
Ultimately, choosing between www and non-www depends on what’s most important to you. Like if you need more flexibility with DNS settings and performance, the www version may be right for you. But for a cleaner and shorter URL, you can also choose a non-www one. Your needs keep changing. One thing that’s really important to understand is that you should use redirects only if you really need them because when you use redirects, it can take some time for Google to notice the changes, and during that time, your website might not be seen as much or could lose some of its search ranking. So, only use them when it’s absolutely necessary!
FAQs
1. Does using “www” or “non-www” affect my website’s security?
No, the security of any site is primarily affected by other factors like HTTPS and SSL certificates.
2. Can I switch from www to non-www after my site is live?
Yes, you can switch from “www” to “non-www” or vice versa. But while doing so, you need to implement proper 301 redirects so that search engines and visitors are redirected to the correct version of the site. This way you will lose neither the traffic nor SEO value. Failing to carry this out properly can lead to duplicate content issues, which can ultimately negatively impact your SEO.
3. Do search engines treat www and non-www as the same site?
No, search engines can treat www and non-www as separate websites if they are not properly redirected to one version. Without proper 301 redirects in place, the two versions of your site could compete against each other, and this can split your traffic.
4. Will my backlinks get affected if I switch to non-www?
If you set up proper 301 redirects, your backlinks will continue to work. But if you misconfigure the redirects, you may lose the SEO benefits of those backlinks.
5. Can I use both www and non-www for different subdomains?
Yes, you can have different subdomains (like blog.example.com) use “www” while your main domain (example.com) uses non-www. The important thing is to be consistent within each subdomain to avoid confusing search engines and users.
6. Does Google prefer one over the other in terms of ranking?
No, there is no such thing.
