WWW vs Non-WWW: Choosing Your Sites Canonical Domain
The www versus non-www question is about which version of your domain is canonical, and the answer matters less than the consistency of your choice.
WWW vs Non-WWW is the choice between www and non-www versions of your domain.
What It Is
WWW vs non-www is the question of whether your site should be served from www.yourdomain.com or yourdomain.com.
Both can point to the same site, but search engines treat them as separate hosts until you connect them.
Whichever you choose, the other version should redirect to it so signals are not split.
Why the Choice Matters
- Both versions are treated as distinct sites until you unify them.
- Links to each version can split your link signals.
- Cookies and login sessions can behave differently across the two.
- Redirecting one version keeps reporting and shares consistent.
How to Choose
- Either choice works; there is no ranking benefit to www.
- Consider SSL certificate coverage for both versions.
- Consider how your hosting and CDN handle cookies by default.
- Consider the version you use in your own links and materials.
- Document the choice so new content uses it everywhere.
How to Make It Stick
- Set up a 301 redirect from the non-canonical version.
- Use canonical tags consistently on the chosen version.
- Update internal links and sitemap to the chosen version.
- Verify both versions in Google Search Console.
- Keep the choice stable once you enforce it.
Common Mistakes
- Running both versions without redirects.
- Redirecting some directories and not others.
- Switching the choice back and forth over time.
- Forgetting www coverage on the SSL certificate.
- Ignoring subdomains that also resolve to the site.
Before: a site serves content on both www and non-www.
After: it 301-redirects one version to the other.
The result: crawlers consolidate all signals on one host.
The lesson: one canonical domain keeps the site unified.
Quick Tip
Pick a version, redirect the other, and never look back, because consistency beats either choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
WWW vs Non-WWW, in Short
The www versus non-www debate has no wrong answer.
Pick one host, redirect the other, and keep everything on the chosen version.
Consistency is what protects your signals.