Donaldson R F
DNS, Security & Integrations
Configure WWW / Non-WWW Redirect
Make sure your domain works consistently whether visitors type www or not, redirecting cleanly to your preferred version.
The Problem
Your site works at www.yourdomain.com but not yourdomain.com (or vice versa), confusing visitors and splitting your SEO value between two versions of the same site instead of consolidating it onto one.
About this problem
Search engines treat www.yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com as two different URLs unless you explicitly tell them which one is canonical via a redirect. Without this, you risk duplicate content issues, split backlink value, and visitors occasionally landing on a version that doesn't load if only one was ever properly configured.
This usually surfaces after a new site launch, a migration, or when someone notices inconsistent behaviour between the www and non-www versions of their domain.
What's Included
- Deciding (with you) which version — www or non-www — should be the canonical one
- Setting up a proper 301 redirect from the non-preferred version to the preferred one
- Checking SSL certificate coverage for both versions during the redirect
- Verifying the redirect works correctly and consistently from multiple entry points
What's NOT Included
- Changing your preference back and forth repeatedly (pick one direction, this isn't something to flip-flop on for SEO reasons)
- Fixing broken links elsewhere that hardcode the non-preferred version (though the redirect itself handles visitors fine)
- CDN-level redirect configuration if that's where it needs to live instead of server-level
How It Works
- Confirm which version (www or non-www) should be canonical, based on existing backlinks, branding or just your preference.
- Check SSL certificate coverage includes both versions so the redirect doesn't hit a certificate warning first.
- Set up a 301 (permanent) redirect at the server or DNS provider level from the non-preferred version to the preferred one.
- Test from both versions, with and without https, to confirm every path redirects correctly.
- Check canonical tags in the site's own code align with the chosen version too, for full SEO consistency.
In practice: you buy the service, send over whatever access or details the job needs, I investigate and do the work, and you confirm it's resolved before we call it done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Should I use www or non-www for my website?
- Either is fine from a technical standpoint — it's mostly a preference, though consistency matters more than which one you pick. Once chosen, stick with it.
- Why does my site load with www but not without it?
- This means only one version has been configured with a working DNS record and/or SSL certificate — the redirect/configuration needs setting up for the other version too.
- Does www vs non-www affect my SEO?
- Not inherently, but having both versions live without a redirect between them can split ranking signals and create duplicate content issues, which a proper redirect fixes.
- Will a www redirect affect my email?
- No, email is controlled by MX records, which are completely separate from how your website handles www versus non-www.
- Can I redirect www to non-www and still receive email at a www subdomain?
- Yes, those are independent — the website redirect doesn't affect any separate subdomain-based email configuration if you had one.
- Is a 301 redirect permanent?
- It's intended to signal a permanent change to search engines and browsers, which is the correct type to use for a canonical www/non-www decision — it's not something that needs to change again later.