When you’re launching a new website, every decision feels huge. We remember staring at the screen wondering if we should use ‘www’ in our domain, worried that the wrong choice could hurt our SEO from day one.
After building and growing many successful websites here at WPBeginner, we can tell you this decision is much simpler than it seems. It really comes down to your personal preference.
In this guide, we’ll explain the practical difference between the two options. Our goal is to help you pick one with confidence and move on to the more important parts of growing your site.
For an average user or small business owner, there is absolutely no benefit in choosing a www or non-www site URL. It all comes down to personal preference.
Yes, there is a technical difference between the two, and we will cover this later in the article. But for most people, it won’t matter either way.
What Does www Mean in a Domain Name?
The ‘www’ stands for World Wide Web. It was the subdomain prefix placed in front of almost every website address in the early days of the internet, used to signal that a URL pointed to a web server rather than other types of internet services like email or file transfer.
Technically, ‘www’ is a subdomain, in the same way that ‘shop.example.com’ or ‘blog.example.com’ are subdomains. When you visit ‘www.example.com’, your browser is looking up the ‘www’ subdomain of ‘example.com’ and connecting to the web server configured for it.
Today, most web servers and browsers treat ‘www.example.com’ and ‘example.com’ as the same destination, and the ‘www’ prefix has become optional. That’s why you’ll see both formats across the web, and why for most new sites the choice is simply a matter of personal preference.
SEO Benefits of WWW vs non-WWW
Let’s clear up a common misconception right away: there’s no SEO benefit to choosing either www or non-www for your WordPress website. Google treats both formats equally, and your choice won’t impact your search rankings.
The ‘www’ prefix (which stands for World Wide Web) was traditionally used in website addresses, but modern websites often skip it entirely. You can write your domain either as ‘www.example.com’ or simply ‘example.com’. Both are perfectly valid options.
While the choice between www and non-www doesn’t affect SEO, consistency is crucial. Search engines view ‘www.yoursite.com’ and ‘yoursite.com’ as two completely separate websites.
When both versions of your URL are active without a redirect, search engines have no clear signal about which one is the real site. This creates three specific problems for your rankings.
- Backlinks get split. When some sites link to www.yoursite.com and others link to yoursite.com, that authority is divided between two URLs instead of combining on one. Your site ends up weaker than it should be.
- Crawl budget is wasted. Search engines have a limit on how much time they spend crawling your site. When both versions are accessible, they crawl both, spending resources on duplicate pages instead of your actual content.
- Google may index the wrong version. Without a clear signal from you, Google might decide the non-preferred version of your site is the official one, making it harder for your preferred URL to rank.
The fix is straightforward. Pick one version, redirect the other to it, and signal your preference to search engines using a canonical tag. Switching between formats after your site is live can also temporarily harm your rankings, so it’s best to decide early and stick with it.
If you’re using All in One SEO (AIOSEO), you don’t need to worry about technical complications. The plugin automatically sets the correct canonical URL, tells Google your preferred format, and prevents duplicate content issues.
That’s all you really have to do. You can check out our guide on how to set up All in One SEO in WordPress for more details.
Real-World Examples
You might be wondering about our preference between www and non-www.
At WPBeginner, we use the www format (‘014.leahstevensyj.workers.dev’). However, some of our other successful properties like optinmonster.com and wpforms.com don’t use ‘www’.
Both approaches work equally well, showing that success isn’t tied to which format you choose.
Our Recommendation
Choose the format you prefer when starting your website, and stick with it.
Remember, the most important factor isn’t which format you choose, but maintaining consistency across your entire website. Once you’ve made your choice, stick with it to make sure you get the best possible performance for your WordPress site.
Pros and Cons of WWW vs Non-WWW
Both formats work equally well for most websites. But there are genuine technical differences worth knowing before you choose, especially if you expect your site to grow significantly.
Pros of using www:
- Better cookie control. Cookies set on www.example.com are scoped to that subdomain by default. They don’t automatically apply to other subdomains like shop.example.com. This matters for larger sites running multiple services under the same domain.
- More DNS flexibility. The www prefix is technically a subdomain, so it can use CNAME records to point to CDN servers or load balancers. This makes it easier to distribute traffic at very high volumes.
- Cleaner subdomain separation. If you ever add a shop, app, or blog as a subdomain, using www for your main site makes it easier to keep traffic and cookies from mixing between services.
Cons of using www:
- Longer URL. Every link, email signature, and marketing material gains four extra characters.
- Feels dated to some users. Many newer websites don’t use www, and some visitors associate the prefix with older sites.
Pros of non-www (naked domain):
- Shorter, cleaner URL. example.com is easier to say, share, and remember than www.example.com.
- Modern appearance. Non-www has been the default for most new websites launched over the past decade.
- No performance difference for most sites. For small to mid-sized WordPress websites, non-www performs identically to www in real-world conditions.
Cons of non-www (naked domain):
- Some DNS limitations. Naked domains can’t use CNAME records at the root level in traditional DNS setups, which can complicate certain CDN configurations. Most modern DNS providers now support ALIAS or ANAME records that resolve this.
- Cookies apply to all subdomains. Cookies set on example.com are sent to every subdomain, including shop.example.com. This rarely causes problems for simple sites, but can become a factor for complex multi-service setups.
For most WordPress websites, these differences won’t affect your day-to-day experience at all. The choice really does come down to personal preference and what fits your brand.
Technical Difference Between WWW vs non-WWW
Technically, the ‘www’ acts as a prefix that can give the developers of very large websites more flexibility with their web traffic. Think of it like having specific loading docks (‘www’) at a giant warehouse (your website) versus just one main entrance.
This helps them manage things like cookies and connect to certain services more easily.
Non-www domains are often called ‘naked domains’ in technical circles. While they’re simpler and cleaner-looking, they have some limitations that become relevant as a site grows.
Cookie scope
When a website sets a cookie on www.example.com, that cookie only applies to the www subdomain by default. Cookies set on example.com (non-www), however, are sent to every subdomain under that domain.
That includes shop.example.com, cdn.example.com, and any other service you run on a subdomain.
For most small websites with no subdomains, this makes no practical difference. But for larger sites with a separate store or app on a subdomain, the www version gives you cleaner isolation between services.
DNS and CDN flexibility
The Domain Name System (DNS), which is like the internet’s address book, has certain rules that make ‘www’ domains more flexible for rerouting traffic. This allows massive sites to work more easily with some Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
The reason is that www is technically a subdomain, so it can use CNAME records in DNS. These records point to a CDN’s servers by name (like server1.cdn.com) rather than by a fixed IP address, making traffic much easier to reroute at scale.
Naked domains traditionally must use A records, which point to a specific IP address (a literal string of numbers) and are less flexible to change quickly.
However, most modern web hosts and DNS providers now support ALIAS or ANAME records that give naked domains the same flexibility. This is another reason the choice has become almost entirely a matter of personal preference for new sites today.
Here’s the important part: these technical differences only become significant when you’re dealing with extremely high traffic volumes. We’re talking millions of daily visitors.
For most WordPress websites, including small to medium-sized businesses, blogs, and professional sites, these technical distinctions won’t impact your site’s performance or user experience.
The bottom line? Unless you’re running a major enterprise website with complex technical requirements, you can choose either format based on your personal preference without worrying about technical limitations.
How to Set Your Preferred Domain in WordPress
Once you’ve chosen between www and non-www, setting it up correctly in WordPress takes just a few minutes. Here’s what to do.
Important: Changing your site URL can temporarily lock you out of your dashboard if you make a typo. We highly recommend creating a complete backup of your website using a plugin like Duplicator before proceeding.
1. Update your WordPress site URL
Go to Settings » General in your WordPress dashboard. You’ll see two fields: WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL). Make sure both fields use your preferred format consistently.
If you want to use www, both fields should read https://www.yoursite.com. If you prefer non-www, both should read https://yoursite.com. See our guide on how to change your WordPress site URLs for step-by-step instructions.
2. Let AIOSEO handle your canonical URL
If you’re using All in One SEO (AIOSEO), you don’t need to worry about technical complications for search engines. The plugin automatically sets the correct canonical URL, tells Google your preferred format, and prevents duplicate content issues.
While AIOSEO handles the search engine side, you also need to make sure human visitors are redirected properly. You can check out our guide on how to set up All in One SEO in WordPress for more details.
3. Verify your redirects are working
Type both www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com into your browser’s address bar. Both should automatically load at your preferred URL. If the address bar switches to your preferred version in both cases, the redirect is working correctly.
In most cases, WordPress will automatically handle this redirect for you once you update your settings. If the redirect isn’t working, contact your web host. AIOSEO’s built-in Redirect Manager, available on the Basic plan and above, can also handle this if you’d prefer to manage it from within WordPress.
4. Confirm in Google Search Console
Open Google Search Console and use the URL Inspection tool. Enter both www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com to check which version Google has indexed as canonical. Both should point to your preferred version.
If Google has indexed the non-preferred version, double-check your redirect setup and give it a few weeks for Google to re-crawl your site. The canonical tags added by AIOSEO will guide Google to the correct version over time.
Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions About WWW vs. Non-WWW
Here are some of the most common questions we get asked about choosing between a www and non-www URL for a WordPress site.
1. Can I change from WWW to non-WWW (or vice versa) later?
Yes, you can change your preferred version later, but it requires setting up proper 301 redirects. This tells search engines that your site has permanently moved to the new URL.
If not done correctly, this change could temporarily harm your SEO rankings, so it’s best to stick with your initial choice.
2. Does using ‘www’ make my website look more professional?
Not anymore. While ‘www’ was the standard in the early days of the internet, its absence is now very common. Most users don’t even notice. The professionalism of your website comes from its design, content, and user experience, not the URL format.
3. How do I tell Google which version of my URL to use?
The best way is to set a canonical URL. WordPress SEO plugins like All in One SEO handle this for you automatically. The plugin adds a special tag that tells search engines like Google which version is the official one, which prevents any duplicate content problems.
4. Why does WPBeginner use ‘www’ while other sites like OptinMonster don’t?
This shows that the choice is truly a matter of preference. WPBeginner was started when ‘www’ was still a common practice. Our newer sites were launched with the shorter, non-www version. All of them rank well, proving that either format works just fine for SEO.
5. How do I check which version of my site Google has indexed?
Open Google Search Console and use the URL Inspection tool. Type in both www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com to see which version Google shows as the canonical URL. The version Google marks as canonical is the one it considers your official site.
If Google has indexed the wrong version, check your 301 redirect setup and make sure your AIOSEO canonical settings are correct. It can take a few weeks for Google to update its index after you make changes.
6. What should I do if my site currently shows on both www and non-www?
This is a common situation and it’s easy to fix. Pick your preferred version, then go to Settings » General in WordPress and update both URL fields to match it. Next, confirm that your web host is redirecting the non-preferred version to your preferred one via a 301 redirect.
If you have All in One SEO (Basic plan or above) installed, its Redirect Manager can handle this automatically. For a site that’s been live for a while, it may take a few weeks for Google to fully consolidate the two versions in its index.
Additional Resources on WordPress URLs
We hope this article helped clear any confusion between www and non-www for your site URL. You may also want to see some other guides related to WordPress URLs:
- What is a Website URL (Important Parts Explained for Beginners)
- Beginner’s Guide: What is a Domain Name and How Do Domains Work?
- What’s the Difference Between Domain Name and Web Hosting (Explained)
- What is an SEO-Friendly URL Structure in WordPress
- How to Include Category and Subcategory in WordPress URLs
- How to Remove Numbers From WordPress URLs
- How to Remove the Date From WordPress URLs
- How to Get Rid of /wordpress/ From your WordPress Site URL
- How to Change Your WordPress Site URLs (Step by Step)
- How to Easily Update URLs When Moving Your WordPress Site
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
John Culotta
Great post, thank you. Question, I changed my sites over to a new host. They automatically changed the primary domain to the NON-www. For years they have had the www. Should I change it back? Will this mess up rankings of very old pages/posts? Thanks!
WPBeginner Support
If you set up redirects there should be no SEO change for your content.
Admin
Frances
Hello! Thanks for this great article. Also: Help! I’ve just changed my (relatively new) non-www site to www because the new Google Search Console was being finicky. Have I just screwed up my SEO completely? Do I really need to use redirects? Thanks so much. Best, Frances
WPBeginner Support
You have not screwed up your SEO, As long as your site has the canonical URL set through your SEO plugin you should be fine.
Admin
Rachel
I have used a few speed testing tools (GT Metrix, Pingdom, Google PS) and have entered my site with and without www. In each test my site received a better rating if I entered with www. Does the www actually impact speed or is it just a fluke?
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on the specific warnings or messages but most likely, your hosting provider is redirecting one of the URLs to the other causing the slowdown which would mean it is nothing to worry about.
Admin
Sean
What if I have both non-www and www version on my site? I previously use www version and it’s just okey. But, then I need also non-www version to verify with GA. Do I need redirect or it’s just fine. What about the penalty from Google for having same domain and subdomain?
WPBeginner Support
Google Analytics accepts www versions of sites, you would want to also ensure you set your preferred domain with Google.
Admin
Peter Iriogbe
My little addition to what the admin has answered you.
Having both non-www and www versions of your site without proper redirection can lead to duplicate content issues. It’s advisable to set up a 301 redirect from one version to the other to ensure consistency and avoid potential SEO penalties from search engines like Google.
Regarding penalties, having both versions (www and non-www) typically won’t result in a penalty, but it’s crucial to pick one as the preferred version and redirect the other. Google may treat them as separate entities, potentially impacting your search rankings. Choose either www or non-www, set up the redirect, and stick with your preferred version for better SEO.
ARPIT
I am Satisfied with this Article. Thanks for This type of Informative article. This article Answered my question.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you liked our article
Admin
Giacomo Lawrance
I changed mine just now to www from non www, will this damage my prexisting SEO? I already have both added to Webmasters and just changed my preference.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
If you set up the canonical url then it should have minimal effect on your SEO.
Admin
Mintrx
When I enter URL directly of my website after clearing cache then store id is displayed along the url is it good for seo or not.
Here is the url:
example.com/?SID=1234
WPBeginner Support
They can be considered duplicate content when indexed, you can use Google’s URL parameters tool to avoid indexing those.
Admin
Ahmed
This is very informative for me
THANKS, WP Beginner,
WordPress users exist because you guys exist on internet, otherwise many people got distracted and ruined their business.
All best for you.
Jerry
What is the risk of changing fron non-www to www site ?
Sonam Sinha
thanks knowledge of url for seo
Phil
This would be important if the domain was used before buying it so its important to check any existing backlinks as there may be a benefit to www or non www depending which has the best metrics.
Khalid Abubakar
Hello, thanks for this great article I have successfully verified my side with www but to set www based version as my preferred one, I have to also verify the non-www version which fails after I add the tag and use other means of property verification but to no avail please help how I can achieve that… My site is
Muhammad Abbas
Hello, After setting my preferred domain to www version , my non www version is showing me robots.txt fetch error, while in www version i have no such error. i set 301 redirect from non www version to www version too.
But due to fetch error i cant see any indexing on non www version so what should i do with robots.txt fetch error for non www version of my site in search console.
Sir/Mam, i am eagirly waiting for the reply.
Thank you
Prakash
Hi,
I have a domain and Indexed like http://example.com/ (not www) and I added my site(same domain) in webmasters like http://www.example.com/ (www included) and I’m not getting any data like search and traffic info about the domain and nothing is happening there even after few weeks. is including www in webmasters for the domain is a problem for that? If its that how can I resolve it? Please give me some suggestions to overcome it
WPBeginner Support
Hi Prakash,
Yes, this is the problem. You need to add your non-www URL to webmaster tools.
Admin
Fabio
I have always wondered if not including the www in my url hurt SEO. Thanks for the article. Answered my question.
Strats
Hi guys, I have a site configured as non-www but the www results are better than the non-www ones. Should I switch to www?
Thanks!
WPBeginner Support
Hi,
If you are saying that the same website is indexed with both www and non-www URLs on the same domain name, then this is actually causing the duplicate content issue for Google. You would need to pick one and stick to it. You will also need to redirect users and search engines from the URL format that you drop.
Admin
Shahas
why https is not showing in your url…i assume you have SSL
david
If your site is on cloudflare, your address will become a www address
Nitin
My site is without www so is it good or bad ?
Cezar
Did you read the article? Does it matter www or no-WWW
Gustavo
i just launched a new wp site using a subdomain – new.example.com. One of my friends told me “not working as http://www.new.example.com“. So i checked and sure enough it wouldnt come up with the http://www., just “http://new.swirlspace.com”
So i went into the dashboard and changed it from http://new.example.com to http://www.example.com and as soon as i clicked “save changes” the site hasnt been able to be located anywhere, not even in wp dashboard.
not sure what to do to get i back online, and am just reading here to NOT change it after the initial time… so, any ideas? didnt backup since i had literally just finished it enough to announce it but was still working on adding many pages and features
WPBeginner Support
As we have mentioned above, the www is technically a subdomain itself. Some web hosts configure their servers in a way that automatically redirects users to non-www url when someone tries to access it with www. It seems your host doesn’t support this by default. This means when you changed URL from WordPress settings to http://www.new.example.com, then it started pointing to a subdomain that does not exist.
Here is how you can fix it. Connect to your website using FTP. Go to your the folder containing your WordPress files. Then go to /wp-content/themes/your-wordpress-theme/ folder and open the functions.php file. Add this code at the bottom of your functions.php file:
update_option( ‘siteurl’, ‘http://new.example.com’ );
update_option( ‘home’, ‘http://new.example.com’ );
Replace example.com with your own domain name. Save and upload the file back to your server. You should now be able to visit your website again.
Admin
VINOD KUMAR MAHINDROO
i have set my preferred domain with www but i had done my seo submission without www. is their any technical issue in serp.
WPBeginner Support
Yes, you will need to redirect users and search engines if they are not already being redirected.
Admin
Dustin Brohm
Here’s the question… just learning about SEO now. Before I setuo my new website I was putting my links all over the web as www. But then my new website shows up as non-www. Is google seeing this as 2 different websites? Are they not connecting the backlinks that have a www to the new website that is non-www?
If all my backlinks have a www, should I have my website person change my site to include www? This has been so confusing to me, so hopefully you can clear this up
Philip
Thanks for this tip – what is stupid is that Google gives you the opportunity to change the version in WebMaster Tools but they do not pass the domain authority from the old to the new…
I saw this option after noticing that no one uses www anymore in conversation and it seems more streamlined (less is more?) so I removed it. I ended up losing massive amounts of SEO juice and that could have ruined my business.
If Google is going to let you change, then why don’t they send the juice with the change!?!?!?!?!
Barry
Maybe you didn’t understand that www is a subdomain. When you switched, you technically changed your website’s “home”. You moved homes from the subdomain www to the “base” URL.
Google let’s you update your webmaster to tell them you’ve moved homes. They won’t “send the juice” to your new URL because you didn’t gain the rank using that address.
Effectively what you’re asking for is “tradeable” SEO. Not happening buddy
Brittney
Where can this be adjusted in yoast?
After making sure the redirect for www to non-www is in place, how long before webmaster tools will index the non-www version.
munish
confusing article not clearly said to which is best or which you preffer any way thanks
Mike
Thank you for the article, it answered a couple questions I have had. I am wondering if we set our preferred domain with Google WMT and set the same domain structure (non-www) in the wordpress settings does that alone define the canonical url? or should we also add a www to non-www 301 in our htaccess file? Thank you
sid
Seriously guys I would always choose www.
I decided to choose non www. because I liked it better but I am now having all kinds of problems later down the line.
For example.
My host offers cloudflare at a reduced rate. After spending 19 days on tech questions they now tell me that I cannot have a non www. domain running cloudflare through my control panel.
Instead I have to go to cloudflare and set up through them at an extra 15 dollars a month. :/
In changing over I have also had problems with my ssl certificate.
Non www. just isn’t as flexible at DNS.
This situation has got very messy the further I have progressed with it and multiple changes in htaccess, server setup and code have been needed to maintain proper operation. It isn’t worth it, it slows your site eventually through all the mess it creates.
Some of the problems I have encountered have been my own fault but I like you was stumbling blindly into stuff and just did what I was told. The free advice wasn’t always all that great and now I’m in a bit of a mess that could of been avoided if someone would of just warned me against the vanity of the non www.
When I was first reading this up everyone was like… Oh yeah use non www. if you like…Google doesn’t care. Well I now have all my webmaster tools set up, analytics, company stationary, business cards and all the rest done and my site won’t work properly with cloudflare. I think there may be a work around at cloudflare but to use a cname requires a business account at £200 a month.
I haven’t fully investigated that option because I can’t afford it before anyone asks.
Also, I get the redirect thing but it’s not the point? It’s all extra work that can be avoided and when your site gets big it adds up.
If your coming to this raw I would advise you to set up as www. If nothing else to save yourself months and months of reading and frustration.
You have been warned.
Eder Lugo
Dude. I’m running my domain without www under cloudflare with SSL for FREE, maybe is something about your server. You can see my site here:
Alin Pogan
Hi SID,
I use for several years the www. and no www. for my blogs and its no technical issue, the only problem is with the SSL certificate, you must release it with the www. version so it can work on both versions if you release it on non www. it will work only on your non www. site.
Hope it helps.
James Canning
Its so obvious that wpbeginner changes the date on their old posts to make old content look newer.
WPBeginner Support
We do not change dates. Actually we display the last updated date of a post and not the published date. We regularly update our old articles with new information. We update screenshots and make corrections when necessary.
Admin
Sacha
That’s very sensible.
Lonnie Jones
Yeah, I do the same thing. Every year I have to re-evaluate the “best” overall tools. If I find something important sooner than later then I just post it immediately.
Brandon Still`
Kudos to you guys for getting proper use out of your blog posts! Seriously folks, if you are a blogger and do not regularly revitalize and update old posts you are missing out on opportunities!!!! I see nothing wrong with updating older posts and displaying the recent updated date as opposed to the original post date.
Erick
I don’t think you really need to worry if you want to change the url from www to non www or vice versa at a later date. You don’t really need to be consistent anymore.
Wordpress 2.3 version has already improve on this and the only thing that is needed is to go to your wordpress settings->General and add or remove www. wordpress will automatically change all redirects by itself and you don’t have to do a thing, you don’t lose anything, no serp no likes nothing. The only thing you need to change is your webmaster tools url and thats it. Google might take a bit to index all your pages again but google its pretty fast.
In conclusion don’t worry if at a later date you want to change your url again. You can do it as many times as you want.
Gillian
Hi Erick, Was trying to find an answer to this question as I too would like to change my non-www to www domain and am thrilled to hear its really this easy! What about internal links and media stored on the site? Will that need to be redone? Also, will I need to update my settings with plugins like jetpack or will they automatically be informed?
Thanks so much for your comment, it really makes things so much easier for me as I’m very new to wordpress!
Gillian
heather arnita
So when you list your bog on other sites should you stay consistent and use www or non depending on your preference?
WPBeginner Support
You should stay consistent.
Admin
oescar
Well if u say so i wont doubt it :))
Praying to the Google Gods
Let’s just say a designer did change your site from www to non www. And your site dropped out of Google. It is advised to wait it out? Or change it back to www ??
WPBeginner Staff
Restore a copy of your website on www. and setup 301 redirects to your new non-www site.
Mark Davis
Thanks for post such a nice blog,
But my opinion is this,there are no difference between www or without www effects on seo traffic and ranking.
But technically www is standard way to represents url address so we should prefer with www url.
Vitaliy Kolos
Thing learned: naked URL
cyberarm
The one click install on most cpanels seem to omit the WWW in the setup. This has been my experience anyway.
ADOLF WITZELING
Interesting-I didn’t know that. Guess God’s in the detail…the Devil too…
Chris
Good article. I would just add the importance of doing a 301 redirect from one to the other, whichever way you choose. Thus way all links get resolved to the same domain (subdomain) instead of splitting backlinks.
Becca Heflin
Great information, but for small bloggers like myself, how do I find out which way I set it up initially? I honestly can’t remember!