Content revised 20 October 2026.
WWW and non-WWW are different hostnames. Choose a consistent public version that suits your existing setup, then check that visitors and search engines reach the intended address.
Start with the established site
If your website already uses one version consistently, don't switch merely because another version looks shorter. Review current links, certificates, hosting rules and application settings. The decision affects more than the address displayed on a business card.
Make the preferred version work throughout the site
Check homepage and inner-page requests on both hosts. An alternate version should lead to the corresponding preferred page when you're consolidating it. Sending every old inner URL to the homepage can leave visitors without the information they requested.
Check the supporting signals
- Internal links should use the chosen public host.
- Canonical URLs should agree with the intended version.
- Sitemap entries should be consistent.
- The certificate and redirects must work for the hosts visitors can request.
Do not follow an obsolete settings tutorial
Older articles describe a preferred-domain selector in Google Webmaster Tools. That is not the current workflow to rely on. Review redirects, canonical signals and Search Console inspection instead of searching for the old menu or treating property verification as a redirect.
Test before a change goes live
Review the server and application configuration together, including a CDN if one is present. A proxy rule and a WordPress setting can create a redirect loop when they disagree. Back up the configuration, test representative pages and keep the original URLs mapped. Consistency and correct implementation matter more than a cosmetic preference for either spelling.
Official guidance: Google’s canonical URL guidance.