A common question hits many of our minds often –why we use www in site URLs?

What is the difference between www and non-www in the site URL? What will happen if you change your site URL and which one is better SEO? In this article you will get all your answers.

Basically, there is no difference between www and non-www URL. It is absolutely a personal preference.

 

WWW vs Non-WWW- SEO Benefits

There is absolutely no difference picking one over another. Even Google has said that it depends on your preference.

But you should consistent with the one which you choose at the starting of your website .It means, DON’T CHANGE your site URL after opening your website.

You can let Google about your personal preference and get your preferred one. Firstly, you have to go Google Webmaster Tools account and click on your site .If you haven’t added your site to Google Webmaster Tools; then follow our guide on how to add your WordPress site to Google Webmaster tools.

Next click the gear icon towards the right corner of your screen and select site settings.

On the site setting screen, simply choose the preferred domain.

Alternatively, if you’re using WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin, it will automatically set canonical URL in your site header which will let Google know your personal preference.

 

Technical Difference between WWW vs non-WWW

Benefits of using WWW

• Ability to restrict cookies when using multiple subdomains, cookies of a main domain(i.e.example.com) are sent to all subdomains . If you are going to have subdomains for other purpose (like blog) you want to differentiate the site and have a www prefix for the regular site.
• WWW actually means something!! WWW is a hostname and the hostname names the specific service being used a computer network; www names the web service for a domain.
• More flexibility with the DNS Your domain’s “Zone” file controls where traffic to your domain is directed and using the non-www version of your domain can complicate things

Benefits for non-www URL

If you are someone thinks shorter is better, then perhaps non-www approach will make you feel better. There is apparently no technical benefits of using non-www approach, only that it reduces redundancy and  which is no longer needed(which is not true for all cases).

If your site is new or yet launching website we suggest you to choose www instead of non-www.

Non-www referred as a naked domain which doesn’t have any technical advantage. You can choose your URL whatever you like.

 

Hope this writing helps you to clear your confusion between www and non-www on your site. Just stick to the guideline and be consistent in following the instructions.