Should we use www.yourdomain.tld or the apex as primary.
SEO-wise it doesn't matter, as long as one variant 301s consistently to the other. Technically www has a slight CDN-flexibility edge; apex is shorter.
Try this first
- 1Pick a primary, often based on branding. Short brands tend to pick apex, larger brands tend to pick www. No wrong answer.
- 2Set a 301 from the non-chosen variant to the chosen one. Apex to www, or the other way. Dual indexing hurts SEO.
- 3DNS: apex uses an A record (or ALIAS/ANAME at hosts that support it) and can't always elegantly point at a CDN. www can use CNAME, which is more flexible.
- 4Set the canonical URL consistently. WordPress: General Settings > Site Address (URL). Webflow: Project Settings.
- 5Search Console: add both variants as properties but mark the chosen one as canonical via a Domain Property.
- 6Update all external links: email signatures, social profiles, invoice templates, ad campaigns. All to the chosen variant.
When to bring us in
Site has been running on the unintended variant for years with many backlinks? Migrate carefully with monitoring rather than hard-switching. Bring in an SEO engineer.
See also
- WordPress, plugins and theme have gone 6+ months without updatesOut-of-date WP is the number-one entry for malware. Don't just hit 'update all', back up first.
- Theme update broke the layout or threw a fatal errorThemes overwrite custom CSS on update unless you use a child theme.
- WordPress shows a blank screen after a plugin install or updateWSOD (white screen of death) is usually one crashing plugin. You isolate it.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.