Htaccess Tools
Professional non-www to www Redirect Generator
Instantly generate professional server-side configuration code to normalize your domain structure. Force the WWW version of your URL to prevent duplicate content and split link equity across your digital properties.
Canonicalization
Forcing a single version of your domain (WWW or non-WWW) is essential for technical SEO. It prevents duplicate content issues and consolidates your link authority into a single master URL.
SEO Best Practice
Always use a 301 (Permanent) redirect for domain normalization. This tells search engines that the non-WWW version has permanently moved, preserving 100% of your link equity.
Inputs
- Root Domain Name
- Server Type (Apache or Nginx)
Outputs
- Server Configuration Code Snippet
Interaction: Enter your root domain (e.g., example.com) and select your server environment. The tool will generate the precise configuration code needed to force WWW redirects site-wide for your technical SEO audit.
How It Works
A transparent look at the logic behind the analysis.
Enter Root Domain
Provide your domain name without the 'www' prefix to define the source of the redirect and identify the correct host mapping for the generator to use in the code.
Select Server Environment
Choose between Apache (.htaccess) or Nginx (nginx.conf) to ensure the generated syntax is compatible with your specific hosting provider and backend stack requirements for redirect handling.
Generate Redirect Code
Click the generate button to create the mod_rewrite rules or Nginx return directives required to execute a permanent 301 redirect for all incoming traffic to your domain.
Deploy to Server
Copy the generated snippet and paste it into your server's configuration file. Test the redirect by visiting the non-www version of your site in a browser to confirm success.
Why This Matters
Generate professional Apache .htaccess and Nginx configuration code to automatically redirect non-www URLs to the www version of your domain for better SEO normalization.
Domain Canonicalization
Ensures that search engines only index one version of your website, preventing internal competition and duplicate content penalties in the organic search results for your primary keywords.
Link Equity Consolidation
Merges all incoming backlinks from both non-www and www variants into a single master URL, maximizing the authority and ranking power of your individual pages across the web.
Improved Tracking Accuracy
Simplifies your analytics data by ensuring all user sessions are recorded on a single domain variant, making it much easier to track conversions and referral traffic correctly in GA4.
Key Features
Apache mod_rewrite Support
Generates robust RewriteCond and RewriteRule patterns for Apache servers, handling complex URL paths and preserving query strings automatically during the domain redirection process for all users.
Nginx Directives Logic
Creates high-performance Nginx server blocks that efficiently manage domain normalization at the edge, reducing server load and improving response times for your global user base and search crawlers.
Permanent 301 Status
All generated code uses the 301 permanent redirect status, which is the technical standard for transferring search engine authority and maintaining SEO value during a domain normalization project.
Full Path Preservation
Ensures that users are redirected to the exact same page on the WWW version (e.g., example.com/page to www.example.com/page) without losing their place or session data during the move.
Instant Results Generation
The configuration code is generated in real-time within your browser, allowing for rapid deployment and testing without any server-side processing or wait times for your technical team.
One-Click Copy Feature
Instantly export your generated redirect rules to your clipboard for easy integration into your website's backend files, reducing the risk of syntax errors that could crash your site.
Sample Output
Input Example
Interpretation
This example shows the Apache configuration required to redirect any request made to acme.com directly to www.acme.com. The rule includes the [NC] flag for case-insensitivity and the [R=301,L] flags to ensure the redirect is permanent and is the last rule processed for that specific request, preserving all URL paths and parameters. This setup ensures that both users and search engine bots are funneled into a single, canonical version of the website's root address.
Result Output
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^acme\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.acme.com/$1 [R=301,L]Common Use Cases
New Site Setup
Implement domain normalization during the initial launch phase of a website to ensure a consistent URL structure from day one for both users and search engine crawlers.
Technical Site Audits
Identify and fix domain variants that are being indexed by search engines, consolidating authority after discovering multiple 'Home' pages in a technical SEO audit of the site.
Brand Standardization
Ensure that all brand-related links and marketing materials lead to a single, professionally formatted version of the domain that matches the official corporate brand guide and standards.
Server Migrations
Transfer domain normalization rules from legacy Apache servers to modern Nginx environments during a platform migration or infrastructure upgrade process to maintain site consistency and SEO ranking.
Troubleshooting Guide
Infinite Redirect Loops
Ensure you don't have conflicting rules in your configuration that try to redirect back to the non-www version, which will cause the browser to show an error and block users.
SSL Certificate Errors
Your SSL certificate must be valid for both the non-www and www versions of your domain to avoid security warnings during the redirection process for your visitors and bots.
Incorrect Rule Order
In Apache, ensure your redirect rules are placed before any other rewrite rules to ensure they are executed first and don't cause unexpected path changes or 404 errors.
Pro Tips
- Always use a 301 redirect instead of a 302 redirect for domain normalization to ensure that 100% of the link authority is transferred to the WWW version permanently.
- Check your Google Search Console 'Sitemaps' and 'Internal Links' reports to ensure that you are consistently using the WWW version across your entire site structure.
- Update your internal links to point directly to the WWW version to reduce server overhead and provide a slightly faster experience for your visitors by avoiding the redirect hop.
- Ensure that your canonical tags also point to the WWW version of your pages to provide a consistent signal to search engines about your preferred domain across all content.
- If you are using a CDN like Cloudflare, you can often implement these domain redirects at the edge using Page Rules for even better performance and lower origin server latency.
- Always back up your .htaccess or nginx.conf file before making changes, so you can quickly roll back if a syntax error causes your site to go offline for users.
- Test the redirect for multiple depths (e.g., home page, category page, product page) to ensure that the full path is being preserved correctly during the move to WWW.
- Combine domain normalization with forced HTTPS redirects in the same configuration block to minimize the number of redirects a user's browser must handle in a single session.
- Use this tool to standardize your domain before running a site-wide crawl to ensure your audit data is unique and reflects your production environment accurately for reporting.
- Regularly monitor your search analytics to ensure that no non-www URLs are lingering in the search engine index after the redirects have been successfully implemented and crawled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is www or non-www better for SEO ranking on Google?
There is no inherent SEO benefit to one over the other in terms of ranking. The most important factor for technical SEO is consistency. You must pick one version as your master domain and redirect all other variants to it to prevent duplicate content issues and consolidate your link authority into a single technical URL.
What is a 301 redirect and why is it used for domain normalization?
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect status code. It tells search engines and browsers that a URL has moved forever. For domain normalization, it ensures that search engine spiders update their index and transfer all the ranking authority from the old version to the new canonical WWW version of your website.
Can I use these rules for URLs that have complex dynamic parameters?
Yes! The generated rules are designed to preserve the full request URI, including any query strings (e.g., ?id=123). This ensures that users clicking on old dynamic links are still taken to the correct content on the WWW version of your website without any data loss or broken functional features.
Do I need to restart my server after adding these redirect rules?
For Apache, changes to the .htaccess file are processed instantly for every request, so no restart is needed. For Nginx, you must either restart the service or run the 'nginx -s reload' command to apply changes made to your configuration file, as Nginx reads its configuration into memory at startup.
What happens if I have both WWW and non-WWW versions live at the same time?
If both versions are accessible, search engines will treat them as two separate websites with identical content. This leads to duplicate content issues, fragments your backlink authority, and can cause both versions to rank lower than a single, consolidated domain would in the competitive search results pages.
How do I check if my non-www to www redirect is working correctly?
You can test this by typing the non-www version of your URL into a browser and seeing if it automatically changes to the www version. For a more technical check, use a header checker tool or the 'curl -I' command to verify that the server is returning a 301 Moved Permanently status code.
Should I use .htaccess or Nginx for domain redirects?
You should use the method that matches your web server's architecture. Apache servers use .htaccess files, which are convenient for directory-level control. Nginx is common for high-performance applications and requires changes to the main server configuration. Nginx redirects are generally faster but require server-level access.
Does forcing www affect my website's SSL certificate?
Yes, you must ensure that your SSL certificate is configured to cover both the non-www and www versions of your domain. Most modern certificates from providers like Let's Encrypt include both versions by default, ensuring that users don't see security warnings during the redirection process.