Your URLs still contain WWW?

If you look at any website URLs most will contain the acronym WWW. This stands for World Wide Web, though it often leaves me wondering Why? Why? Why?.

Writing out URLs

One thing I have learn't from watching people use computers is that most do not know the shortcuts. I am even willing to bet that less than half of computer users know the Control + C and Control + V shortcuts for copy and paste.

When most people write out a URL, they do not write out syncrat.com/index. Instead they are more likely to write out http://www.syncrat.com/index

Although there is a convention to use WWW, in reality all it does is create a longer URL for your visitors to type out.

Shorter the better

The benefit of a short url is that it is easier to remember. People do not remember http://www.syncrat.com, they remember syncrat.com. By keeping www off your urls, you have shorter, snappier URLs.

Redirecting

After you have decided to go with or without WWW, you need to redirect the other.

Some browsers will automatically add WWW to syncrat.com, but other will not. Your website should redirect:

http://www.syncrat.com to http://syncrat.com

or

http://syncrat.com to http://www.syncrat.com

Tags: Miscellaneous, Opinion, Web Design

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Comments / Replies

• 

  John O'Leary Says:
  22 September, 2006 at 7:07 pm

  Yes you are correct, and I've been saying this myself for years.
  However some web hosters require you to use the www prefix; this is particularly common in The Netherlands where I live.
  

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