double-u double-u double-u

30 Oct 2013

To WWW or not to WWW?

That is the question.

It is a question that will inevitably come up at some point in a web developer’s life. If you’re reding this blog, you surely have noticed that sometimes a website fails to include a www-prefix. Is this a problem? The experts on the subject say no.

https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-great-dub-dub-dub-debate/

http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2008/06/dropping-the-www-prefix/

http://www.sitepoint.com/www-or-no-www/

http://wordpress.org/support/topic/difference-between-www-and-without-www

http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/bacon-polenta/

As a reader named Neil aptly put it: How many acronyms are three times longer than what they stand for?

Attn: Users of the internet

WWW has been depreciated. The www-prefix changes nothing of their experience, except perhaps a cleaner looking address bar.

Attn: Web Developers

Have to make the decision whether or not to use the prefix. This is key. If there is any incosistency, links may break and search engine rankings will suffer.

That is all. End of discussion. It is your decision as a web developer whether or not you want the www.

Update 2023-05-25 – Browsers now hide the WWW :D