# WWW consistency

> WWW consistency means a website answers on one host name only, either with www or without it, and redirects the other version there.

- **Check ID:** S22
- **Area:** [SEO](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo)
- **Tool:** [SEO + Security + Performance](https://be1st.ai/tools/ssp-audit)
- **Page:** https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/www-consistency

## Why it matters

For search engines, example.com and www.example.com are two different pages. Without a redirect, link equity is split between both versions, which weakens the overall site ranking.

## In practice

Google redirects google.com to www.google.com, so the www version is primary. Amazon does the same (www.amazon.com). The important thing is to choose one variant and redirect the other via a 301 redirect.

## How be1st checks it

Checks whether the website consistently uses either the www or the non-www version. The check compares the page address with its canonical URL: if one has www and the other does not, the versions compete with each other. The other version should redirect to the chosen one with a 301.

[SEO + Security + Performance](https://be1st.ai/tools/ssp-audit), SEO tab.

Every check ends as: Pass, Warning, Fail.

## Sources

- [Consolidate Duplicate URLs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls) (Google Search Central)
- [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) (Google Search Central)

## Related terms

- [Canonical URL](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/canonical-url): A canonical URL is the preferred address of a page, set with `<link rel='canonical'>`. It tells search engines which version to index when the same content has several URLs.
- [Trailing slash consistency](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/trailing-slash-consistency): Trailing slash consistency means every URL is used in one form only, either /page or /page/, and the other form redirects to it.
- [HTML size (SEO)](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/html-size): HTML size is the weight of a page's HTML document in kilobytes, without images, styles and scripts. Search engines and browsers have to download and parse all of it.
- [Mobile-friendly indicators](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/mobile-friendly-indicators): Mobile-friendly indicators are the signs that a page adapts to small screens: a viewport tag, responsive CSS and content that fits without zooming.
- [Content length](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/content-length): Content length is the number of words of visible text on a page. A page with too little text rarely answers a question well enough to rank.
- [Keyword density](https://be1st.ai/glossary/seo/keyword-density): Keyword density describes how often the words a page targets appear in its text. Here it means whether the words from the title also show up in the content.