Issue 10

Websites can typically be accessed with or without the www prefix (e.g., both https://example.com and https://www.example.com). This issue checks whether both hostname variants resolve to a single canonical host through consistent redirects, preventing duplicate content and URL fragmentation.

A passing implementation requires:

• Both www and non-www versions redirect to the same canonical hostname
• Consistent redirects for all URLs (not just the homepage)
• No redirect loops between www and non-www variants
• Proper HTTP to HTTPS redirects in addition to www canonicalization

Example: When a user visits https://www.example.com, they are automatically redirected to https://example.com (or vice versa), and this redirect is consistent across all pages.

Proper www vs non-www canonicalization is important for SEO because it:

• Prevents Duplicate Content: Search engines might index both versions separately, splitting ranking signals
• Consolidates Link Equity: Inbound links to both versions get consolidated to a single canonical URL
• Improves Crawl Efficiency: Search engines don't waste crawl budget on duplicate hosts
• Strengthens Rankings: Consolidated signals help improve search rankings for the canonical URL

Without proper canonicalization, search engines may treat www and non-www versions as separate websites, diluting your SEO efforts and potentially causing duplicate content issues.

1. Choose your canonical hostname: Decide whether you want your canonical URL to include www or not (e.g., https://example.com vs https://www.example.com).

2. Configure server-side redirects: Set up 301 redirects at your web server or CDN level to redirect the non-canonical version to the canonical version.

3. Redirect all URLs: Ensure the redirect applies to all pages, not just the homepage (e.g., https://www.example.com/products should redirect to https://example.com/products).

4. Handle HTTP to HTTPS: Ensure HTTP versions also redirect to the HTTPS canonical version.

5. Update internal links: Use the canonical hostname consistently in all internal links.

6. Verify with external tools: Use online redirect checkers to confirm the redirects work correctly for various URL paths.

7. Monitor regularly: Periodically check that the canonicalization remains consistent and hasn't been accidentally broken by server configuration changes.

Example 1: Inconsistent WWW vs Non-WWW

Problematic State (Fails): Both versions are accessible without redirecting:

• https://example.com returns 200 OK
• https://www.example.com returns 200 OK

Search engines may index both as separate pages.

Corrected State (Passes): Choose one canonical version and redirect the other:

• https://www.example.com → 301 redirect → https://example.com
• https://example.com returns 200 OK (canonical)

Example 2: Partial Redirects

Problematic State (Fails): Only the homepage redirects, but inner pages don't:

• https://www.example.com → https://example.com (redirects)
• https://www.example.com/products returns 200 OK (no redirect)

Corrected State (Passes): Ensure all pages redirect consistently:

• https://www.example.com → https://example.com
• https://www.example.com/products → https://example.com/products
• https://www.example.com/about → https://example.com/about

Example 3: Redirect Loop

Problematic State (Fails): Circular redirects between www and non-www:

• https://example.com → https://www.example.com
• https://www.example.com → https://example.com

Corrected State (Passes): Break the loop by redirecting consistently to one canonical version:

• https://example.com returns 200 OK (canonical)
• https://www.example.com → 301 redirect → https://example.com

PixyScan performs www vs non-www canonicalization checks through the following logical steps:

1. Hostname Discovery: PixyScan crawls URLs from both the www and non-www versions of your domain to see how they respond.

2. Redirect Tracking: For each URL variant, PixyScan follows redirects and records the final destination hostname.

3. Consistency Check: PixyScan verifies that:

   • All www URLs redirect to the same canonical hostname
   • All non-www URLs redirect to the same canonical hostname
   • The canonical hostname is consistent across all pages (not just the homepage)

4. Loop Detection: PixyScan checks for redirect loops between www and non-www variants.

5. HTTPS Verification: PixyScan ensures that HTTP versions also redirect to HTTPS.

6. Issue Identification: PixyScan raises issues when:

   • Both www and non-www versions are accessible without redirecting (CRITICAL)
   • Redirects are inconsistent across different pages (WARNING)
   • Redirect loops are detected (CRITICAL)
   • HTTP doesn't redirect to HTTPS (WARNING)
   • The canonical hostname changes between pages (CRITICAL)