## **🗺️ Overview**

By default, your Website Studio site may be accessible at both **www.yourdomain.com** and **yourdomain.com**. For SEO and consistency, it is best practice to pick one version as your canonical domain and redirect the other to it. This article walks you through configuring a **www → non-www redirect** so that all visitors land on **yourdomain.com**.



## **⚙️ Before You Begin**

Make sure you have completed the following before attempting to configure a redirect:

- Your custom domain is already connected to your Website Studio site. If you have not done this yet, complete the Custom Domain Setup steps first.
- You have access to your domain registrar or DNS provider (for example, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, or Namecheap) to update DNS records.
- You are logged in to Search Atlas and can navigate to Website Studio via the left sidebar.

## **🔍 How www to Non-www Redirection Works**

When a visitor types **www.yourdomain.com**, a 301 (permanent) redirect sends them automatically to **yourdomain.com**. This tells search engines that the non-www version is the authoritative address, consolidating your SEO signals and avoiding duplicate content issues.



## **🛠️ Step-by-Step: Configure the Redirect in Website Studio**

1. **Open Website Studio.** In the left sidebar, click **Website Studio**. Your site dashboard will open.
2. **Go to your domain settings.** Inside your site, locate the **Domain** or **Settings** section. This is where your connected custom domain is listed.
3. **Set the primary domain to the non-www version.** Ensure your primary domain is entered as **yourdomain.com** (without www). If the hostname field currently shows the www version, update it to the non-www version and save.
4. **Enable the www redirect.** Look for a **Redirect www to non-www** toggle or option. Enable it so that any request to **www.yourdomain.com** is automatically forwarded to **yourdomain.com** with a 301 redirect.
5. **Save your changes** and wait a few minutes for the settings to propagate across the CDN.

## **🌍 Update Your DNS Records**

For the redirect to work correctly, your DNS configuration must point both the www and non-www versions of your domain to your Website Studio site. Log in to your DNS provider and confirm the following records exist:

- **A record (or CNAME):****yourdomain.com** → your Website Studio IP address or CDN hostname (provided in your domain settings).
- **CNAME record:****www.yourdomain.com** → your Website Studio CDN hostname (for example, **sites.searchatlas.com** or as shown in your domain settings).

DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally, though most updates are visible within a few hours.



## **✅ Verify the Redirect Is Working**

Once your settings are saved and DNS has propagated, confirm the redirect is active:

1. Open a browser and type **www.yourdomain.com** in the address bar.
2. Press **Enter**. The browser should immediately redirect to **yourdomain.com** (without www).
3. Check the final URL in the address bar to confirm it shows the non-www version.
4. Optionally, use a tool such as **redirect-checker.org** to confirm the redirect returns a **301 Moved Permanently** status code.

## **⚠️ Common Issues and Tips**

- **Site still loads on www after saving:** DNS propagation may not be complete. Wait up to 48 hours and test again.
- **Both versions load without redirecting:** Double-check that the www redirect toggle is enabled in your domain settings and that your CNAME record for www is correctly pointing to the Website Studio CDN hostname.
- **Open Graph or meta tags still show the www URL:** After changing your primary domain to non-www, review your site's SEO settings and update any hardcoded www references in page metadata, og:url fields, and sitemap URLs.
- **Redirect loop errors:** This can occur if conflicting redirect rules exist at the DNS level (for example, a server-level redirect that conflicts with Website Studio settings). Remove any duplicate redirect rules from your DNS provider.

## **💬 Need More Help?**

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.