Fixing a website that cannot be accessed with www

Every day it’s common to find websites using only the root domain name, eg. domain.tld, instead of adding www before the domain (www.domain.tld). This can be a matter of preference, and you can set up your domain to be accessed in both ways.

If you’re currently facing issues when trying to reach your website with www, while your root domain is working, make sure that there is a properly set up record for the host www on your domain’s DNS zone. Just follow the steps depending on where your domain is pointing:

NOTES

• Some services (such as Blogger or Shopify) require specific values for this record. In that case, you should consult with your service provider.
• For SEO purposes, having a website available through only one URL is better. If needed, you can create a redirection from non-www to www.
• As a general rule, subdomains do not use www. If you need your subdomain to work with www, make sure to create the corresponding www record for your subdomain in addition to that for your domain

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Domain Pointing to Hostinger

Go to the domain’s DNS Zone in your hPanel and search for a CNAME record with the name www. It should be pointing to your root domain:

If the content of the CNAME record is different, click on Edit and change the target to your root domain name.

Alternatively, you may find an A record with the name www pointing to your account’s IP instead of the CNAME record:

If there is an A record for www and it’s pointing to a different IP, click on Delete to remove it.

In this case, or if neither of these A nor CNAME records is present, add only the CNAME record using the following parameters:

• Name (Host): www
• Target (Points to): your root domain (e.g. domain.tld)
• TTL: Leave the default value (14400)

You can check this guide for more detailed information on CNAME records and how to add them: How to Manage CNAME Records on hPanel.

If you’ve made changes to the DNS zone of your domain, it can take up to 24 hours for your domain to be reachable with www, until the propagation process is completed.

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Domain Pointing to Other Registrars

Go to the domain’s DNS Zone on your registrar or provider’s panel and search for a www CNAME record pointing to your root domain. It may have just www or the full domain in the name (host) or the record:

Alternatively, you may find an A record with the name wwwpointing to your account’s IP instead of the CNAME record.

If there is an A record for www and it’s pointing to a different IP, remove it.

In this case, or if neither these A nor CNAME records are present, add only the CNAME record using the following parameters:

• Name (Host): www
• Target (Points to): your root domain (e.g. domain.tld)
• TTL: Use the default value or set it to 14400

You can check this article for a comprehensive list of guides on how to manage your external domain’s DNS zone: How to Make DNS Record Changes in Other Registrars/Hosting Providers.

After applying any changes, it can take up to 24 hours for your domain to be reachable with www, until the propagation process is completed.

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