WWW vs HTTPS: What WordPress Users Need to Know

When building a WordPress site one of the questions that confuses newbies and even seasoned site owners is: “Should I use WWW or HTTPS in my URL?” These are small technical decisions but can have big impact on your site’s security, SEO and trust. So many people search for “www vs https” because they want to know the difference between a subdomain (WWW) and a protocol (HTTPS) and how it affects their site.

WWW is a subdomain which means web traffic, HTTPS is a secure protocol that encrypts data between your visitor’s browser and your server. Choosing the right for your WordPress site means your visitors will feel safe, search engines can index your pages and your branding is consistent across the web.

Here we will break down everything you need to know about WWW and HTTPS, explain the differences and give you actionable advice for WordPress users. You’ll learn how these affect SEO, user experience and website security and we’ll show you how to set up your WordPress site. By the end of this article you’ll know what WWW vs HTTPS means and which one is best for your site in 2025.

A URL is your website’s address on the internet. For WordPress users, knowing how a URL is constructed isn’t just geeky trivia – it affects your SEO, site security and overall performance. Two common areas of confusion are WWW and HTTPS but they serve very different purposes.

The Key Parts of a URL You Should Know:

1. Protocol (HTTP/HTTPS) – This tells the browser how information travels between your website and a visitor’s browser. The old HTTP doesn’t encrypt data so it’s not secure. HTTPS uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect sensitive info like login details, payment transactions and form submissions.

2. Subdomain (WWW) – That familiar “www” at the start of a website is just a subdomain. Years ago, almost every site used it, but today many skip it entirely and stick to the root domain. Whether or not you use “www” can impact redirects, server configurations, and sometimes even branding.

3. Domain Name – This is the main identity of your site, like example.com. It’s the part that users remember and connect with your brand.

4. Top-Level Domain (TLD) – This is the end bit of your domain, like .com, .org or .net. Even though it’s short, your TLD can make your site feel professional, trustworthy or location specific.

5. Path and Query Parameters – These are optional extras that help direct users to specific content. For example:

• /blog/seo-tips takes a visitor to a blog post.
• ?utm_source=newsletter is often used in campaigns to track where traffic comes from.

If you mix up “www” with non-“www” or don’t set up HTTPS properly you could end up with duplicate content, browser warnings or even lower search rankings. So be consistent and secure with your URL structure.

A Quick Look at URL Variations. Here’s how WWW and HTTPS change the picture:

• http://example.com – No WWW, not secure.
• https://example.com – No WWW, secure.
• https://www.example.com – WWW included, secure.

Once you understand how all this fits together managing your WordPress site’s URL structure is a lot easier. With the right setup you’ll be more secure and give your visitors and search engines a clear and consistent experience.

WWW stands for World Wide Web and is just a subdomain. Back in the day of the internet it was used to show a domain was part of the web and not for email or FTP. Today, using “www” is optional, but knowing how it works will help you make better decisions when setting up your WordPress site.

Why Some Websites Still Use WWW

Adding “www” to a website isn’t old news—it still has a few perks:

• Technical Flexibility – For larger sites using a www subdomain can make server setups easier especially when dealing with load balancing or CDNs (content delivery networks).
• Cookie Management – Many high traffic sites use www to separate cookies which helps performance by not applying cookies to all subdomains.
• Redirect Consistency – Having www can make it easier to handle redirects and canonical URLs, reducing the risk of duplicate content issues.

Why Other Websites Skip WWW

On the other hand, many modern websites—especially small businesses, startups, and blogs—choose not to use www. Here’s why:

• Shorter and Simpler – A non-www domain is easier to type, remember, and share.
• Clean, Modern Look – It feels more user-friendly and fits better with today’s design trends.
• Consistent Branding – Skipping “www” can simplify your marketing efforts across ads, social media, and printed materials.

WWW and WordPress

WordPress gives you the flexibility to decide whether you want your site to use www or not. You can set this up in Settings → General → WordPress Address (URL). Once you choose a format make sure to:

• Stick with it consistently across your site.
• Use 301 redirects to send visitors (and search engines) from the non-preferred version to your chosen one. So your site’s authority isn’t split between two URLs.

Key Takeaways

• WWW is just a subdomain—you don’t have to use it.
• Use www if you run a large or technically complex site that benefits from cookie handling and server flexibility.
• Skip www if you prefer a clean, modern look that works well for branding.
• Whatever you choose, consistency is key—redirect the other one to avoid SEO and indexing issues.

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. Think of it as the safe version of HTTP—the system that sends information back and forth between your website and a visitor’s browser. The main difference is that HTTPS locks that information in. So, login credentials, payment info or any personal data stays private and out of reach from hackers.

For WordPress sites today, running on HTTPS isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s essential. Without it you risk losing trust, search engine visibility and most importantly, the security of your visitors.

Why HTTPS Matters

1. Data Security – HTTPS uses SSL/TLS to lock down the information exchanged between your site and its visitors. Hackers can’t intercept or tamper with the data.
2. SEO Boost – Google gives preference to secure websites. Having HTTPS can boost your rankings, while HTTP only sites will fall behind.
3. User Trust – A secure site shows a padlock icon in the browser bar. An unsecured site shows a “Not Secure” warning and can scare off visitors.
4. Plugin Compatibility – Many WordPress plugins – especially those for payments, forms and analytics – require HTTPS to work.
5. Compliance – Using HTTPS helps with security requirements from GDPR, PCI DSS and other privacy frameworks.

How HTTPS Works

When someone visits your site, HTTPS kicks in with an added encryption layer. Here’s the process:

• Your server sends a digital SSL certificate to prove your site’s identity.
• The browser verifies it and sets up a secure connection.
• All data is then encrypted so even if someone intercepts it they can’t read or modify it.
• This simple step gives you security and authenticity for your WordPress site.

Setting Up HTTPS in WordPress

Good news is that switching to HTTPS in WordPress is not hard. Here’s how:

1. Get an SSL – Most hosting providers include free SSLs like Rocon, often powered by Let’s Encrypt.
2. Install the SSL – Activate it through your hosting dashboard or cPanel.
3. Force HTTPS – Use a plugin like Really Simple SSL or update your .htaccess file to redirect all traffic to HTTPS.
4. Update Links – Make sure your internal links, menus and media URLs all use HTTPS to avoid mixed content issues.

Key Takeaways

• HTTPS is for security, SEO and user confidence.
• Every WordPress site—big or small—should be on HTTPS.
• A proper setup means your site works with plugins, browsers and search engines.

While both the WWW and HTTPS appear in a website’s URL they actually do very different jobs and its really worth getting your head round the difference if you’re a WordPress user – after all it’s a key part of figuring out the right setup for your website when it comes to security, SEO, and branding.

WWW – The Subdomain

• Function: Tells the browser that a website is actually part of the web – which might sound obvious but technically it’s a subdomain off your main domain.
• SEO implications: To be honest it doesn’t make a huge difference but if you get it wrong you can end up with duplicate content if you’re not careful with your redirects.
• Branding: For some reason some businesses still prefer it for their big corporate sites – maybe because it feels a bit more old school formal.
• Technical stuff: It does give you a bit of flexibility with things like CDN’s, server management & cookie handling – which can be a plus.

HTTPS – The Secure Protocol

• Function: This bit of HTTPS is what actually encrypts the data between the browser & server using some serious SSL/TLS tech
• SEO implications: Fair play Google pretty much gives it a thumbs up when it comes to rankings – HTTPS sites get the preference.
• User trust: It’s that padlock icon that loads – and makes users more likely to trust you and stick around a bit longer rather than bouncing.
• Technical stuff: Its pretty much essential for shops, membership sites & any of the modern plugins you might be using.

Direct Comparison Table

How WordPress Users Should Be Thinking About WWW vs HTTPS

• Important: At the end of the day, HTTPS security has to be your number one priority. You really can’t overemphasize how crucial it is in the world we’re living in now.
• The WWW Thing: Decide whether or not to use the WWW part of your domain based on what fits your brand, your server setup or just plain personal preference – it’s whatever works for you.
• Getting It Right: Just pick one way of doing things and stick to it – whether it’s www or not, make sure that you’ve set up proper redirects so people don’t get lost in the mix of different versions of your site.
• Implementation Tip: Back in your WordPress settings, in Settings > General > WordPress Address (URL), you can set your preferred URL – and don’t forget to pair that up with site-wide HTTPS for the ultimate in both security and SEO.

WWW and HTTPS are two pretty different things: WWW is all about the little subdomain thing and how you want your brand to look, while HTTPS is what’s going to keep your users safe and your site looking good to search engines. Both are worth paying attention to, but at the end of the day, HTTPS is non-negotiable – while using or ditching the WWW part of your domain is more of a personal choice.

Choosing between a plain old website address (WWW) and a secure one (HTTPS) might seem like a tiny thing, but for WordPress sites, the choice has real-world consequences for how well your site does in search engines. Getting it right will not only help your site rank well but it also keeps duplicate content at bay and stops your online presence from looking a bit all over the place.

HTTPS and SEO

HTTPS is a confirmed ranking factor by Google. Beyond rankings, it offers several SEO advantages:

• Better Search Engine Rankings : websites that switch to HTTPS tend to be listed slightly higher up in the results than those still using http.
• Search Engines Index Pages More Accurately : websites that are secure are treated more like trusted friends by search engines, and that means pages on those sites get correctly indexed to start with.
• Visitors Feel More Comfortable on Site : when a site has HTTPS, visitors are more likely to feel safe on it, which in turn cuts down on people immediately bouncing off again and increasing the time they spend on your site – both of which are important clues that search engines use when working out your site’s ranking.
• Access to the latest & greatest SEO tools : many advanced SEO tools and WordPress plugins (think schema markup and AMP for example) work way better on HTTPS sites than they do on http ones.

WWW and SEO

Whilst the very fact that the web exists doesnt directly affect search rankings, inconsistent use does have the potential to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to SEO:

• Search engines are likely to see www.example.com and plain old example.com as separate websites, and that creates all sorts of duplicate content issues – good luck getting them sorted out.
• Canonical URLs and 301 redirects are pretty vital in making sure all your SEO juice gets funnelled correctly to the preferred domain.
• WordPress users – don’t forget to set your primary url in Settings > General, then get in there and sort out the redirects to stop search engines getting confused.

Best Practices for WordPress

1. Forcing HTTPS across the whole site is a no-brainer. Get an SSL certificate and use a plugin like Really Simple SSL to make sure every page on your site is secure.
2. Choose a Primary Domain (WWW or Non-WWW): decide which one you actually want to use, then set the other one to automatically point at the first one – so much simpler all round.
3. Update Internal Links and Sitemaps: Ensure all internal links point to the preferred URL and HTTPS to avoid broken links and indexing errors.
4. Verify in Google Search Console: Add both the WWW and non-WWW versions to GSC and select your preferred domain for tracking and indexing.

Key Takeaways

• HTTPS is essential for WordPress SEO and user trust.
• WWW is optional, but consistency is critical to avoid duplicate content and fragmented SEO authority.
• Proper configuration ensures WordPress websites are fully optimized for search engines while maintaining a secure user experience.

When it comes to building a WordPress website, URL choices like WWW and HTTPS play a significant role in user experience (UX) and brand perception. These decisions affect how visitors perceive your site, whether they trust it, and how easily they remember and share your brand.

HTTPS and User Trust

Secure websites display a padlock icon in browsers, signaling to users that their data is protected. This is particularly important for:

• E-commerce stores accepting payments.
• Membership or subscription sites collecting personal information.
• Business websites and blogs aiming to establish credibility.

Visitors are more likely to engage, subscribe, or make purchases on HTTPS sites. Conversely, HTTP sites often show “Not Secure” warnings, which can discourage users and increase bounce rates.

WWW and Branding

The choice to include WWW in your URL also influences perception:

• WWW URLs can feel more formal, traditional, or technical. This may suit enterprise websites or larger organizations.
• Non-WWW URLs are cleaner, shorter, and easier to remember, making them ideal for small businesses, blogs, and startups.

Consistency is crucial. Using different formats across marketing channels, social media, or backlinks can confuse users and dilute your brand identity.

Practical Tips for WordPress Users

1. Pick a Consistent URL Format: Decide whether to include WWW and stick with it across all platforms.
2. Redirect the Alternate Version: Implement 301 redirects so visitors always land on your preferred format.
3. Use HTTPS Site-Wide: Secure every page to build trust and improve conversions.
4. Update Internal Links and Menus: Ensure all links match your preferred URL format for consistency.

Key Takeaways

• HTTPS increases trust and credibility, directly impacting user engagement and conversions.
• WWW affects brand perception, with the choice depending on your audience and website type.
• A consistent and secure URL setup enhances both user experience and your WordPress brand’s online identity.

Security is a top priority for any WordPress website, and the choices of WWW and HTTPS play a crucial role in protecting your site and visitors. While HTTPS is a direct security measure, WWW can also impact how security is implemented, especially for larger or more complex setups.

HTTPS: The Foundation of Website Security

HTTPS encrypts data between a visitor’s browser and your server using SSL/TLS protocols. This protects sensitive information such as login credentials, contact form submissions, and payment details. Key security benefits include:

• Protection Against Data Interception: Prevents hackers from stealing or altering data during transmission.
• Mitigation of Phishing and Man-in-the-Middle Attacks: Visitors can trust your site is legitimate.
• Compliance with Security Standards: Many regulations, such as GDPR and PCI DSS, require secure data handling.

For WordPress sites, enabling HTTPS is straightforward with hosting providers offering free SSL certificates, or via plugins like Really Simple SSL. Ensuring all URLs use HTTPS avoids “mixed content” warnings, which can expose security vulnerabilities.

WWW and Security Considerations

Including WWW in your URL can indirectly improve security management:

• Subdomain Isolation: Using WWW allows you to separate cookies and sessions for other subdomains (e.g., blog.example.com), reducing the risk of cross-site attacks.
• CDN and Server Configurations: WWW makes it easier to implement advanced security features like Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), DDoS protection, and firewall rules.
• Redirect Management: Proper WWW redirects help prevent accidental exposure of unsecured HTTP pages.

WordPress Best Practices for Security

1. Force HTTPS Site-Wide: Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS to secure every page.
2. Install Security Plugins: Use plugins like Wordfence or iThemes Security to monitor threats.
3. Choose a Primary URL: Decide on WWW or non-WWW and enforce redirects to ensure all traffic is directed to the secure version.
4. Regular Updates: Keep WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated to minimize vulnerabilities.
5. Check Certificates and Mixed Content: Ensure your SSL certificate is valid and all internal links point to HTTPS to avoid security warnings.

Key Takeaways

• HTTPS is essential for protecting data, building user trust, and complying with regulations.
• WWW can improve security management through subdomain isolation and server configurations.
• Combining HTTPS with a consistent WWW setup strengthens overall WordPress site security.

When configuring a WordPress website, the choices between WWW and HTTPS don’t just impact security and SEO—they also affect site performance and compatibility with modern web technologies. Ensuring your site runs smoothly is essential for user experience and search engine rankings.

HTTPS and Performance

In the past, HTTPS was thought to slow down websites due to the encryption process. However, with modern TLS 1.3 and HTTP/2, HTTPS can actually improve performance:

• HTTP/2 Support: Most browsers only enable HTTP/2 over HTTPS, which allows multiplexing multiple requests simultaneously, reducing page load times.
• Better Caching and Compression: Secure sites can leverage advanced caching techniques and compression for faster delivery.
• CDN Optimization: Many Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) require HTTPS to fully optimize content delivery.

WordPress users should ensure that all resources—images, scripts, and stylesheets—are loaded via HTTPS to prevent mixed content issues that can slow down the site or cause browser warnings.

WWW and Compatibility

Using WWW in your URL can influence server and CDN configurations:

• DNS Flexibility: WWW subdomains allow easier integration with CDNs, load balancers, and cloud hosting environments.
• Cookie Management: By isolating cookies to the WWW subdomain, you reduce the size of requests sent to the server, which can improve performance.
• Plugin and Theme Compatibility: Certain WordPress plugins and advanced themes handle subdomains more efficiently when WWW is used consistently.

WordPress Performance Best Practices

1. Force HTTPS: Ensure your site is fully secure to enable HTTP/2 and modern optimization features.
2. Set a Primary Domain: Decide whether to include WWW and configure redirects properly to avoid duplicate content and performance issues.
3. Leverage CDN and Caching: Use plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache along with a CDN for optimized performance.
4. Minimize Mixed Content: Update all internal links, scripts, and media to HTTPS to prevent browser warnings and speed issues.

Key Takeaways

• HTTPS enhances performance through HTTP/2 and modern encryption standards.
• WWW can improve server and CDN management, offering better compatibility for complex WordPress setups.
• A consistent and secure URL structure ensures both speed and reliability, contributing to better SEO and user experience.

Setting up your WordPress website with the right WWW and HTTPS configuration is essential for security, SEO, and a consistent user experience. Follow these steps to ensure your site is correctly configured and fully optimized.

Step 1: Decide on Your Primary URL

Before making any changes, choose whether your WordPress site will use WWW or not. Consider:

• Branding and visual simplicity.
• Server or CDN configurations that may benefit from using WWW.
• Consistency with marketing materials and backlinks.

Once decided, stick to this choice across all platforms.

Step 2: Install an SSL Certificate

HTTPS requires an SSL/TLS certificate. You can obtain one via:

• Your hosting provider (most WordPress hosts offer free SSL).
• Services like Let’s Encrypt for free certificates.
• Premium certificates for extended validation or wildcard domains.

Install the certificate through your hosting control panel or using a WordPress SSL plugin.

Step 3: Force HTTPS Site-Wide

Ensure all pages load securely by redirecting HTTP to HTTPS. Methods include:

• Using a plugin: Plugins like Really Simple SSL automate HTTPS redirection and fix mixed content issues.
• Manual method: Add the following to your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Replace www.example.com with your preferred URL format.

Step 4: Redirect to Your Preferred WWW Version

To avoid duplicate content and consolidate SEO authority:

• Set up 301 redirects from the alternate version (WWW → non-WWW or vice versa).
• Ensure all internal links, menus, and media URLs point to your primary URL.

Step 5: Update WordPress Settings

• Go to Settings → General → WordPress Address (URL) & Site Address (URL).
• Enter your preferred URL with HTTPS and WWW (e.g., https://www.example.com).
• Save changes and verify that all pages load correctly.

Step 6: Update External Tools

• Google Search Console: Add both WWW and non-WWW versions, then select your preferred domain.
• Google Analytics: Update property settings to use the primary URL.
• Sitemaps & Backlinks: Ensure your sitemap, robots.txt, and backlinks point to the correct HTTPS + WWW URL.

Step 7: Test and Verify

• Check for mixed content warnings using tools like WhyNoPadlock.com.
• Test your SSL certificate with SSL Labs for proper configuration.
• Verify redirects with tools like Redirect Checker to ensure all HTTP or non-preferred URLs point to your main URL.

Key Takeaways

• Implementing HTTPS and choosing a consistent WWW setup strengthens security, SEO, and user trust.
• Proper redirects and WordPress configuration prevent duplicate content and improve indexing.
• Regular testing ensures your site remains secure and performs optimally.

So setting up your WordPress site properly is key to keeping it secure, SEO and earning trust. One of that is knowing the difference between WWW vs HTTPS. With HTTPS in place all data shared between your site and its visitors is encrypted, sensitive info is safe. It also helps your site rank better in search and shows your audience your site can be trusted.

WWW is optional but can offer technical benefits like better server management, CDN integration and subdomain isolation but the main focus should always be on consistency and reliability. For WordPress users the best approach is to go HTTPS site wide, decide on WWW or not based on branding and technical needs and enforce proper redirects to prevent duplicate content and indexing issues.

By following these practices, keeping internal links, menus and external tools in sync and testing your setup regularly you’ll have a secure, optimized and smooth user experience and your website will perform better in search engines and gain the trust of every visitor.

1. Is HTTPS mandatory for WordPress websites?

Yes. In 2025 HTTPS is required for all WordPress sites. It’s for data security, SEO and trust with visitors. Without HTTPS browsers show “Not Secure” warnings and users will go away.

2. Should I use WWW or non-WWW for my WordPress site?

It’s a branding and technical preference. WWW is good for larger sites or complex server setups, non-WWW is cleaner and simpler. The key is consistency—pick one and redirect the other.

3. Can I switch between WWW and non-WWW later?

But you must do 301 redirects otherwise you’ll have SEO issues. Changing URL formats without redirects will cause duplicate content, traffic loss and indexing problems.

4. How do I check if my WordPress URLs are correctly configured?

• Make sure all pages load with HTTPS and your preferred WWW/non-WWW.
• Use WhyNoPadlock.com to check for mixed content.
• Test redirects with Redirect Checker to confirm 301.
• Verify your site in Google Search Console and make sure the correct primary domain is set.