Hey there,
During a recent nginx setup where I directed example.com to www.example.com, I wondered why it's not the other way around. timlid explained that starting with www is a common convention, citing examples like buzz and Facebook.
So, I checked the domains of frequently visited websites and noticed Yandex doesn't redirect to www. This got me thinking - why is the main domain often one that starts with www? Unfortunately, my search for the history behind this convention didn't yield any results.
Thanks!
In the past, it was believed that a web server was just one of several servers under a domain name. For instance, a company with domain name company.com would have www.company.com as their website, smtp.company.com and pop.company.com for email, ftp.company.com for file sharing, and various other services like ns.company.com, jabber.company.com, irc.company.com, among others. However, nowadays, most websites only function as sites and do not host other services. Very few people keep public mail or file servers, making company.com equivalent to www.company.com.
The term "world wide web" originated from being an abbreviation for web resources. During the early days of the Internet, services like irc, email, telnet, and ftp were more prevalent. Later on, with the introduction of http, it was referred to as the world wide web, leading to the creation of domain names with www. In essence, this historical background helps explain why www is common in domain names.
Although it may seem trivial, the choice to include the www prefix in your domain name can have a significant impact on branding and scalability of your website. It's crucial to carefully consider your priorities and future plans before making a decision and marking your preferred version as canonical. While it is technically feasible to switch domains by removing the www prefix, this won't improve your site's SEO in any way.
Additionally, the presence or absence of www can also affect user experience, depending on personal preferences or habits. Some users may automatically type www when entering a site address, while others may find it redundant or even confusing. Therefore, it's essential to take all these factors into account when choosing a domain name.
The convention of using "www" as the main domain prefix has its origins in the early days of the World Wide Web. It was originally used to indicate a specific type of server or service - the World Wide Web.
In the early 1990s, when the web was first emerging, computers were commonly connected to the internet for various purposes like FTP (File Transfer Protocol), email, and so on. The "www" prefix was introduced to differentiate web servers from other types of servers.
At that time, it was also common to have subdomains like ftp.example.com, mail.example.com, and www.example.com, each representing a different service provided by the organization. This allowed users and administrators to easily identify the specific purpose of each subdomain.
Over time, as the web became more prevalent and gained popularity, the "www" prefix became synonymous with the web itself. People began using "www" by default for their website addresses, even if they didn't have any other subdomains. This convention continued to be widely adopted and is still followed today.
in recent years, there has been a shift away from this convention. Many websites and organizations now choose to omit the "www" prefix from their main domain and instead use just the domain name itself. This is largely due to the growth of subdomains and advancements in DNS (Domain Name System) technology.
With modern DNS configurations, it is possible to set up DNS records to direct traffic to the appropriate servers without requiring the use of "www" as a subdomain. This allows for cleaner and shorter domain names, which are often considered more user-friendly and easier to remember.
Additionally, the rise of mobile devices and mobile internet usage has contributed to the decline of the "www" convention. On small screens, having fewer characters in the URL can be beneficial for usability.
few more points on the topic:
1. Subdomains: The use of "www" as a subdomain allowed organizations to create additional subdomains for different services or regions. For example, blog.example.com, store.example.com, or us.example.com. This organizational structure made it easier to manage and categorize different aspects of the website.
2. Historical Precedence: In the early days of the web, some websites did not use the "www" prefix at all, while others used alternative prefixes such as "web." However, as the web grew and standardization became more important, "www" emerged as the most widely recognized and commonly used prefix.
3. Familiarity and Traditions: The "www" convention has been around for so long that many users are accustomed to typing it automatically when entering a website address. It has become part of the web's cultural and technical heritage.
4. SEO Considerations: Historically, search engines treated the "www" and non-"www" versions of a domain as separate entities. This necessitated redirects and canonicalization efforts to avoid duplicate content issues. However, search engines now handle this more seamlessly, and the impact on search engine optimization (SEO) is minimal.
5. Aesthetics and Simplicity: Many organizations choose to drop the "www" prefix for aesthetic reasons or to create cleaner and shorter domain names. With increasing emphasis on minimalism and simplicity in design, shorter URLs without subdomains have become more popular.