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brain357
01-23-2016, 10:55 AM
I just moved my website to a new shopping cart and due to my ssl my site goes to www., rather than not have the www. On webmaster tools I have always had the no www set as preferred domain. Also, on webmaster tools I have always had both set up as I believe google suggests. So now that my site uses the www, should I change my preferred domain on webmaster tools to the one with www?

Harold Mansfield
01-23-2016, 11:46 AM
I just moved my website to a new shopping cart and due to my ssl my site goes to www., (http://www.,) rather than not have the www. On webmaster tools I have always had the no www set as preferred domain. Also, on webmaster tools I have always had both set up as I believe google suggests. So now that my site uses the www, should I change my preferred domain on webmaster tools to the one with www?

It is possible to have an SSL with either. It's not a prerequisite that it has to be on a "www', but they do make you choose when setting it up.
There's a way around it...read on..

As for your webmaster tools, first you have to do a quick mod rewrite on your .htaccess file so that visitors going to both the "www" version and the non "www" version both get the secure connection. Here are instructions on how to do that:
https://www.a2hosting.com/kb/security/ssl/using-www-and-non-www-domains-with-an-ssl-certificate

After that's all set (and tested) you can set Webmaster tools to which ever you prefer or just leave it as is.

brain357
01-23-2016, 11:57 AM
It is possible to have an SSL with either. It's not a prerequisite that it has to be on a "www', but they do make you choose when setting it up.
There's a way around it...read on..

As for your webmaster tools, first you have to do a quick mod rewrite on your .htaccess file so that visitors going to both the "www" version and the non "www" version both get the secure connection. Here are instructions on how to do that:
https://www.a2hosting.com/kb/security/ssl/using-www-and-non-www-domains-with-an-ssl-certificate

After that's all set (and tested) you can set Webmaster tools to which ever you prefer.

I have Geotrust ssl and wanted the little security logo at the bottom of the page. The ssl worked whether the site was set to have www or no www, but the seal at the bottom did not. So I switch it to have the www to match the ssl so the geotrust seal could be seen at the bottom.

So does it not really matter what webmaster tools has as the preferred? Is there any issues with changing the preferred after years of having it set one way?

Harold Mansfield
01-23-2016, 12:21 PM
I have Geotrust ssl and wanted the little security logo at the bottom of the page. The ssl worked whether the site was set to have www or no www, but the seal at the bottom did not. So I switch it to have the www to match the ssl so the geotrust seal could be seen at the bottom.
The seal was created based on the exact match of the URL. I'm not positive but I think you can do the same .htaccess hack to affect the URL from which the seal is generated.

It's hard to give an exact answer without seeing the site and the generated code.

Have you contacted Geotrust and just asked them? I'm sure you aren't the first person with this question.


So does it not really matter what webmaster tools has as the preferred? Is there any issues with changing the preferred after years of having it set one way?

If the site resolves on both, then you can leave the webmaster tools settings as is. If you want to change it, change it. It's not going to be terribly disruptive. You're changing preferred settings, not moving the site to a new URL.

When in doubt I always opt to keep things simple. As long as both ways resolve and no one is getting 404 errors or unsecured connections when visiting the site, whether or not it's "www" isn't the biggest deal in the world compared to the main thing...which is security.

Also, for me the seal displaying isn't the most important thing. It's nice to show, but the information given at the top of the site and in people's browser tools that say the connection is secured is the most important thing. Who it's secured by is also in that information.

The seal is...in my opinion...just a vanity badge that advertises the SSL issuer. The seal is not the security itself and it alone isn't going to sway anyone.

I'm like you and like the non "www" version to display. So for me the badge is not more important than that.

brain357
01-23-2016, 12:58 PM
The seal was created based on the exact match of the URL. I'm not positive but I think you can do the same .htaccess hack to affect the URL from which the seal is generated.

It's hard to give an exact answer without seeing the site and the generated code.

Have you contacted Geotrust and just asked them? I'm sure you aren't the first person with this question.



If the site resolves on both, then you can leave the webmaster tools settings as is. If you want to change it, change it. It's not going to be terribly disruptive. You're changing preferred settings, not moving the site to a new URL.

When in doubt I always opt to keep things simple. As long as both ways resolve and no one is getting 404 errors or unsecured connections when visiting the site, whether or not it's "www" isn't the biggest deal in the world compared to the main thing...which is security.

Also, for me the seal displaying isn't the most important thing. It's nice to show, but the information given at the top of the site and in people's browser tools that say the connection is secured is the most important thing. Who it's secured by is also in that information.

The seal is...in my opinion...just a vanity badge that advertises the SSL issuer. The seal is not the security itself and it alone isn't going to sway anyone.

I'm like you and like the non "www" version to display. So for me the badge is not more important than that.


Yes I already fixed the seal and the site. Now the site directs to www and the seal shows up. I was just trying to determine what to do in webmaster tools. Sounds like it doesn't really matter much. I'll just set my preference to www since that is what is used now. Thanks.

krymson
01-23-2016, 09:33 PM
As a fail safe, you want your webmaster tools to reflect the correct URI so you know you're getting the correct info. I have set up www and non www and the two have produced different results when forced to the www version.