WWW hasn’t been needed for 20+ years.
It is time to update your branding.
In the dawn of the internet age, “www” became a standard prefix for web addresses by accident rather than necessity. As time has evolved and technology has advanced, holding on to this once-ubiquitous trio of letters may not be serving your website any longer.
Here are ten reasons why it’s time to say goodbye to “www” in your site’s URL.
1. Redundancy in the Digital Era
The inclusion of “www” in URLs is a relic from early web days and isn’t required anymore. Today, domains are recognized with or without it, making the “www” prefix largely unnecessary.
2. Speech and Syllabic Excess
Pronouncing “www dot” adds an unwieldy ten syllables to a domain name; a mouthful, considering that each “w” contains three syllables — the most of any letter in the English alphabet.
3. Typing Efficiency
The extra keystrokes needed to type “www.” increase the strain on the ‘W’ key and slow down the user’s experience in reaching a website, which can be particularly noticeable when typing out long URLs.
4. Screen Real Estate
On mobile devices, screen space is at a premium. “www” consumes precious address bar space, potentially hiding essential parts of the URL on smaller screens.
5. Data Usage Considerations
While seemingly negligible, the four additional characters in “www.” include 32 extra bits of data. In the grand scale of internet traffic, this accumulates into significant additional processing and bandwidth usage.
6. User Confusion
The ambiguity around requiring “www” in web addresses is avoidable. Some websites don’t use it at all, while others redirect automatically, but eliminating it resolves any confusion from the get-go.
7. Email Miscommunication
Less tech-savvy individuals often mistakenly add “www” to email addresses, leading to bounced emails and missed communications. Dropping the prefix from your site could reduce this error.
8. Brand Consistency
For those who incorporate “.com” within their branding, starting a domain with “www” seems inconsistent. Streamlining the web address to exclude “www” aligns more closely with brand identity.
9. Outdated Terminology
The term “World Wide Web” has fallen out of common vocabulary, much like “cyberspace.” Using “www” is a nod to an era that feels increasingly distant and outdated.
10. Embracing Future Trends
Modern websites, including some of the world’s most visited ones, are already abandoning “www.” This forward-thinking trend aligns with a cleaner, succinct future of website addressing.
Technically Speaking…
Removing “www” can also be advantageous for securing your website with SSL certificates. Wildcard SSL certificates (*.example.com) will cover subdomains like support.example.com without the need for multiple certificates – which you would need if “www” were included (www.support.example.com).
By dropping “www” from your website, you’re taking a step towards a more streamlined, efficient, and modern web presence.