How to Redirect non-www to www in Blogger?
Ensuring that your website traffic is consistently directed to a single domain format is crucial for maintaining a professional online presence. Redirecting the non-www version of your domain to the www version in Blogger helps streamline your URL structure, enhances SEO, and provides a better user experience. Follow the steps below to set up this redirect in Blogger.
#### Step 1: Access Your Blogger Account
1. **Log in to Blogger**:
- Visit [Blogger.com](https://www.blogger.com) and log in using your Google account credentials.
- Select the blog for which you want to configure the redirect.
2. **Open Blog Settings**:
- From the Blogger dashboard, locate the "Settings" option on the left sidebar and click on it.
#### Step 2: Configure Your Custom Domain
1. **Set Up Your Domain**:
- Scroll down to the "Publishing" section within the settings.
- Click on "Custom domain" and enter your domain name in the `www.yourdomain.com` format.
- Click "Save" to apply the changes.
2. **Verify Domain Ownership**:
- Blogger may prompt you to verify that you own the domain. Follow the instructions provided by Blogger to complete this verification. This typically involves adding a DNS record through your domain registrar.
#### Step 3: Enable the Non-www to www Redirect
1. **Activate the Redirect**:
- Once your custom domain is set up, a new option will appear: "Redirect yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com."
- Toggle the switch to enable this redirect. This ensures that all traffic to the non-www version (`yourdomain.com`) is automatically redirected to the www version (`www.yourdomain.com`).
2. **Save Your Configuration**:
- After enabling the redirect, make sure to save your changes to ensure the settings are applied.
#### Step 4: Validate the Redirect
1. **Test the Redirect**:
- Open a web browser and enter your domain without the www prefix (e.g., `yourdomain.com`).
- Confirm that the browser redirects you to the `www.yourdomain.com` version.
2. **Cross-Browser Verification**:
- Test the redirect across different browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari) and devices to ensure that the redirect is functioning correctly everywhere.
### Best Practices for Domain Management
- **Ensure Proper DNS Configuration**:
- Verify that your DNS settings correctly point both the non-www and www versions of your domain to Blogger’s IP addresses. This is critical for the redirect to work effectively.
- **SEO Considerations**:
- Redirecting to a single, canonical version of your domain helps consolidate SEO rankings, reduces duplicate content issues, and strengthens your site’s overall search engine performance.
- **Implement HTTPS Securely**:
- If your domain uses HTTPS, ensure your SSL certificate is configured to cover both the www and non-www versions. This ensures that the redirect does not interfere with your site’s security.
By following these professional steps, you can efficiently manage your Blogger domain, ensuring a seamless and consistent user experience while optimizing your site for search engines.