www Redirect Checker: Free Online Test

A www redirect checker tests whether your domain sends visitors from one hostname to the other, such as www.example.com to example.com. Enter your domain and this free tool requests four versions (http and https, with and without www). It then shows each status code and redirect target, so you can spot duplicate versions of your site and fix them.

What Is a www Redirect and Why Does It Matter?

A www redirect is a server instruction that sends everyone who requests one hostname (for example www.example.com) to your preferred hostname (example.com), or the reverse. The "www" part is a subdomain, and search engines treat www.example.com and example.com as two separate hostnames.

If both hostnames return the same page with a 200 OK status, you have two live copies of every URL. Links, bookmarks and shares get split between them, and crawlers waste time on duplicates. Google's Search Central documentation advises choosing one preferred version of your URLs and using permanent server-side redirects to point the others at it.

Because a site can be reached over http or https, there are really four address variants to control:

• http://www.example.com
• http://example.com
• https://www.example.com
• https://example.com

Only one should answer with a normal page. The other three should redirect to it. A 301 (or 308) status marks the move as permanent, while a 302 marks it as temporary and is the wrong choice for a long-term hostname preference.

How to Use the www Redirect Checker

You can run a full check in under a minute with one field and one button. Follow these steps:

1. Type your domain into the Enter Website URL field. The placeholder shows the format: example.com. If you paste a link that starts with http:// or https://, the protocol is removed for you.
2. Submit the form with the button under the field and wait for the results page to load.
3. Read the summary first. It tells you whether a redirect was detected, whether the redirect line says "WWW redirect is properly configured" or "No WWW redirect detected", and whether an HTTPS redirect exists.
4. Check the Redirects to line, which shows a destination address the tool found.
5. Scroll to Redirect Test Results and review all four variants, each with its status code and, when there is a redirect, the address it points to.
6. After you change your server settings, use the link on the results page to check again and confirm the fix.

Worked Example: Testing example.com

Say you enter example.com and your site is set up so that https://example.com is the only live version. The Redirect Test Results would look like this:

This is the ideal pattern. Three variants send visitors to one destination in a single step, and the fourth loads the page. The summary shows a good redirect result and a good HTTPS redirect result.

Now imagine all four rows return 200. The summary says "No WWW redirect detected", and you know every page exists at four addresses. That is the case to fix first.

How to Read and Act on Your Results

Each result tells you one of three things: the variant redirects, the variant loads, or the variant failed. The color of each status badge helps you scan quickly.

Status codes in the table

• 301, 302 and 308 appear as redirects. A 301 or 308 is permanent and is what you want. A 302 is temporary: change it to a 301 once you are sure of your preferred hostname.
• 200 range appears as a success. That is correct for exactly one variant, your preferred address. If two or more variants show 200, they are duplicates.
• Error or 400 and above appears as a failure. The variant did not respond, returned a client or server error, or could not complete a secure connection.

Other redirect codes, such as 307, are not counted as redirects in the summary and may show in the warning color, so always read the number itself.

The summary lines

The summary says the redirect is properly configured when at least one of the four variants returns a 301, 302 or 308. The HTTPS line is positive when a detected redirect points to an address beginning with https://. The "Redirects to" line shows a destination the tool found.

This summary is deliberately simple, so treat the four rows as the real verdict. A site that only redirects http to https, while both https://www and https:// answer 200, will still show "properly configured" even though a www duplicate remains. Check that the non-preferred hostname rows actually show a redirect.

What to fix

• Two variants return 200: add a permanent redirect from the unwanted hostname to the preferred one.
• A 302 appears: switch it to a 301 or 308.
• Redirect target is http:// instead of https://: update the rule so the destination uses https.
• Target points to a different path than expected: make sure the rule keeps the page path, so deep URLs map to the same page.

Who Should Use a www Redirect Checker?

Anyone who owns, builds or audits a website benefits from a quick hostname check, especially around changes. Typical situations include:

• Launching a new site: confirm that only one hostname answers before you submit a sitemap or start link building.
• Moving to HTTPS: verify that both http variants end up on the secure version.
• Changing hosts, CDNs or server settings: redirect rules are easy to lose during these moves, so test afterward.
• Running an SEO audit: a duplicate hostname is one of the first technical issues worth ruling out. Pair it with the Website Audit and Performance tools for a wider review.
• Handing a site to a client: the four-row table is an easy screenshot to include in a report.

Best Practices and Troubleshooting Tips

Good redirect hygiene is mostly about choosing one version and making every other path lead to it quickly. These habits prevent most problems:

• Pick one preferred hostname and stick with it. Either www or non-www works equally well for search. Consistency matters more than the choice.
• Redirect in a single hop. Sending http://www to http:// and then to https:// adds delay and can dilute signals. If you suspect extra hops, use the redirect chain checker to trace every step.
• Match your canonical tags. The canonical URL on your pages should use the same hostname you redirect to. Confirm it with the canonical tag checker.
• Update internal links and sitemaps. Redirects are a safety net, not a substitute for linking to the final URL directly.
• Test deeper URLs too. The homepage may be fine while product or blog pages are not. The bulk HTTP status checker can check many addresses at once.

When a row shows Error

An Error on the www rows usually means the www hostname has no DNS record, so nothing answers. Add a DNS record for www and a redirect rule for it. An Error on both https rows often points to a certificate that does not cover both hostnames, so make sure your certificate includes the bare domain and the www version.

A slow server can also produce an Error, so run the check again before assuming the setup is broken.

When the result looks wrong

If the tool says no redirect but your browser seems to redirect, remember that browsers can cache permanent redirects and remember https preferences. Test in a private window as well. Also confirm you typed the domain you actually own, since a typo tests a different site.

Fix redirect rules in your web server configuration, your hosting control panel or your CDN settings, then run the checker again.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

This checker reports the first response for each of the four variants and does not follow the redirect to its end. A row that shows 301 tells you the first hop, not whether a second or third redirect follows. It also checks the address you enter, so a homepage check does not prove that every inner page redirects correctly.

Redirects done through page scripts or meta refresh tags are different from server redirects and do not appear as status codes here. Servers can also treat header-only requests differently from full page loads in rare cases, so treat an unexpected Error as a prompt to investigate, not a final diagnosis.

Run your domain through the www redirect checker above, compare the four rows with your preferred version, and fix any variant that still returns a plain 200 or a temporary redirect. If you want a broader view of related checks, the On-Page SEO and Meta Tags tools are a good next stop.