Your domain can work without www but fail with www because those are two different hostnames. They may look like the same website to visitors, but DNS can treat them separately.
For example, yourbusiness.ca and www.yourbusiness.ca may need different records or redirects.
Root Domain vs WWW
The root domain is the version without www, such as:
yourbusiness.ca
The www version is a subdomain:
www.yourbusiness.ca
It is common for the root domain to use an A record and the www version to use a CNAME record. If one of those records is missing or wrong, one version may work while the other does not.
Common Causes
The www CNAME record is missing.
The www record points to the wrong place.
The root domain points to the new website, but www still points to the old host.
The website platform has not been told to accept www.
SSL is active for one version but not the other.
Redirects are missing or misconfigured.
DNS changes are still updating.
Check the WWW DNS Record
Look for a CNAME record with the host or name www.
Depending on the platform, it may point to:
- The root domain
- A hosting hostname
- A website builder hostname
- Another provider-specific hostname
Use the value provided by your hosting plan, website builder, or website platform.
If your DNS is managed through Tech Help Canada Hosting, start from the Tech Help Canada Hosting account area and open the domain’s DNS records. If the domain uses another DNS provider, check the www record there.
Check Redirects
Many businesses choose one main version of the domain.
For example:
yourbusiness.caredirects towww.yourbusiness.cawww.yourbusiness.caredirects toyourbusiness.ca
Either approach can work. The key is consistency.
If redirects are missing, visitors and search engines may be able to access both versions separately. If redirects are wrong, one version may fail or loop.
Tech Help Canada’s basics of website URLs resource can help explain how domain versions and page paths fit together.
Check SSL for WWW
SSL needs to cover the version visitors use.
If https://yourbusiness.ca works but https://www.yourbusiness.ca shows a warning, SSL may not be active for www.
Check both:
https://yourbusiness.cahttps://www.yourbusiness.ca
If only one version is secure, review the SSL settings in your hosting or website platform.
Check the Website Platform
Some website platforms require you to add both versions of the domain or choose a primary domain.
If DNS is correct but www still fails, check whether the platform recognizes www.yourbusiness.ca.
For WordPress, also check the site URL settings and any redirect or SSL plugin settings. Avoid changing database values directly unless you know what you are doing.
Wait for DNS to Update
If you recently added or changed the www record, allow time for DNS to update. Test from another network or device before making more changes.
Repeatedly changing the CNAME while waiting can make troubleshooting harder.
Quick Checklist
Check:
- Root domain A record
wwwCNAME record- Active nameservers
- Primary domain setting in the website platform
- Redirects
- SSL coverage for both versions
- DNS propagation time
- Browser cache
If your www issue is part of a larger website move, fix DNS and SSL before promoting the new domain publicly.
If your site needs SSL coverage for the domain version visitors use, you can explore SSL options through Tech Help Canada Hosting.
I can suggest related Tech Help Canada articles based on the topic you’re reading now.
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