Visitors may type your address with www or without it. Both versions should reach your site, and both should be covered by the certificate.
www.example.com and example.com are different names in DNS. Each needs its own record, or one has to redirect to the other.
Most sites pick one as the main address and redirect the other to it. Visitors then end up in one place, whichever they typed. Search engines also do better with one main address than with two copies of the site.
A certificate lists the names it covers. If only one of the two is listed, visitors who use the other get a name mismatch warning.
Open both versions in a browser. Each should load your site or redirect to it, without a warning. Do the same for the http and https versions.
Our free Website check opens your site the way a visitor does and reports problems with the certificate. Open Website check
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
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This page gives general information and is not legal, financial or medical advice. [email protected]