Sometimes you must type "www" sometimes not?

[tomopen]

When typing a URL in the address bar I always just type in the website name.

Example: anysite.com

But every once in a great while it doesn't work and I have to type in . . .

www.anysite.com

My question is what governs whether you need the "www" or not?

And can you change a website so that it doesn't require everyone to type in the "www" ?

Thanks a lot for any help.

Tom

 

[peterhuang913]

Here's a better way of using the browser:
Type the website name without the www. and .com: google, yahoo, anysite
Press [Ctrl]+[Enter] and the www. and .com is added for you.

 

[tomopen]

Here's a better way of using the browser:
Type the website name without the www. and .com: google, yahoo, anysite
Press [Ctrl]+[Enter] and the www. and .com is added for you.

Thanks that is good info but convenience isn't the goal here. On some websites if you don't put the www in whether typed or auto inserted you will go to a different website than the one intended. I need to find out why and can this be corrected.

t

 

[peterhuang913]

Give me an example of the website you are having problems with.

 

[tomopen]

I think this may have just been solved. I had changed domain name registrars a few days ago and when typed one way it worked, the other way it did not. Perhaps the reason it is working either way now is because it just needed time to properly propagage thru out the internet?

Anyway seems to work now. Thanks again for the browser trick.

t

 

[peterhuang913]

You mean your own website doesn't work. That's a different story involving the server, host, and DNS.

 

[KSoD]

I think this may have just been solved. I had changed domain name registrars a few days ago and when typed one way it worked, the other way it did not. Perhaps the reason it is working either way now is because it just needed time to properly propagage thru out the internet?

Anyway seems to work now. Thanks again for the browser trick.

t

YEs you would have to wait for your DNS and Registars to switch before ti would work. Which can take 24-48 hours depending on which Domain Name Service you went thru.

But again it depends on teh browser as well. Opera will use Google to find the name of the website. So you can type in any name in the address bar and it will use google to fine the best match.

Example:

microsoft

Just type that in the opera address bar adn it will take you to the Microsoft website. Firefox does this as well. But if you do it in IE you get a Live Search result. (Or a search reult with your default search engine)

So this issue is also dependent on the browser used since not all browsers will auto fill in the needed info. With IE you have to be very specific. Some sites it wont bother your for the www on the front but most of the time you have to be very specific about the address with IE.

It also depends on your hosting service. Most of the hosts i know of will have it setup that when a address is typed if it doesnt contain the www on teh front it will autp add ti and redirect them to the site with the www on the front of the address.

But i am being long winded. :laughing:

 

[Brinson]

there are 2 nameservers. I don't know the details, but what you're talking about is caused by one being correct and not the other.

I have had this intentionally done tto have one port on a server go to a game server and the other to a website. It was actually done by the system admin so I don't know the specifics but that's what was done.