Force WWW or non-WWW

The WWW (World Wide Web) prefix, or subdomain, has been around since the early days of the internet and its inclusion in domain names was, in the past, considered standard practice.
In modern times, it is largely seen as having no functional benefit, though there is some debate regarding its impact on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Generally speaking, the inclusion or exclusion of WWW is largely a matter of aesthetic preference.
Here we cover the steps to redirect visitors to the www or non-www version of your domain by adding a redirect to your website's .htaccess file.

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Getting Started with cPanel
Edit File with File Manager
Find the Document Root of a Domain
Show Hidden Files in File Manager

Edit .htaccess

1. Log into cPanel
2. Navigate to File Manager, located under the Files section
   
3. Navigate to the domain's document root
4. Locate the .htaccess file, right-click on it and click Edit
   
   NOTE: As .htaccess starts with a "." it is a hidden file, so you will need to ensure hidden files are shown. See the guide on showing hidden files for instructions.
5. Copy and paste one of the following to the top of the file
   1. Force www:
      

      #Force WWW:
      RewriteEngine on
      RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain.com [NC]
      RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [L,R=301,NC]

      REPLACE: both instances of domain.com with your actual domain.
      

   2. Force non-www:
      

      #Force non-www:
      RewriteEngine on
      RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.domain.com [NC]
      RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

      REPLACE: both instances of domain.com with your actual domain.
      
      
6. Click the Save Changes button