www. and multisite

  • One of the tips for best practices of SEO said to make URLs consistent and qualified, include the www. and avoid relative URL, which I have yet to learn what that is.   I had already set up my site without the www. and began adding it by hand to the links.   I had made a few posts, pages, and uploaded images to the media library, when I was told in a plugin forum that if I change AdminPanel>Settings>General →WordPress Address and →Site Address to www., it would automatically go on all new links.   So, I did it, and my site logo became a blurry blob, my media library a lot of blanky squares but with correct filenames.   I found that if I leave the www. off the WordPress Address but put it on the Site Address, the images appear normally, except atop the sidebar editor, where the WordPress logo appears instead of mine.   I have found no consensus of opinion whether having WordPress Address ≠ Site Address is advisable.   Is it?   Or, should I poke around the media library and try to make it accept the www. WordPress Address?

    Also, I have found no clear understanding of what Multisite means.   Mine is set up with a root domain and a few subdomains, each with its own particular kind of content. They have links to each others’ posts in their headers, which all look the same.   I have recently discovered that copying and pasting from one subdomain to another doesn’t actually make a copy of the images. Rather, WordPress hotlinks it. So all the images broke when I activated hotlink blocking setting up the site security plugin; I will have to make an actual full copy for each subdomain’s and the root domain’s Media Libraries if I want to block image hotlinking.    My question is:   Do I have a Multisite, or does Multisite mean something else?   If so, what does it mean?

    Thanks.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    Multiple subdomains do not necessarily mean you have multisite. If you have multisite, this will appear in your wp-config.php file:
    define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );
    If you can edit WP and site address settings you probably do not have multisite.
    More about multisite (aka “Network”) here.

    In general the site and WP addresses should be the same. The reason for a difference is if you want your home page URL to be different than your WP installation location.

    Your site domain name may include the www or not, but you should be consistent in whichever you choose. Changing WP and site addresses in settings will automatically alter any links that WP generates dynamically. It will not necessarily affect other URLs, notably image URLs embedded within post or page content. You can ensure all such domain names are consistent by using the Better Search and Replace plugin to locate and correct all non-conforming domain names.

    Thread Starter dds

    (@dixonds)

    It looks like I don’t have multisite according to the definitions you linked me to.?? Mine has subdomains, not subdirectories.?? It’s hard for me to grasp the subdirectory thing, because the address of the subdirectory looks exactly like the address of a page.?? But, what is really going on is, when I make either the Site Address or the WordPress Address contain the ?www., some of the images get misrepresented.?? Not the same images, though. It’s one group for the www. in the Site Address, and a different group for the www. in the WordPress Address, but for sure having the www. messes something up somewhere.

    I’ve looked at some of the image URLs and many don’t seem to be editable, so I’ve concluded that I should have had the www. on both Addresses before uploading the images at all, and given up on having the https://www..?? I’ll sacrifice that little bit of SEO performance to keep the url formats consistent.?? Perhaps I’ll try again later, maybe, if I can figure out why it acts this way.?? Thanks.

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    I’m unable to explain the variation in images based on subdomain request. Image request handling is actually external to WP. Image URLs may appear in WP content, but the handling of image requests is all by your server, WP is not involved.

    Typically, site admins will set up a redirect in .htaccess to which ever their preferred sub domain is — either none or www. If you want to do so, do a general internet search such as: .htaccess redirect www to non-www Or the other way around if you prefer.

    Thread Starter dds

    (@dixonds)

    Ok, thanks. So, is this thread resolved or not?

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    Resolution is for you to decide. To resolve, post another reply while ticking the “Reply and mark as resolved” checkbox. It’s OK for it to remain unresolved if you prefer. Though unlikely at this point, it’s possible for someone to come along who has some insight into this.

    Thread Starter dds

    (@dixonds)

    Here’s a clue, from my hosting service’s settings toggles:

    Force WWW

    WWW and non-WWW domain records are not pointing to the same host. Redirect not possible.

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    Something is not right with your DNS settings. Either the entry for www is missing or it’s pointing to the wrong domain name. You correct this through your account with whoever’s name servers your DNS points to. It looks like it’s missing and your nameserver records point to CloudFlare? There are a few ways to manage www records. I suggest asking CloudFlare support for advice about their preferred method.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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