When your domain shows the default "It works!" page without the www prefix but works normally with www, this indicates a misconfigured virtual host in Apache. The server is falling back to the default configuration because it can't find a matching ServerName or ServerAlias for the naked domain.

First, let's examine your existing configuration. Look for files in:

/etc/apache2/sites-available/
or
/etc/httpd/conf.d/

A typical working configuration for www should look like:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain
    # Other directives...
</VirtualHost>

You need to either:

1. Add ServerAlias for the naked domain in your existing config
2. Create a separate VirtualHost for the naked domain

Here's the recommended approach:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName domain.com
    ServerAlias www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

1. Edit your configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/domain.conf

2. Add the configuration shown above

3. Enable the site and reload Apache:

sudo a2ensite domain.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Verify your setup with:

apache2ctl -S

This will show all configured virtual hosts and help identify any conflicts.

Many developers prefer to redirect the naked domain to the www version for consistency:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName domain.com
    Redirect permanent / http://www.domain.com/
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain
    # Other directives...
</VirtualHost>

If changes don't take effect:

• Clear your browser cache
• Check for syntax errors: apache2ctl configtest
• Verify DNS records propagate completely

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Many developers encounter this classic Apache configuration issue where accessing domain.com shows the default "It works!" page while www.domain.com works correctly. This happens because:

• Apache's default virtual host configuration only responds to explicit hostnames
• The non-www version isn't properly defined in your VirtualHost directives
• Apache falls back to its default site configuration

Here's what a typical problematic configuration might look like:

    ServerName www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain
    # Missing ServerAlias for domain.com

The most robust fix involves updating your VirtualHost configuration:

    ServerName domain.com
    ServerAlias www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain
    
    # Optional but recommended
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/domain_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/domain_access.log combined

For those needing more flexibility, consider these options:

1. Redirect Solution

    ServerName domain.com
    Redirect permanent / http://www.domain.com/



    ServerName www.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain

2. Wildcard Configuration

    ServerName domain.com
    ServerAlias *.domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/domain

After making changes:

1. Run sudo apache2ctl configtest to check syntax
2. Restart Apache: sudo systemctl restart apache2
3. Clear browser cache before testing

• Check /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/ for conflicting configurations
• Ensure no duplicate VirtualHost entries exist
• Verify DNS records point to the correct server IP