In the simplest form of the word, it is easy to define what is canonical. One can hear the word being thrown around everywhere especially where formal expression is encouraged. This is because the word canonical means based from the rules. In other words, if you are one who is particular with the rules, then you should follow canonical methods.
In the World Wide Web, a canonical name is synonymous to the host name of the computer or a network server. It is also canned a CNAME, which acts as a nickname or alias for the recorded host name of the domain. The domain name is not necessarily easy to remember, hence the use of more friendly words to describe it like the CNAME.
Some people confuse what is canonical to what is the host name of the website. Although id the host name is less stingy, the database can record the domain and the canonical name as one and the same. The database takes care of how the internet site locations are defined, especially websites.
Canonical plugins are universally developed by certain communities for the express purpose of sharing and popularity. The goal of this in reference to what is canonical is that it enables to develop a close connection with the need for superlative attention. The plugin is closely connected with the core of the site, and the development of a plugin that is secure and allows best examples for the implementation of coding standards is to be prioritized.
Moreover, the newly developed versions of cores should be tested against the prior developed plugins for compatibility issues. Canonical plugins are screened and those with compatible features and the best one is actively chosen. These extensions of the core website provide security, compatibility and support.
Now what is a canonical URL? The URL, which is the universal resource link used to identify the webpage with is the primary basis of crawlers used by search engines. A canonical URL is a part of the HTML head section wherein it is linked back to a certain site. This is the site provided for more information to be used by spiders during link back.
With the presence of a canonical URL, the search engines are told that the canonized site is a duplicate of the URL specified. Because of this, the page itself is a link to the URL. All contents and links that the engine has retrieved from the URL are treated as relevant to the search. The canonical URL links back to the main website where the index page is located. From the root, the crawler can find its way to subtopics that contain the keywords of its search, which does not depend on the form of retrieval it has used to acquire information.