Why and How to Force HTTPS on Your WordPress Site (2000+ Words)

You may have noticed more and more websites using HTTPS instead of HTTP at the beginning of their URLs. In fact, over 91% of websites loaded by Google Chrome now use HTTPS. And for good reason – HTTPS plays a critical role in website security, SEO performance, and visitor trust.

If you have a WordPress site, you should strongly consider forcing HTTPS for these reasons and more. While the process may seem technical, this comprehensive guide will walk you through exactly how to install an SSL certificate and configure your site to load securely over HTTPS. Let‘s get started!

What Is HTTPS and Why Is It Important?

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It‘s the secure version of HTTP, the protocol used to send data between a website and a web browser.

When a website loads over a standard HTTP connection, any data transmitted is unencrypted. This means it can potentially be intercepted and read by third parties, putting sensitive information like login credentials, financial details, and personal data at risk.

HTTPS solves this problem through the use of an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. The SSL certificate enables an encrypted link between the web server and browser, ensuring that all data passed between them remains private and secure.

But the benefits of HTTPS go beyond just security:

  • SEO: Google has stated that HTTPS is a ranking signal, meaning sites loaded over HTTPS may get a rankings boost over unsecure HTTP sites. HTTPS is becoming a de facto standard for the web.

  • Trust & Credibility: Web browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox now mark all HTTP sites as "Not Secure" in the address bar. Using HTTPS shows visitors that you value their privacy and helps your site appear more trustworthy and credible. This can lead to lower bounce rates and higher engagement.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Depending on your industry and location, you may be legally required to use HTTPS to comply with data privacy laws and regulations like GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA etc.

How to Get an SSL Certificate for WordPress

The first step in forcing HTTPS on WordPress is installing an SSL certificate. You have a few options here:

1. Via Your Web Hosting Provider

Many reputable WordPress hosts now include free SSL certificates with their hosting plans through providers like Let‘s Encrypt. The exact process varies between hosts, but it usually involves just clicking a button in your hosting control panel to install the SSL certificate on your domain.

Some hosts will also automatically configure WordPress to use HTTPS once the certificate is installed. However, it‘s still a good idea to follow the steps below to ensure your configuration is complete and error-free.

2. Via a Third-Party SSL Provider

If your host doesn‘t offer SSL certificates, you can purchase one through a third-party certificate authority (CA). Popular paid CAs include DigiCert, Comodo, GeoTrust, and Symantec.

Paid certificates offer additional benefits like extended validation, warranty, and support. However, they‘re not strictly necessary for most sites. Free certificates from non-profits like Let‘s Encrypt are secure and trusted by browsers.

The installation process will be more hands-on if you purchase through a third-party CA. You‘ll need to generate a certificate signing request (CSR) on your server, submit it to the CA, then install the issued certificate files on your server. The exact steps depend on your hosting environment.

Once your SSL certificate is installed and active on your domain, you‘re ready to configure WordPress to load over HTTPS. Let‘s look at two methods for doing this.

Method 1: Force HTTPS in WordPress Using a Plugin

The simplest way to force HTTPS in WordPress is by using a plugin. There are several free plugins built for this purpose, but one of the most popular and well-maintained is the Really Simple SSL plugin.

Here‘s how to set it up:

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard and go to Plugins → Add New.
  2. Search for "Really Simple SSL", install it, and activate the plugin.
  3. Upon activation, you‘ll see a notice at the top of the screen. Click the button to "Go ahead, activate SSL!".
  4. The plugin will automatically detect your SSL certificate, update your WordPress site URL to HTTPS, and configure redirects from HTTP to HTTPS.
  5. You should now see a padlock icon in your WordPress admin bar indicating that you‘re connected over HTTPS.

That‘s it! Your site should now load over HTTPS instead of HTTP.

However, while the Really Simple SSL plugin automates several important tasks, it doesn‘t update hard-coded HTTP URLs that may exist in your posts, pages, and theme files. To avoid "mixed content" errors, you may still need to manually update any remaining HTTP URLs to HTTPS.

Method 2: Force HTTPS in WordPress via .htaccess

If you‘d prefer not to use a plugin, you can force WordPress to use HTTPS by directly editing your site‘s .htaccess file. This method is more hands-on but gives you full control over your site‘s URL structure.

Here‘s how to do it:

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard and go to Settings → General.
  2. Update your "WordPress Address (URL)" and "Site Address (URL)" fields to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. Save your changes.
  3. Next, connect to your site via FTP or SSH and download a copy of your .htaccess file located in your WordPress root directory. It‘s a good idea to create a complete backup of your site files and database before editing this file.
  4. Open your .htaccess file in a text editor and add the following lines at the top:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
</IfModule>

This tells your web server to redirect all HTTP requests to their HTTPS equivalent using a permanent 301 redirect.

  1. Save the edited .htaccess file and re-upload it to your server, overwriting the existing file.
  2. Clear your browser and web server cache and test that your site loads correctly over HTTPS and redirects from HTTP to HTTPS.

If you experience any issues, the most common cause is a misconfiguration in your .htaccess file. Double check that the "RewriteEngine On" directive only appears once in the file and that the new lines you added are in the correct location.

Fixing Mixed Content Warnings

After forcing HTTPS on WordPress, you may see "mixed content" warnings in your browser console. These occur when a page loaded over HTTPS also includes resources (like images or scripts) loaded over an insecure HTTP connection.

To resolve mixed content warnings, you need to update all hard-coded HTTP URLs to HTTPS. Here are a few places to check:

  • WordPress database: Posts, pages, and custom fields may contain embedded HTTP URLs. You can use a plugin like Better Search Replace to easily update these instances in bulk in your database.

  • Theme files: Your theme‘s header.php, footer.php or function files may include hard-coded HTTP links for assets like images, CSS, and JavaScript files. You‘ll need to edit these files directly over FTP or SSH to update the URLs.

  • Plugins: Outdated or poorly-configured plugins may load assets over HTTP. Try selectively disabling plugins until you identify the culprit and reach out to the developer for an update.

Add Your HTTPS Site to Google Search Console

After migrating to HTTPS, it‘s a good idea to add the HTTPS version of your site as a separate property in Google Search Console. This allows you to monitor your HTTPS site‘s search presence and troubleshoot any crawl errors or security issues.

Here‘s how to do it:

  1. Log in to Google Search Console and click "Add Property".
  2. Enter your site‘s HTTPS URL (e.g. https://example.com) and click "Continue".
  3. Choose a method to verify ownership of your site. The easiest is to upload an HTML file provided by Google to your site‘s root directory.
  4. Once verified, you can submit your HTTPS sitemap, track keyword rankings, and get alerted of any issues on your HTTPS site.

It‘s important to note that Google treats the HTTP and HTTPS versions of a site separately. Adding your HTTPS site as a new property ensures that Google indexes and ranks the secure version instead of the unsecure one.

Conclusion

With data privacy and security concerns on the rise, using HTTPS on your WordPress site is no longer optional – it‘s a necessity. By installing an SSL certificate and configuring WordPress to load over HTTPS, you can protect your site and visitors from data theft, improve your search engine visibility, and increase trust and credibility.

The process may seem daunting at first, especially for beginners. But by following the step-by-step instructions in this guide, you should have your WordPress site loading securely over HTTPS in no time.

Remember, if you encounter any issues or error messages along the way, don‘t panic! WordPress has a large and helpful community with plenty of resources for troubleshooting HTTPS migration issues. Some good places to turn for help include:

  • The official WordPress support forums
  • WordPress Facebook groups and subreddits (/r/WordPress, /r/ProWordPress)
  • WordPress Stack Exchange
  • Your web hosting provider‘s support channels

Making the switch to HTTPS does require some effort upfront, but the long-term benefits for your site‘s security, SEO, and user trust make it well worth it. So what are you waiting for? Get started forcing HTTPS on your WordPress site today!

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