Are you looking to move WordPress from HTTP to HTTPS and install an SSL certificate on your website?
We have received a lot of requests on this topic because Google announced back in July 2018 that the Chrome browser would mark all websites without SSL as insecure.
In this article, we will show you how to properly move WordPress from HTTP to HTTPS by adding an SSL certificate.
Don’t worry, if you have no idea what SSL or HTTPS is.We’re going to explain that as well.
What Is HTTPS?
HTTPS or Secure HTTP is an encryption method that secures the connection between users’ browser and your server.This makes it harder for hackers to eavesdrop on the connection.
Every day, we share our personal information with different websites, whether making a purchase or simply logging in.
To protect the data transfer, a secure connection needs to be created.
That’s when SSL and HTTPS come in.
Each site is issued a unique SSL certificate for identification purposes.If a server is pretending to be on HTTPS, and its certificate doesn’t match, then most modern browsers will warn the user from connecting to the website.
Now, you are probably wondering why I need to move my WordPress site from HTTP to HTTPS, especially if it’s a
simple blog or small business website that doesn’t collect any payments.
Why Do You Need HTTPS and SSL?
In 2018, Google announced a plan to improve overall web security by encouraging website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS.As part of this plan, their popular Chrome web browser would mark all websites without an SSL certificate as “Not Secure.”
Google also said that websites with SSL will also see
SEO benefits and will get higher search rankings than insecure websites.
Since then, a large number of websites have switched from HTTP to HTTPS.
After the announcement, Google started rolling out the “Not Secure” warning in Chrome.
For example, if someone visits an HTTP website using the incognito window, it will be marked as Not Secure.If someone visits an HTTP website in regular mode and tries to fill out a
contact form or another form, then the website will be marked as insecure.
When your readers and customers see this notice, it gives them a bad impression of your business.
This is why all websites need to move from HTTP to HTTPS and install SSL immediately.
Not to mention, if you want to accept payments online on your eCommerce website, you need SSL.
Most payment companies, like Stripe, PayPal Pro, Authorize.net, etc., will require a secure connection before accepting payments.
We use SSL for our websites, including WPBeginner,
OptinMonster, WPForms, and MonsterInsights.
Requirements for Using HTTPS/SSL on a WordPress Site
The requirements for using SSL in WordPress are not very high.
All you need to do is purchase an SSL certificate, and you might already have it for free.
The
best WordPress hosting companies are offering free SSL certificates for all their users:
For more details, see our guide on how to
get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress website.
If your hosting company does not offer a free SSL certificate, then you’ll need to purchase an SSL certificate.
We recommend using
Domain.com because they offer the best SSL deal for both regular and wildcard SSL certificates.
By purchasing an SSL certificate from them, you also get a TrustLogo site seal for your website, and each SSL certificate comes with a minimum security warranty of $10,000.
Once you have purchased an SSL certificate, you will need to ask your hosting provider to install it for you.
Setting Up WordPress to Use SSL and HTTPS
After enabling an SSL certificate for your domain name, you will need to set up WordPress to use SSL and HTTP protocols on your website.
We will show you two methods for doing that, and you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading
Method 1: Setup SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Using a Plugin
This method is easier and is recommended for beginners.
First, you need to install and activate the
Really Simple SSL plugin.For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » SSL page.The plugin will automatically detect your SSL certificate, and it will set up your WordPress site to use HTTPS.
The plugin will take care of everything, including the mixed content errors.Here’s what the plugin does behind the scenes:
– Check SSL certificate
– Set WordPress to use https in URLs
Set up redirectsfrom HTTP to HTTPS
– Look for URLs in your content still loading from insecure HTTP sources and attempt to fix them.
Note: The plugin attempts to fix mixed content errors by using output buffering technique.It can have a negative
performance impact because it’s replacing content on the site as the page is being loaded.This impact is only seen on first-page load, and it should be minimal if you are using a caching plugin.
While the plugin says you can keep SSL and safely deactivate the plugin, it’s not 100% true.You will have to leave the plugin active at all times because deactivating the plugin will bring back mixed content errors.See our
Really Simple SSL review for more details.
Method 2: Set Up SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Manually
This method requires you to
troubleshoot issues manually and edit WordPress files.
However, it is a permanent and more performance-optimized solution, and we’re using it on WPBeginner.
If you find this method difficult, then you can
hire a WordPress developer or use the first method instead.
As part of this method, you may need to edit the WordPress theme and code files.If you haven’t done this before, then see our guide on
how to copy and paste code snippets in WordPress.
First, you need to visit the Settings » General page.From here, you need to update your WordPress and site URL address fields by replacing http with https.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save changes’ button to store your settings.
Once the settings are saved, WordPress will log you out, and you will be asked to re-login.
Next, you need to set up WordPress redirects from HTTP to HTTPS by adding the following code to your
.htaccess file:
If you are on NGINX servers, then you will need to add the following code to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS in your configuration file:
server { listen 80; server_name example.com www.example.com; return 301 https://example.com$request_uri; }
Don’t forget to replace example.com with your domain name.
By following these steps, you will avoid the WordPress HTTPS not working error because WordPress will now load your entire website using HTTPS.
If you want to force SSL and HTTPS on your WordPress admin area or login pages, you need to configure SSL in the
wp-config.php file.
Add the following code above the “That’s all, stop editing!” line in your wp-config.php file:
define(‘FORCE_SSL_ADMIN’, true);
This line allows WordPress to force SSL / HTTPs in the WordPress admin area.It also works on
WordPress multisite networks.
Once you do this, your website is fully set up to use SSL / HTTPS, but you will still encounter mixed content errors.
These errors are caused by sources (images, scripts, or stylesheets) still loading using the insecure HTTP protocol in the URLs.If that is the case, then you will not be able to see a secure padlock icon in your website’s address bar.
Many modern browsers will automatically block unsafe scripts and resources.
You may see a padlock icon but with a notification about it in your browser’s address bar.
You can find out which content is served through insecure protocol by using the
Inspect tool.
The mixed content error will be displayed as a warning in the console with details for each mixed content item.
You will notice that most URLs are images, iframes, and image galleries, while some are scripts and stylesheets loaded by your WordPress plugins and themes.
Fixing Mixed Content in WordPress Database
The majority of the incorrect URLs will be images, files, embeds, and other data stored in your WordPress database.Let’s fix them first.
You need only find all mentions of your old website URL in the database that start with http and replace them with your new website URL that starts with https.
You can easily do this by installing and activating the
Better Search Replace plugin.For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Tools » Better Search Replace page.Under the ‘Search’ field, you need to add your website URL with
http.
After that, add your website URL with https under the ‘Replace’ field.
Below that, you will see all your WordPress database tables.You need to select all of them to run a thorough check.
Lastly, you need to uncheck the box next to the ‘Run as dry run?’ option and then click the ‘Run Search/Replace’ button.
The plugin will now search your WordPress database for URLs starting with http and replace them with secure https URLs.It may take a while, depending on your WordPress database size.
Fixing Mixed Content Errors in WordPress Theme
Another common culprit causing mixed content errors is your WordPress theme.Any decent
WordPress theme following WordPress coding standards will not cause this issue.
First, you will need to use your browser’s Inspect tool to find the resources and where they are loading from.
After that, you will need to find them in your WordPress theme and replace them with https.This will be a little difficult for most beginners, as you will not be able to see which theme files contain these URLs.
Fixing Mixed Content Errors Caused by Plugins
Some mixed content resources will be loaded by
WordPress plugins.Any WordPress plugin following WordPress coding standards will not cause mixed content errors.
We don’t recommend editing WordPress plugin files.
Instead, you should contact the plugin author and let them know.If they do not respond or are unable to fix it, you should find a suitable alternative.
Note: If, for some reason, you’re still encountering a mixed content error, we recommend temporarily using the Really Simple SSL plugin so your users are not impacted while you fix the issue on a staging website or hire a developer.
Submit Your HTTPS Site to Google Search Console
Search engines like Google consider https and http to be two different websites.To avoid any SEO issues, you will need to let Google know that your website has moved.
To do that, you just need to go to your
Google Search Console account and click on the ‘Add a Property’ button.
This will bring up a popup where you need to add your website’s new https address.
There are two methods for site verification:
domain name or URL prefix.We recommend the URL prefix method because it is more flexible.
After that, Google will ask you to verify ownership of your website.
There are several ways to do that.Select any method, and you will get instructions to verify your site.
We recommend using the HTML tag method.
You will now see an HTML code snippet that you need to add to the head section of your WordPress website.
Add Search Console Verification Code using All in One SEO
First, install and activate the
All in One SEO for WordPress plugin.
For more details, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Note: There is also a
free version of All in One SEO that you can try.
Upon activation, go to the All in One SEO » General Settings page and click on Google Search Console.
Below that, you need to add the verification code you copied earlier from the Google Search Console website.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
Next, switch back to the Google Search Console tab and click the ‘Verify’ button.
Once your site is verified, Google will show your search console reports here.
You also need to ensure that both the https and http versions are added to your Search Console.
This tells Google that you want the https version of your website to be treated as the primary version.Combined with the 301 redirects that you set up earlier, Google will transfer your search rankings to the https version of your website, and you will most likely see improvements in your search rankings.
We hope this article helped you add HTTPS and SSL in WordPress.You may also want to see our ultimate
WordPress security guide with step-by-step instructions to keep your WordPress site secure or our expert picks of the best analytics solutions for WordPress.
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