This article contains a detailed guide to Moving from HTTP to HTTPS. Despite the numerous benefits of switching to HTTPS, many SEOs and website owners have not done so. For those feeling intimidated by the prospect of switching to HTTPS, I have broken down the process for you guys in a step by step guide. So, follow the lines below to get the hang of this process.
What is HTTP?
Http (or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is the method by which data is moved around the Web. You can see just how integral HTTP is to the online world by looking at the beginning of any Web address.
On the plus side, HTTP is fast and reliable. On the minus side, it’s as secure as a diamond at a cat burglar’s convention. There are lots of ways to hack your way into data being transferred via HTTP and while that’s not a problem for many online data transfers (e.g. watching a video, viewing a website), it is a problem if you need to protect the data that’s being sent.
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS is like “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol” yet with the significant expansion of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) that encodes the information being passed from servers to program. For instance, in the event that you gave your Visa or individual subtleties in a structure, that information would be scrambled as it was moved through the web to the organizations utilizing it. You will know when a website is utilizing SSL on the grounds that the web address will change from HTTP to https toward the start, for example, https://www.example.com It is uncommon to locate an online shop or webpage with delicate client information not previously utilizing this convention.
In any case, a huge extent of different locales, for example, standard leaflet destinations, are as yet depending on HTTP, given that already there was no genuine requirement for SSL as there was no genuine touchy information to deal with. Be that as it may, progressively more destinations are moving over as they understand the advantages to https and SEO impacts this has. However, HTTP to https SEO can be extensive and the correct advances must be taken to alleviate.
Moving from HTTP to HTTPS:
Step 1: picking up a SSL certificate
SSL is the convention that HTTPS uses. Initially, you have to introduce an SSL authentication on your site with the end goal for it to utilize HTTPS.
There are three distinct kinds of SSL Certificates that you can get:
Domain Validation: The least expensive and most fundamental. It just truly covers encryption.
Organization Validation: The central decision as far as value, which additionally incorporates verification. In case you’re gathering individual data, you most likely need at any rate this alternative.
Extended Validation: This is the top of the line option. It gives the best security you can get with HTTPS. This is fundamentally for huge online business sites and sites that gather extremely significant private data.
Google suggests that you utilize 2048-piece encryption certificates. So keep that in mind if you go with an organization validation certificate (which offers different levels of encryption).
At this point, you must be intrigued to know where to purchase an SSL certificate. You can purchase a certificate from different sites which are available in tons. They will offer different types at different prices, so you can shop around if you’d like.
However, I’d suggest you choose your hosting company for your certificate. The reason is quite simple. Since most hosting companies offer them in any case, and a significant number of them will likewise enable you to introduce them.
But keep in mind that not all hosting suppliers will install the certificate for you. In this case, check whether they have an installation guide by Googling: (hosting company) + SSL certificate installation.
On the off chance that doesn’t raise anything helpful, contact their help. The process of installing a certificate differs from host to host, which is why I can’t give you specific steps here.
Step 2: Changing your websites link
Changing the content “HTTP” to “https” in the majority of your links that point to other parts of your own site is likely the one specialized undertaking you’ll have to do yourself.
In the event that you haven’t been utilizing relative links partial links using only part of a page’s entire URL like “/2015/03/update-wordpress.html”) you’ll have to audit the majority of your site’s links that point to other parts of your own site. Exploit this chance to change to relative links rather than simply supplanting “HTTP” with “https”. In case you’re utilizing a content management system, for example, WordPress, make a point to change the permalinks to utilize https.
Step 3: Setting up 301 redirect
Take an example URL of:
http://www.example.com
Then compare it to:
https://www.example.com
The only difference is one “s” in the URL. And it’s before the actual domain name. But it makes a difference. These are two entirely separate URLs. What that means is that you need to create copies of all your site’s pages. And then redirect all of your old “HTTP” pages to your new “https” pages.
It’s not a big deal even if it looks like one. A URL map can just be a simple spreadsheet, containing a list of old URLs with a list of the corresponding new URLs beside it. If you wanted to make changes to your site structure or URL format. Now would be a good time to do it. If you’re using WordPress, you can add all the 301 (permanent) redirects to your .htaccess file.
Each line should look something like this:
Redirect 301 /oldpage.html https://www.yoursite.com/newpage.html
Step 4: Some more updating (images and other links)
It’s not simply on-page linking on your site that you have to stress over. It’s likewise some other links to assets. For example, pictures, templates, and contents. In the event that you right-click any of your site’s pages and snap “see the source,” you’ll see a wide range of labels this way:
<script src=”http://www.domain.com/js/file.js” />
The issue is that you have to guarantee that all documents utilized and served on your site likewise use HTTPS. In the event that those sources and picture areas exist on your space, you have to guide them toward the right HTTPS areas. If you have both HTTP and HTTPS URLs, you can utilize convention relative URLs, which resemble this:
<script src=”//www.domain.com/js/file.js” />
The double slash in front advises your program to utilize HTTPS before that URL when the record is being mentioned from an HTTPS page. Remember about your CDN: If you utilize a CDN, you have to ensure that your CDN underpins HTTPS. Most CDNs do bolster HTTPS at this point, however not every one of them.
If they don’t have detailed instructions on how to implement HTTPS, so you’ll again have to contact their support. At that point, you’ll need to return to your new HTTPS site and ensure that the hotspot for all pictures is indicating the HTTPS picture area on your CDN. To guarantee that you don’t miss any connections or pictures, I recommend using a site crawling tool like Screaming Frog SEO. You put your domain in the spider text box at the top, and it will extract a ton of information from your site.
Step 5: Adding your site to web master tools (WMT)
Since your site is fundamentally whole again, you need to get Google slithering it as quickly as time permits to constrain the odds of your traffic being contrarily influenced.
You have to re-add your website to Google website admin devices (Search Console) in light of the fact that the HTTPS webpage is viewed as a totally unique webpage.
At that point, you ought to present your new sitemap in your new posting. What’s more, re-present your old sitemap (in your old WMT property) since then Google will see the 301 diverts and update its postings.
Summing it all, I hope that now you should know whether or not HTTPS is needed for your site and how to implement it.
If you have cPanel web hosting you can easily redirect http:// to https:// from your cPanel Domains section check details on Force HTTP redirects to HTTPS – cPanel
If http:// still loading website pages and you want to redirect http:// to https:// permanently via .htaccess.
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