Why should I force my traffic to the HTTPS version of my website?
Forcing your visitors to use HTTPS will establish more trust in your website and brand. By using HTTPS, the “Not Secure” message shown by browsers disappears, and your user's information is encrypted on its way to our server.
Before forcing HTTPS, you must have HTTPS configured. To test and see if HTTPS is correctly configured on your website, load your site over HTTPS (https://your-site.com)
How do I force my visitors to the HTTPS version of my website?
If you are using a script such as WordPress
Many web applications, such as WordPress, provide you the option to use HTTPS. Look in the settings panel for either a “Use HTTPS” option, or a “Site URL” option. If you find a “Use HTTPS” setting, enable it, if you find a “Site URL” input box, change the first part of the URL from “http” to “https”.
If you are using a custom-built site
If you have a custom-built site, or are using a web application that does not have an HTTPS option, you will have to use .htaccess. Follow the linked guide below from the TinkerTechLab to learn how to set up an .htaccess redirect on your site.
https://tinkertechlab.com/webhosting/htaccess/force-traffic-to-https
One other thing to note is that if you have hard-coded your links, you may want to change them from “http://yourdomain.com” to “https://yourdomain.com”. This is especially true for images and other media. Failure to change media links can result in the media not loading, and the browser returning a “Mixed Content” error in the console.
If you are using CloudFlare
Cloudflare users have the option to manage SSL for their domain directly in the Cloudflare Dashboard. Login to CloudFlare and select “SSL/TLS” from the sidebar, then see below to know what settings to use.
- Flexible - Use this setting if you DO NOT have a certificate installed on TinkerHost.
- Full - Use this setting if you DO have a certificate installed on TinkerHost.
- Full (Strict) - Use this setting if you have a certificate from a trusted provider, such as GoGetSSL, installed in the TinkerHost control panel.