Any time you communicate sensitive data of any type, you should take precautions to keep it safe. Enabling HTTPS, also known as SSL (secure socket layers), to encrypt data moving to and from your server is one of the most efficient ways to protect data.
Consumers increasingly understand the value of secure data transfer, and they frequently check for the green lock that shows in their browser on websites that support HTTPS.
However, there are other benefits to having HTTPS enabled on your website server as well.
Google made a significant change and started appending “not secure” warnings to any HTTP website or blog URL seen within the Chrome browser in July 2018. Although SSL has already been incorporated into Google's search algorithm, this new Chrome warning is a game-changer.
Every website and blog now needs an SSL certificate. Now is the time to get an SSL certificate and enable HTTPS if your website or blog doesn't already have one.
How to configure your server to properly allow HTTPS
- Host using a specific IP address.
- Invest in an SSL certificate.
- Get the SSL certificate by asking.
- Put the certificate in place.
- Create an HTTPS update for your website.
Are you prepared to begin each step? Move along!
1. Use a host with a unique IP address.
Making sure you are hosting with a dedicated IP address is the first step. Fortunately, you won't need to buy a dedicated IP address if you're hosting with GoDaddy because it comes with your SSL certificate for free, even if you're using shared web hosting.
However, if you're utilizing a different hosting company, you must make sure that your subscription includes a dedicated IP. This frequently necessitates an upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server. You could also switch to GoDaddy and use any plan there.
2. Purchase an SSL certificate.
Purchase your SSL certificate as soon as you have a dedicated IP address. This serves as a way for people to recognize your website. All data that travels to and from the server where the certificate is installed is encrypted using the certificate. They keep a copy of the certificate password in your database, and incoming web traffic uses that as a cross-reference to make sure your web address is printed to the right server.
3. Obtain an SSL certificate.
To redeem the certificate, you must first activate your credit. Log into your GoDaddy account and select SSL Certificates to get started. Click Set Up next to the SSL certificate credit that you want to activate.
In order to view a new certificate, refresh the page. Wait a few minutes and try again if you still can't see it.
When a New Certificate appears, click Manage next to it. Depending on where you're hosting your certificate, either pick Provide a CSR if it's hosted by another firm or the name housed in your account if the certificate is with GoDaddy.
Enter any Subject Alternate Names you desire to use if you're utilizing a UCC Certification, then click Add.
Click Request Certificate if you have a Standard Issuance Certificate. Otherwise, click Next and fill out the necessary details on the following page. GoDaddy needs this information in order to confirm that you are the owner of the common name listed on the certificate.
It takes one to seven days to validate and verify your certificate request after you've provided this data. You might be prompted for more details at this point.
4. Set up the certification.
Fortunately, this is the simplest and last stage in the process. The certificate has to be installed on your server now that you've downloaded it from your provider.
You may install it via your cPanel if GoDaddy is hosting your website. Keep an eye out for the Install an SSL Certificate button under SSL/TLS.
The certificate must now be pasted into the box before submitting the form.
5. Set up HTTPS on your website.
The HTTPS:// version of your website should be accessible after giving it some time to update. You should congratulate yourself for successfully installing your SSL certificate to enable HTTPS if the page loads.
On the essential sites where secure information will be submitted, you must redirect users from HTTP to HTTPS. As a result, you should probably update the links to those pages so that they point to HTTPS rather than HTTP.
It's better to enforce this on the server-side if you do want to guarantee that users accessing specified pages will be switched to HTTPS rather than HTTP. The following code can be added to the page's header. Although it is in PHP, you might use another language instead:
// Require https
if ($_SERVER['HTTPS'] != "on") {
$url = "https://". $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] . $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
header("Location: $url");
exit;
}
Alternatively, you can also force a redirection through your .htaccess file. The following code is an example that would redirect any user looking at their cart or the checkout page to the HTTPS version if they are not already on it:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(cart/|checkout/) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI}
That’s all there is to it. If you have any issues with installing a certification, then I recommend you to visit a blog, How to secure WordPress site. Here you will find some best tips and tricks to secure your WordPress site along with some of the best free and premium plugins of 2022.
Thanks for reading.
