Have you successfully installed an SSL/TLS certificate but your site still doesn’t automatically load through the secure httpS protocol? Are you still getting an “insecure connection” error after installing your SSL certificate? The problem is that in most cases, most domain and hosting accounts are setup by default to run off the old and unsecure http protocol, so you need an extra step to force the use of httpS.

This piece covers three ways to do this and thankfully, they’re all simple and easy to do.

 

1. Through cPanel redirect

Newer cPanel versions allow you force a http-httpS redirect with an easy click. This feature is also allowed or enabled by most hosting companies so if you don’t see this in your cPanel dashboard, you can ask your host to enable it.

To find this switch, head down to the “Domains” section and click on “Domains“:

 

This should bring you to this screen:

 

All you have to do now is turn the Force HTTPS Redirect switch on:

 

2. By inserting a force HTTPS code into your .htaccess file

Depending on the version of your cPanel or server settings, you may not have a GUI or button you can click to turn on the force HTTPS function. In the absence of this, you can just insert the code straight into your .htaccess file in your website’s home directory. If this file does not exist, you can create it and then insert the following code into it:

=====

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

=====

 

3. For WordPress – edit your site URL

In your WordPress Dashboard, go to Settings > General and edit both the “WordPress Address (URL)” and “Site Address (URL)” –

Simply add an “s” in front of the httpS for both:

 

 

 

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