How Do I Use My SSL Certificate?
Once your preferred SSL certificate is installed, simply upload files and pages as you normally would. If your site, for example, http://www.hostgator.com, were to use the SSL, you should add an "s" after the http. The link would now become https://www.hostgator.com and load securely.
Please visit the following article to know what SSL plan will suit the needs of your website.
But my site still says HTTP?
There are three main reasons why this might happen:
- You entered the URL for your website and did not specify HTTPS.
- You clicked a link that did not specify HTTPS.
- Your site uses redirects and forces you to surf with HTTP.
To force visitors to view your page with HTTPS, even if they do not specify it, you can create .htaccess rewrite rules to redirect to HTTPS. The following example code will force visitors to view your site with HTTPS.
# Always use https for secure connections # Replace 'www.example.com' with your domain name # (as it appears on your SSL certificate) RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80 RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
(Please make sure to replace "example.com" with your actual domain name.)
- If you are using WordPress or another CMS that already uses redirects, please skip to CMS Software Redirects.
- If you do not know how to locate and/or edit your .htaccess file, instructions to do so may be found here.
- Additional examples for other useful redirects and .htaccess tools may be found here.
CMS Software Redirects
Many website scripts, such as WordPress, already use methods to force your site to use a single specific base URL. Adding the code above may not work correctly or prevent the website from loading entirely.
In this case, you may need to modify your site configuration files to force HTTPS. You will need to locate the setting commonly called as the site URL, home URL, or base URL and edit this URL to include HTTPS. If you cannot locate the correct setting, you may need to contact the CMS developer for instructions regarding how to force HTTPS.
Related Articles
- Customer Portal - SSL Certificates - If you're looking for a guide on managing your SSL certificates, check out this article.
- How to Get and Enable Your Free SSL Certificate - Please visit this article to help you force the HTTPS if you're using the free Let's Encrypt SSL.
- WordPress HTTPS (SSL) Plugin- This article will help you force HTTPS for WordPress.
SSL for Newbies Series
- Overview: SSL for Newbies
- Part 1: What is SSL/Secure Certificate?
- Part 2: What type of SSL/Secure Certificate do I need?
- Part 3: Important things you should know before installing an SSL Certificate
- Part 4: How do I purchase an SSL Certificate?
- Part 5: How do I use my SSL Certificate?