WordPress HowTo

How-to guide for WordPress

  • Home
  • Plugins
  • Themes
  • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • About

How to Add a Free SSL Certificate to Your WordPress Site

SSL Certificate has become an important part of every WordPress site since major web browsers like Google Chrome started showing a non-secure warning in the address bar. WordPress already announced that as of 2017 they are going to implement features in the core that will require your website to have HTTPS available. From SEO point of view, HTTPs is also important since Google now consider it as a ranking factor. So if you haven’t switched to HTTPs yet now is the time to do it. In this article, I will show you how you can add a free SSL certificate to your WordPress site and get it up and running in HTTPs.

How to Add a Free SSL Certificate to WordPress

Step 1

Sign up for the Bluehost Special WordPress Hosting or SiteGround WordPress Hosting plan.

Step 2

Contact your web host to have the Free SSL certificate installed for you. Alternatively, you might also be able to directly install it from your account panel.

Once you have the Free SSL certificate installed you should be able to load your website in HTTPs (HTTP will also be available).

Step 3

Install and activate the Easy HTTPs Redirection plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/https-redirection/.

Step 4

Go to the Easy HTTPs Redirection plugin settings and apply these settings:

screenshot showing how to configure https related options in the easy https redirection wordpress plugin

1. Enable automatic redirection to the “HTTPS” – This option does an automatic 301 redirection to the HTTPS version if the non-secure HTTP version tries to load. With 301 redirection, you don’t lose any ranking since all the page ranks from current pages (non-secure version) get transferred to the secure version of those pages.

2. Apply HTTPS redirection on “The whole domain”

3. Force resources to use HTTPS URL – This makes sure that all of your existing resources such as images, docs embedded in posts and pages load from the HTTPS version. If you try to embed an image from an HTTP source in an HTTPs page, it will lead to mixed content warning error.

Step 5

Finally, go to the general settings and let WordPress know that you wish to use HTTPS as the default protocol for your site (If It hasn’t changed from HTTP to HTTPS already).

screenshot showing how to change the site address url and wordpress address url to https in the general settings

Once this is done your WordPress site should be fully migrated to HTTPS. When you create a new post/page now and embed a resource in it such as image, it will be embedded with its HTTPS source URL.

SiteGround affiliate link for a special discount: https://www.siteground.com/go/wrdpress

Related

Written by Noor Alam · Categorized: hosting, wordpress

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search WP HowTo

Recent Posts

  • Custom Donations for WordPress PayPal Donate Buttons
  • Gmail SMTP Plugin Cc Configuration
  • How to Add a Reply-To Address in the Gmail SMTP WordPress Plugin
  • What Does a Security Challenge Mean on PayPal?
  • WP PayPal Button Integration with Contact Form 7
  • Can People See Your Address on PayPal?
  • Mailchimp Integration for WP PayPal Plugin
  • How to Show a Text Box at WP PayPal Checkout to Collect Custom Data from Buyers
  • How to Add a Recurring Price Field to a PayPal Subscription Button
  • How to Add a Quantity Field to a PayPal Button

Featured Add-ons

Buy Now Custom Amount for PayPal

Buy Now Discount for PayPal

Contact Form 7 Integration for PayPal

Custom Input for PayPal

Mailchimp Integration for PayPal

Product Variations for PayPal

Variable Quantity for PayPal

Variable Subscription for PayPal

Custom Donations for PayPal

Reply-To for Gmail SMTP

Cc for Gmail SMTP

Disable Right Click on Video.js

Copyright © 2023 · WordPress HowTo

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT