SSL and HTTPS:// questions with naked url

  • 3rdschulz

    (@3rdschulz)


    9 years, 4 months ago

    Hello everyone,
    Problem: I am new here and have no knowledge of coding or web development beyond basic HTML. I am currently working on a personal WordPress site. When my naked url is typed (eg. mysite.com) the https:// version does not always load. However, when I type in https:// with my site name, it works fine with no problems. I am using “Let’s Encrypt” and I have the twenty seventeen theme.

    What I have tried: Inside WordPress, I ensured that my domain and website were configured to https:// in the settings when I installed WordPress, and again after I installed. I searched the wordpress codex and read about https and ssl with no luck.

    My questions:
    1.Is it possible to have an https:// site only? I don’t even need an http version, or is there always a http version also?

    2.I found “force” SSL plugins for wordpress, but these plugins redirect. Will these plugins affect SEO or other things?

    3. Besides redirect plugins, is there another way when someone types in my url it will load the ssl?

    4. Is there anyway to use Let’s Encrypt with a free CDN to speed up my site, such as CloudFlare?

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    9 years, 4 months ago

    1. Yes, very possible. See item 3. 😉

    2. If the plugin is done properly, it will issue a permanent redirect, which is what you want as far as search engines go. (This means that the search engine will discard the old URL and replace it with the one it’s permanently redirected to.)

    3. If you have saved the WordPress and Site Addresses as https:// at Settings > General in your site’s Dashboard, that should be enough to force it. If not, you may need to add this to your .htaccess file:

    RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} !https
RewriteRule .* https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R,L]

    4. Let’s Encrypt is a certificate authority, not a CDN. You should have no problems using a CDN on a site with a certificate from Let’s Encrypt.

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by James Huff.
    Thread Starter 3rdschulz

    (@3rdschulz)

    9 years, 4 months ago

    Hi James,
    Thanks for taking the time to reply and provide information. I have some follow up’s questions below.

    1. I am currently forcing it to HTTPS with a plugin, which works but provides a 301 permanent re-direct. Is this what I want?

    2. If I paste this code into my htacsess file, will it eliminate the http version of my site? Do I still need to do this with the 301 redirect in effect?

    3. I see from the strategy above I am directing google and people to the https version. However, I am curious, is there always a http version and a https version of the same website?

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    9 years, 4 months ago

    1. Yes, a 301 permanent redirect is exactly what you want.

    2. Your site is all one site, so nothing will be eliminated. It will force visits to the HTTP protocol to be permanently redirected to the HTTPS protocol. You should use either the plugin or the .htaccess method, but not both.

    3. Your site is all one site, but it can operate under two protocols: HTTP and/or HTTPS. In this case, you are forcing visits to the HTTP protocol to use HTTPS instead.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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