Force your website to load from ‘https://’

Before you proceed

• Make sure you have an SSL Certificate installed.
• If you don’t have one, you can follow the steps in this guide to install a free one.

Adding a https:// redirect

HTTPS redirection in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Click on Domains under the Domains section
3. Under Force HTTPS Redirection click on the switch to turn it on for your domain name (Note: cPanel won’t let you turn this option on, if you don’t have an SSL certificate installed)

If this hasn’t worked for you, the most reliable way to ensure your site loads securely is by adding the following code to the top of your .htaccess file:

# START Force HTTPS RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !on RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] # END Force HTTPS

Editing your .htaccess file

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Click on File Manager under Files.
3. Navigate to the public_html folder, or the folder where your website is located
4. Edit the .htaccess file:
   1. If the file already exists, right-click on it and click Edit.
   2. If the file doesn’t exist, click the + File button to the top-left of the page and create one of the same name.
5. Paste the above code in at the top of the file.
6. Click Save Changes.

Updating your site URLs (WordPress websites only)

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Navigate to Settings → General.
3. Change the WordPress Address and Site Address to include “https://” at the start of the URL instead of “http://”.

Using Really Simple SSL ( WordPress Websites Only)

1. Login to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New  and search for Really Simple SSL and install it.
3. Activate the plugin under Plugins → Installed Plugins.