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Redirect every visitor to HTTPS

Send http:// visitors to the secure address — with .htaccess on Linux or web.config on Windows.

2 min read Updated

Once your site has a certificate, send everyone who types http:// to https://. It protects every page, and search engines see one address instead of two.

Before you start

Check the site already opens on https:// without a warning. It works on the name the certificate was issued for — yourdomain.com, www.yourdomain.com or a subdomain. Redirecting to any other name shows visitors a certificate error.

Linux hosting (cPanel): .htaccess

Our Linux servers have Apache's mod_rewrite enabled. In your website folder (public_html), create a file called .htaccess — or edit the existing one — and add these lines at the top:

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

Replace yourdomain.com with the exact name on your certificate.

Note

Files starting with a dot are hidden by default. In cPanel's File Manager, open Settings and tick Show Hidden Files.

Windows hosting (Plesk): web.config

Our Windows servers include the IIS URL Rewrite module. In your website folder (httpdocs), create web.config — or carefully edit the existing one — with:

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <rewrite>
      <rules>
        <rule name="Redirect to HTTPS" stopProcessing="true">
          <match url="(.*)" />
          <conditions>
            <add input="{HTTPS}" pattern="^OFF$" />
          </conditions>
          <action type="Redirect" url="https://yourdomain.com/{R:1}" redirectType="Permanent" />
        </rule>
      </rules>
    </rewrite>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

If a web.config already exists, add only the <rule> block inside its existing <rules>.

Tip

WordPress? Set both addresses under Settings → General to https:// as well, or the site keeps linking to itself over HTTP.

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