Online security is important and essential for businesses of every size. And one of the most basic forms of online security demand switching to HTTPS hosting. It gives asurrance to your visitors that their data or every single information is safe. If you you are using HTTP then you will get less traffic or leads. Now lets try to know the steps to migrate from Http to Https.
1. Buy An SSL certificate: You need to buy the right SSL Certificate. Do you know what SSL is? SSL certificate works is that it creates an encrypted, impenetrable link between the browser window and the web server. There are all sorts of different SSL certificates available at different cost but they all work under the same principle.
The entry-level SSLs are Domain SSLs. These are issued instantly and require only email verification. They offer HTTPS browsing with a padlock but there is no in-depth verification process, just a domain-ownership check. Next is Organization SSLs, which require a higher degree of verification which includes checking company ownership. As a result, they take longer to be issued, typically two to three business days.
2. Acquire an SSL certificate installation: After purchasing your SSL Certificate, you’ll need to approve it. This is done by the SSL issuer; the issuer sends an automated email to one of a pre-determined set of email addresses such as webmaster@TheDomainName.
3. Do a full back-up: Whenever you make major changes to your website, run a full back-up of all of your website files. If you use cPanel hosting, for example, there is abuilt-in cpanel back-up feature that you can use, whiich is easy to configure.
4. Change your HTTP links To HTTPS: Before you switch to HTTPS, you’ll need to update all of the internal links in your website. Go through your website and change any links that point to HTTP pages inside your site to the new HTTPS links. How much time it will take to do so totally depends on your website. If you just have a few pages, this is just a manual process. If you have hundreds, even thousands of pages, there are tools that can automate this process for you.
5. Update any external links that you control: All of the links pointing to your site from your social media accounts and listings in authority directories need to be updated. You’ll be redirecting HTTP traffic to the equivalent HTTPS page shortly, so there’s no need to stress about getting them all 100 percent updated.
6. Create a 301 redirect:A 301 Redirectis a method of redirecting traffic from one web page (URL) to another. It is effectively a “permanent” redirection because your website is permanently switching from HTTP to HTTPS. This is a really very important because if your website has dozens, hundreds or even thousands of backlinks pointing to it from other websites, hey will be set to point to the HTTP pages.
7. Update any other tools and transactional emails: Many businesses use a whole plethora of additional tools around their websites, such as email marketing, marketing automation and landing-page generators. You’ll need to prepare a list of these software programs and look for any mentions of web pages that refer to HTTP; then update them to HTTPS.
8. Update Google (Analytics and Search Console): At last you’ll need to update your Google accounts — Analytics and Search Console. In Analytics, you just need to change the Default URL to HTTPS. In Search Console, you’ll need to add the new site with HTTPS.
The whole process is not so complex.
If you’re not a technical person, you may need some help from a web professional. But, as long as you follow the steps outlined here, you’ll be fine.