How to Get the SSL on Your WordPress Site to Work Properly

As a website owner, you should always provide the best for your visitors. That includes an HTTPS (secured) connection, which is accomplished by installing an SSL certificate on your WordPress website. However, just issuing the certificate is not all you have to do. In this post, we will go through all the steps you need to take if you want your SSL to work properly and every connection to your website to be secured.

Table of Contents:

• Requirements for Forcing HTTPS for Each Connection to your WordPress Website
• Set up WordPress to Use SSL and HTTPS
  • Method 1: Use the WordPress Admin Dashboard
  • Method 2: Use phpMyAdmin
• How to Setup SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Using a Plugin (Beginner)
• How to Enable SSL for WordPress Manually (Advanced)

Requirements for Forcing HTTPS for Each Connection to your WordPress Website

The only requirement here is actually just installing a valid SSL certificate on your website. With FastComet, you have four options:

• Install Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates;
• Install Cloudflare Universal SSL Certificate;
• Install Comodo PositiveSSL SSL (1 Free Year with FastCloud Plus and FastCloud Extra);
• Personal 256bit SSL Certificate (paid service).

Set up WordPress to Use SSL and HTTPS

After enabling the SSL certificate on your domain name, you need to make WordPress use the SSL and HTTPS protocols on your website for every connection.

Since there are different methods to do that, we will go through them one by one. 

How to Setup SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Using a Plugin (Beginner)

First, you need to install and activate the Really Simple SSL plugin.

Here is what the plugin does for your WordPress site behind the scenes:

• Check the SSL certificate;
• Set WordPress to use HTTPS for each connection (redirects from HTTP to HTTPS);
• Look for URLs that are still loading from HTTP sources and fix them.

Remember to leave Really Simple SSL active at all times. Deactivating the plugin will bring back the mixed content errors.

How to Enable SSL for WordPress Manually (Advanced)

To enable SSL for WordPress, you must update two URL settings. To do this, use one of the following methods:

• Use the WordPress admin dashboard.
• Use phpMyAdmin to update the database directly. You may need to use this method if you are unable to access the WordPress administration interface.

Method 1: Use the WordPress Admin Dashboard

To use the admin dashboard to update the WordPress URL settings, follow these steps:

1. Log in to WordPress as the administrator.
2. On the left-hand menu, click Settings, and then click General.

3. Under General Settings, in the WordPress Address (URL) text box, replace the current URL with the secure URL. For example, type https://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.

• Make sure you type the correct URL, or your WordPress installation will be inaccessible.
• Make sure the URL begins with https://.
• Make sure the URL does not end with a forward slash (/).

4. In the Site Address (URL) text box, again, replace the current URL with the secure URL. For example, type https://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.

• As in step 3, make sure you type the correct URL, or your WordPress installation will be inaccessible.
• Make sure the URL begins with https://.
• Make sure the URL does not end with a forward slash (/).

5. Click Save Changes:

Method 2: Use phpMyAdmin

To use phpMyAdmin to update the WordPress URL settings, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. In the Databases section of the cPanel home screen, click phpMyAdmin.

3. In the left-hand pane of phpMyAdmin, click the WordPress database. A list of tables in the database appears.
   Typically, the WordPress database is username_wpXXX, where username represents your cPanel username and XXX is a three-digit number.
4. Under the Table heading, click the wp_options table. A list of data rows appears.

4. Under the option_name heading, locate siteurl, and then click Edit.

5. In the option_value text box, replace the current URL with the secure URL. For example, type https://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.
6. Make sure you type the correct URL, or your WordPress installation will be inaccessible.
7. Make sure the URL begins with https://.
8. Make sure the URL does not end with a forward slash (/).
9. Click Go. phpMyAdmin saves the changes in the table.
10. Under the option_name heading, locate Home, and then click Edit.
    
    You may have to scroll through more than one page of data in the wp_options table to locate the home row. To do this, click the > icon, or you can click Show all to view all of the table's rows simultaneously.
11. In the option_value text box, replace the current URL with the secure URL. For example, type https://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.
12. As in step 6, make sure you type the correct URL, or your WordPress installation will be inaccessible.
13. Make sure the URL begins with http://.
14. Make sure the URL does not end with a forward slash (/).
15. Click Go. phpMyAdmin saves the changes in the table. WordPress should now use the secure https:// URL.

Final Thoughts

Now you can have peace of mind because your website will always be accessed securely. In case you had trouble with forcing the secured connection, or perhaps you don’t have the time because you’re too busy managing your business—feel free to contact our customer support via Live Chat or our technical support experts by opening a support ticket. 

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