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If your website’s HTTP version does not automatically redirect to HTTPS, it can cause serious SEO and security issues.
1. SEO Issues
- Duplicate Pages – Search engines might index both HTTP and HTTPS versions, leading to duplicate content problems.
- Ranking Impact – Google considers HTTPS a ranking factor, meaning sites with proper HTTPS implementation may rank higher.
- Crawl Budget Wastage – If both versions exist, search engines may waste resources crawling duplicate pages instead of focusing on important content.
2. Security Risks
- User Trust Issues – Modern browsers label HTTP sites as “Not Secure”, which can reduce visitor confidence.
- Data Vulnerability – Without HTTPS, sensitive user data (like passwords and payment details) can be intercepted by hackers.
How to Check If Your HTTP URL Redirects to HTTPS
To verify if your HTTP version is properly redirecting to HTTPS, use this free online tool:
If both HTTP and HTTPS versions return a 200 status code, it means both versions are accessible to search engines, which can create duplicate content issues.
Example of Improper Redirection
We recently worked on an SEO client’s website where the HTTP version was not properly redirected to HTTPS. See the screenshot below.
Example of Proper HTTP to HTTPS Redirection
For reference, here’s a screenshot of the correct HTTP to HTTPS redirect setup for PinoySEO.ph—showing a 301 redirect in place.
A 301 redirect ensures that all traffic from HTTP is permanently redirected to HTTPS, preventing duplicate content issues and improving security.
WordPress Plugins for HTTP to HTTPS Redirection
If your website is built on WordPress, you can use one of these plugins to automatically redirect HTTP to HTTPS:
1️⃣ Really Simple SSL – https://wordpress.org/plugins/really-simple-ssl/
2️⃣ WP Force SSL – https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-force-ssl/
3️⃣ Easy HTTPS Redirection – https://wordpress.org/plugins/https-redirection/
These plugins handle HTTPS redirection without requiring manual server or .htaccess modifications.
Why HTTP to HTTPS Redirection Matters
Fixing the HTTP to HTTPS redirect is a crucial part of technical SEO. Ideally, this should already be handled at the web design stage to prevent SEO and security issues in the future.