What’s the final step to enable HTTPS on your site? This short tutorial will show you how to finish up adding SSL to your site. I recently wrote about the new changes by Google and the need for most websites to add SSL to their site. That article is the “why”; this one is the “how.” You’ll need to add an SSL certificate on your host, as we outlined in my previous post. If you’ve done that, congrats! You might think you are done and go over to your site, but you still see the little “i” for “not secure” icon in the address bar of your browser. Nothing can be more frustrating than thinking you have completed something, only to realize it is not quite done. What do you do now?

Adding SSL to your Website

If you’re looking to add SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to your website and your site is hosted by Flywheel, the process is quick and straightforward. SSL is a crucial security feature for any website, as it encrypts the data transferred between the web server and the user’s browser, ensuring the safety of sensitive information such as login credentials, personal data, and payment details. In addition to enhancing security, SSL also improves your search engine rankings, as Google now considers it a ranking factor. To get started with adding SSL to your Flywheel-hosted website, first log in to your Flywheel account. Once logged in, navigate to your website’s dashboard. From the dashboard, locate the “Add-ons” tab, which is where you can manage various features and enhancements for your website. Under the “Add-ons” section, click on the option to add SSL. This will trigger a simple form that requires basic details about your business, including the city and state where your business is located, as well as the business name. Once you’ve completed this form and submitted the information, Flywheel will automatically generate an SSL certificate for your site via the free Let’s Encrypt service. You’ll be redirected back to the website overview page, where you can check the status of your SSL installation. When you see a green shield with a checkmark, this indicates that your SSL certificate has been successfully applied and your site is now secure. The green lock icon in the browser’s address bar will also let visitors know that their connection is safe, which builds trust and credibility. By adding SSL to your website, you’re not only securing your users’ data, but also giving your site a competitive edge. SSL is essential for creating a trustworthy online environment, and it’s especially important for businesses that handle sensitive user information. With Flywheel’s easy-to-use SSL integration, the process couldn’t be simpler. If you haven’t added SSL to your website yet, now is the perfect time to do so and ensure that both your website and your users remain protected.

Forcing SSL to your Flywheel-Hosted Website

Now we need to force SSL to your website. What this means is that your overall site is now secure, but not all your images and content is secure. By forcing SSL, we are securing your content too. Click on the tab Advanced, then scroll down the page and you will see Force SSL. Click the Toggle On and you have now force SSL to be sitewide. Love how easy Flywheel is? Move your site to Flywheel today!

Forcing SSL for Websites Hosted Elsewhere

Don’t have Flywheel hosting? No problem, we got you covered. We suggest using the Really Simple SSL plugin to force SSL. Once you have added a SSL certificate to your hosting, for your site, then navigate over to your website WP Dashboard. Go to Plugins > Add New. In the Search box enter Really Simple SSL. Once you find it, install and activate the plugin. After you’ve activated it, a notification will appear titles “Almost ready to migrate to SSL!” Down below check the checkbox and click the “Go ahead, activate SSL!” button. See a video demonstration here: That’s it! You’re good to go. Alternatively, if you use a security plugin (we really like iThemes Security), you might also have an option to force-SSL site-wide in your security plugin.

Want Some Help With SSL?

Here at wpXPRESS, we help people with their WordPress websites and complicated stuff like adding SSL and HTTPS security. We’d love to get SSL setup on your site. All you need to do is sign up for one of our membership plans, and we’ll handle all kinds of technical stuff on your website, for you.