Just switched to https

[FutureM]

Hi,

Recently google stopped our merchant account due to "unsecure checkout". I was on holiday at the time, but my developer solved the problem by switching to https. Now because my tech knowledge isn't up to scratch I just wanted the checkout to be https to satisfy google, as i don't know what implications are in terms of indexing and ranking if my site migrates entirely from http to https.

However the whole site now has https:// and although i haven't seen anything change drastically with indexing or ranking i feel like i should be doing something? Do i need to have google re-index with the https, will that loose any ranking i have? what about links etc?

Tips and advice appreciated!

 

[Faevilangel]

you should probably do 301 redirects from http to https so everyone is always on the https version.

setup google webmasters on your site and google will warn you about any issues on your site while they are crawling.

 

[Elliottc26]

In search console, you can move from http to https by following: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6033049

Don't forget to add both the http and https versions of your site to Search Console also including www. and without versions of your domain for both protocols...

Therefore, you will have:

https://www.
https://
http://www.
http://

 

[Cromulent]

In search console, you can move from http to https by following: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6033049

Don't forget to add both the http and https versions of your site to Search Console also including www. and without versions of your domain for both protocols...

Therefore, you will have:

https://www.
https://
http://www.
http://

You shouldn't need to do that. Any decent website owner will 301 redirect 3 of those to the other one. For instance all my sites use https://www and all the other options 301 redirect to it. It is impossible to browse my site (and that includes Google bots) using any of the other options.

 

[makeusvisible]

Sadly moving to HTTPS is one of those things which can sound easier than it is. If done properly the impact should be minimal. but some common things you will want to do include;

Setup 301 redirection to ensure no impact organically

Make sure any card processing merchants (call backs) are directed to the https URL, as often they wont allow 301 redirects.

Register all variants of your site with Google Search Console and ensure you make a https version the authoritative one.

You might find this blog post of interest which talks about exactly 'what is an ssl' and what it does.

 

[tan_lan]

Forcing https is a bad idea, because it will break your site for some users, depending on the type of certificate you are using. Older browsers will not work with all new certificates.

I would suggest rather than force.

 

[tan_lan]

PS, I am not suggesting your checkout should be insecure, but if your switching the entire site this has more issues to consider.

 

[FutureM]

Hi,

We seem to be doing okay, taken on your suggestions and have 301 redirects in place, in webmasters it all seems to be going okay. It appears in the search results it shows the https now...

 

[Xtm_Mike]

You shouldn't need to do that. Any decent website owner will 301 redirect 3 of those to the other one. For instance all my sites use https://www and all the other options 301 redirect to it. It is impossible to browse my site (and that includes Google bots) using any of the other options.

You should do it as it allows you tell google your preferred site and it will rank the proper domain variant. When you add your site to the search console it is the first thing Google recommends that you do.

 

[Xtm_Mike]

Forcing https is a bad idea, because it will break your site for some users, depending on the type of certificate you are using. Older browsers will not work with all new certificates.

I would suggest rather than force.

Thats not really a concern these days. I don't get why you would enable https and then allow it to be accessed over http. If not done properly, any secure session that exposes http will make that entire session insecure.

An ecommerce store should ALWAYS use HTTPS and enforce it.

I'd recommended picking a protocol, URL then enforcing it, adding all variants (http, https, http/www, https/www) to google search console and setting the preferred version.

 

[Cromulent]

You should do it as it allows you tell google your preferred site and it will rank the proper domain variant. When you add your site to the search console it is the first thing Google recommends that you do.

But the point is there is only one domain variant available because they 301 redirect. There is literally no way for Google to index any of the options making it pointless. Telling Google which one to use is only useful if you have a wacky set up where there could be some confusion over which option is the correct option. Since there is no way for Google to access your site using the other methods and there is only one correct method to access the site Google will work it out itself.

Edit: I've never done that because I always configure my sites correctly and it has never caused any problems when it comes to ranking. Google always ranks the correct site because Google understands 301 redirects and honours them.

 

[Xtm_Mike]

But the point is there is only one domain variant available because they 301 redirect. There is literally no way for Google to index any of the options making it pointless. Telling Google which one to use is only useful if you have a wacky set up where there could be some confusion over which option is the correct option. Since there is no way for Google to access your site using the other methods and there is only one correct method to access the site Google will work it out itself.

Edit: I've never done that because I always configure my sites correctly and it has never caused any problems when it comes to ranking. Google always ranks the correct site because Google understands 301 redirects and honours them.

Sorry yes thats true, Google will eventually work it out. I would personally still do it anyway, but yes not required if you have proper redirects in place.

 

[webgeek]

You know what happens when you have a bunch of pages that redirect from themselves to their rightful place on site (something almost every ecommerce and wordpress site has happen)... Google takes it as a vote from you that the http destination page is the one of importance and the http source page is to be de-ranked.

Mix in some Yoast garbage plugin which makes a quagmire of your canonicals...

Now, put a precursor http to https redirect, and you've suddenly told Google that the https source is more important than the http destination and that the https destination doesn't matter.

Get the wrong combination of redirects and BS plugins installed and you'll end up hiring a technical SEO to sort the mess, explain the screwed up rankings or just be left thinking your site isn't doing well, with no explanation as to why.

There's a clearly defined approach that needs following when it comes to sites going http to https, especially if they have canonical url's specified and any prior redirects in place!

Underestimate the importance of following the right steps and you'll be another example in the "don't do it like them" camp.

 

[Luc Durand]

Not sure if you do any local SEO but if you do make sure you update all your citations accordingly, especially Google My business

 

[StevePoster]

Not all website needs to migrate in HTTPS without knowing well concerning the certificate. A website that has confidential transactions and files needs SSL certificate while blog sites in which contains food recipes doesn't need this.