HTTP vs HTTPS: A Comprehensive Guide for WordPress Users

Hey there, WordPress site owner! If you‘ve been running your site for a while, you‘ve probably heard that you need to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. But what does that actually mean? And why is it so important?

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Don‘t worry, I‘m here to break it all down for you. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know about HTTP and HTTPS, including:

What HTTP is and how it works
The risks of using HTTP instead of HTTPS
How HTTPS secures your site with SSL/TLS encryption
Why HTTPS is crucial for SEO and user trust
How to migrate your WordPress site from HTTP to HTTPS
Common HTTP errors and how to fix them

By the end of this post, you‘ll be an HTTP expert and you‘ll have a clear action plan for securing your WordPress site. Let‘s dive in!

What is HTTP?

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. In plain English, it‘s the set of rules that govern how your web browser communicates with the servers that host the websites you visit.

When you type a URL like "http://example.com" into your browser, here‘s what happens behind the scenes:

The browser sends an HTTP request to the server hosting example.com. The most common request types are:

GET: Retrieve a resource, like a webpage or image
POST: Submit data to be processed, like form entries
PUT: Update an existing resource
DELETE: Delete a resource

The request includes HTTP headers with additional information like:

The specific file being requested (e.g. /home-page.html)
The browser and operating system being used
Cookies associated with the site

The server processes the request and sends back an HTTP response containing:

A status code indicating whether the request was successful (e.g. 200 OK)
The requested resource (if applicable)
HTTP headers with metadata about the response

The browser renders the response to display the webpage

Here‘s a simplified example of what an HTTP request and response might look like:

GET /home-page.html HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Length: 1234

<html>
  <body>

  </body>
</html>

This request-response cycle happens every time you click a link, submit a form, or even just load an image on a webpage. Modern websites often require dozens or even hundreds of requests to fully render.

The Problem with HTTP

The biggest issue with plain old HTTP is that all of those requests and responses are sent in unencrypted, plain text. That means anyone who intercepts the data can read it without any special tools or knowledge.

This is especially concerning for a few reasons:

Hackers and identity thieves can "sniff" network traffic to steal sensitive information like login credentials, credit card numbers, and personal data submitted through online forms.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and network administrators can see the full URLs of every site you visit, which is a major violation of privacy.
HTTP traffic can be manipulated and modified by a "man-in-the-middle" attack. Bad actors can exploit this vulnerability to change a site‘s content without the owner‘s knowledge, or insert malware into the page.

Here are some eye-opening statistics that highlight the risks of using HTTP:

91% of login pages are served over unencrypted HTTP connections, enabling the theft of over 700,000 credentials per day (Source: KrebsOnSecurity)
57% of websites use HTTPS by default as of 2021, up from just 16% in 2016 (Source: Google Transparency Report)
Google now displays a prominent "Not Secure" warning next to the URL of any site loaded over HTTP, eroding user trust

The message is clear: HTTP simply isn‘t secure enough for today‘s web. If you‘re not using HTTPS, you‘re putting your WordPress site and your users‘ data at serious risk.

How HTTPS Protects You with SSL/TLS

The good news is that there‘s already a solution: HTTPS. HTTPS is HTTP with an added layer of encryption provided by the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol.

With HTTPS, every request and response between the browser and server is encrypted before being sent over the network. Even if someone manages to intercept the data, they won‘t be able to decode it without the encryption keys.

Here‘s a basic overview of how HTTPS works:

The browser requests an HTTPS connection to the server
The server responds with its SSL/TLS certificate, which includes its public key
The browser verifies the certificate and uses the public key to create a new, unique encryption key for this session
The browser sends the encrypted session key to the server
The server decrypts the session key with its private key, and sends back an acknowledgement encrypted with the session key
The browser and server can now communicate securely by encrypting and decrypting all requests and responses with the session key

This whole process only takes milliseconds and happens automatically every time you load a page over HTTPS. A new, unique session key is generated for each visit to prevent hackers from reusing keys to decrypt past or future traffic.

To use HTTPS on your WordPress site, you need to acquire and install an SSL/TLS certificate. There are a few different types:

Type	Validation	Indicator	Cost
Domain Validated (DV)	Domain ownership	Padlock	Free – $100/yr
Organization Validated (OV)	Domain + organization details	Padlock	$100 – $500/yr
Extended Validation (EV)	Domain + organization details + thorough vetting	Green address bar with business name	$300 – $1000/yr

Most WordPress sites just need a basic DV certificate, which you can get for free from non-profit certificate authorities like Let‘s Encrypt. Many WordPress hosting companies even offer free SSL/TLS certificates and automatic HTTPS configuration.

Why HTTPS Matters for SEO and User Trust

Using HTTPS doesn‘t just improve your WordPress site‘s security – it also has a big impact on your search engine rankings and perceived trustworthiness to visitors.

Since 2014, Google has used HTTPS as a ranking factor in its search algorithms. Sites loaded over HTTPS get a small rankings boost compared to their HTTP equivalents. As of 2022, ~95% of sites in the first page of Google search results use HTTPS (Source: SparkToro).

Perhaps more importantly, browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox now display "Not Secure" warnings next to the URL of any site that still uses HTTP. For example:

Not Secure | example.com

These warnings are extremely off-putting to users and can make your site seem untrustworthy. Would you feel comfortable entering your credit card or contact info on a site labeled "Not Secure"? I know I wouldn‘t!

On the flip side, seeing that reassuring padlock icon next to your domain name can increase conversions and engagement. Users may be more likely to sign up for your email list, make a purchase, or just spend more time on your site if they feel it‘s secure.

How to Migrate Your WordPress Site from HTTP to HTTPS

By now, I hope I‘ve convinced you that using HTTPS on your WordPress site is absolutely essential in 2024. So how do you actually make the switch? Here‘s a high-level overview of the process:

Purchase or obtain a free SSL/TLS certificate from your hosting provider or a Certificate Authority
Install the certificate on your WordPress hosting account – your hosting company can usually do this for you automatically
Update your WordPress URL settings under Settings > General to use "https://" instead of "http://"
Configure redirects on your server to route all HTTP traffic to HTTPS using 301 (permanent) redirects – your hosting company support team can help with this
Update any hardcoded internal links in your WordPress theme, plugins, and content to use "https://" or relative paths
Notify Google of your site‘s move to HTTPS by resubmitting your sitemap in Google Search Console

We have an in-depth, step-by-step guide on how to migrate your WordPress site to HTTPs if you need more granular instructions. It‘s really not as scary as it might seem – you can do it!

Common HTTP Error Codes and What They Mean

Once your WordPress site is up and running on HTTPS, you may occasionally run into HTTP error messages. These are numeric codes that the server sends to the browser when something goes wrong.

Here are some of the most common HTTP error codes and what they typically mean in the context of WordPress:

400 Bad Request – The request was malformed or missing required data
401 Unauthorized – The user isn‘t authorized to access the requested resource, usually because they aren‘t logged in
403 Forbidden – The user is authenticated but doesn‘t have permission to access the requested resource
404 Not Found – The requested page or resource doesn‘t exist at the specified URL
500 Internal Server Error – A generic error occurred in WordPress or at the server level
502 Bad Gateway – The server received an invalid response from an upstream server, usually when using a reverse proxy or load balancer
503 Service Unavailable – The server is down for maintenance or is overloaded and can‘t handle the request
504 Gateway Timeout – The server didn‘t receive a response from an upstream server within the allowed time period

If you encounter one of these errors on your WordPress site, don‘t panic! Start by checking for common issues like plugin conflicts, corrupted .htaccess files, and exceeded PHP memory limits. Our guide on troubleshooting the most common WordPress errors is a great resource.

In some cases, you may need to contact your hosting provider for further assistance. They‘ll be able to check server logs and resource usage to pinpoint the cause of the problem.

HTTPS Best Practices and Next Steps

Migrating your WordPress site to HTTPS is a critical first step, but there are a few additional things you can do to ensure you‘re getting the maximum benefits:

Make sure your SSL/TLS certificate is properly installed and configured. You can test your site with a free tool like SSL Labs to check for potential issues.
Implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to instruct browsers to only interact with your site over HTTPS.
Use a Content Security Policy (CSP) to prevent cross-site scripting attacks and other types of content injection.
Keep an eye out for mixed content warnings, which occur when you load HTTP resources (like images or scripts) on an HTTPS page. These can usually be fixed by updating the resource URLs to use HTTPS.
Monitor your site regularly for certificate expiration and renew your SSL/TLS certificate before it expires to prevent downtime and warnings.

I know this is a lot of information to take in, but securing your WordPress site with HTTPS is one of the most important things you can do for your website‘s long-term success. Not only will you protect your users‘ sensitive data and privacy, but you‘ll also build trust, improve your search engine rankings, and futureproof your site for a web that‘s rapidly moving towards HTTPS everywhere.

If you have any questions or run into issues during the migration process, don‘t hesitate to reach out to your hosting provider or consult the WordPress support forums for help. You‘ve got this!