Enabling SSL (Secure Socket Layer) for your WordPress site is crucial for ensuring that your site is secure, protecting both your visitors and your data. SSL encrypts data exchanged between your website and its visitors, and having it enabled will also help with SEO rankings. This guide will walk you through how to enable SSL for your WordPress site hosted with WordPress Hosting Hub, where hosting is set up using WHMCS.
Step 1: Log into Your Client Area
1.Visit the WordPress Hosting Hub website.
2.Log in to your Client Area using your email and password.
3.Once logged in, go to the Services section where your hosting plan is listed.
4.Click on Manage under your hosting account to access your cPanel.
Step 2: Install an SSL Certificate on Your Site
WordPress Hosting Hub offers free SSL certificates with your hosting plan. Here’s how you can enable SSL for your domain:
1.Inside cPanel, scroll down to the Security section.
2.Click on SSL/TLS.
3. Under the Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS) section, click on Manage SSL Sites.
4.In the Install an SSL Website section, you’ll see a drop-down list of your domains.
5.Select the domain for which you want to enable SSL.
If SSL is already available for your domain, you should see an option to Install SSL. If not, your hosting provider may require you to enable it first from within the Client Area.
Step 3: Enable SSL for Your Website
Once SSL is available for your domain, follow these steps:
1.In the SSL/TLS Manager, you’ll see the SSL Certificate field.
2.Click AutoFill by Domain to automatically fill in the certificate details for your domain.
3.Once the details are populated, click Install Certificate to apply the SSL to your domain.
4.You should now see Secure (SSL) in front of your domain name when accessing your site.
Step 4: Update WordPress Settings to Force HTTPS
After installing the SSL certificate, you need to update your WordPress settings to force all traffic to be served over HTTPS:
1. Log into your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Go to Settings > General.
3.In the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields, update the URLs to begin with https:// instead of http:// (e.g., change http://yourdomain.com to https://yourdomain.com).
4.Scroll down and click Save Changes.
Step 5: Update Permalinks and Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
It’s important to ensure that all old HTTP links on your site are redirected to HTTPS to prevent any mixed content issues. Here’s how you can do that:
Update Permalink Structure
1.Go to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard.
2.Without making any changes, click Save Changes. This will help update any internal links to use HTTPS.
Set up HTTP to HTTPS Redirect
To automatically redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS, you need to edit your .htaccess file in your WordPress root directory.
1. Go to cPanel and open File Manager.
2.In the root directory of your WordPress site, find the .htaccess file. If it’s not visible, make sure to enable Show Hidden Files in the settings.
3.Right-click on the .htaccess file and select Edit.
4.Add the following code at the top of the file to force HTTPS redirection:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]5.Save the file and close the editor.
Step 6: Test Your SSL Installation
After enabling SSL, you should check if everything is working correctly:
1.Open your website in a web browser and ensure the URL begins with https://.
2.Look for the padlock icon in the browser’s address bar, indicating that the connection is secure.
3.Test different pages on your site to ensure no mixed content warnings (such as insecure images or scripts) appear.
Step 7: Use SSL for WordPress Admin Area
To ensure your WordPress admin area is always accessed securely, you can force SSL for the wp-admin area:
1.Open your wp-config.php file via File Manager in cPanel.
2.Add the following line just before the line that says “That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing”:
define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);3.Save the changes.
Final Thoughts
Enabling SSL for your WordPress site is a simple yet essential step to protect your website visitors and improve your site’s SEO ranking. By following these steps, you can ensure that your site is running securely with HTTPS. If you run into any issues or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact our support team via the Client Area for help.
