Over the past few years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in SSL-protected websites. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is signified by the padlock in your browser’s navigation bar. SSL helps keep the Internet safe. But it also poses a few challenges. Redirection of pages with SSL enabled is one of those challenges. Allow me to elaborate.
The Internet is becoming omnipresent and, as a result, privacy is getting scarcer. But there’s more to be gained from using an SSL certificate than just privacy:
- Search Engine Optimization
Websites that use HTTPS are ranked higher by search engines, resulting in improved findability. - Privacy warranty
Privacy legislation, such as the GDPR, has expedited the rise in SSL encrypted websites. Forms that are completed on your website that contain personal data and website preferences (like filter preferences) are fully shielded. - Increased security
An HTTPS website uses an encrypted connection. This makes it harder for cyber criminals to hack it and place their own malevolent code. - Branding benefits
A padlock symbol in your browser gives the visitor a sense of security and professionalism. Since SSL is becoming more commonplace, the absence of a padlock symbol raises a flag with some security-aware visitors. So, the question is: can you really afford to NOT use SSL?
Problems with SSL redirection
These benefits might seem like no-brainers. But having SSL enabled on your old domains can also lead to some problems. One of these problems is how to handle redirects from old pages to new URLs.
When you get a new domain for your website, redirecting the URLs is essential for maintaining your link juice - also known as ‘ranking’ on search engines. The survival of your business might even depend on it. The problem occurs when the old domain had an SSL certificate that has expired. Most other redirecting services generally don't issue a certificate. In the past, there was an option to ‘catch all’ redirects and you would be fine. But nowadays you need to ensure a SSL certificate is kept active and has a valid common name for those domains.
When search results in search engines still lead to the HTTPS link, but there’s no longer a valid SSL certificate to be found, this causes problems. Also, your previous visitors might have bookmarked the HTTPS version of your old domain. This will result in broken links and 404 pages, for which you will be penalized in your ranking. After all, search engines want their visitors to quickly find the information they’re looking for. Linking to a broken page directly harms their business case.
This is where one of our favorite redirect.pizza features comes in!
Our SSL redirect service will save your ranking
You may have run into this issue already: your old domain has been phased out and the SSL certificate has expired. You set up your redirect from your old domain to your new domain, only to discover that an SSL error is thrown, because there’s no longer a valid SSL certificate there. We solve this problem by providing a hosting spot with an automatically maintained SSL certificate that will always work and will never expire, thanks to auto-renewal.
At redirect.pizza, SSL redirection works straight from the box. Our redirect service makes it a breeze to set this up, and you don’t have to worry about any invalid SSL certificates. We'll request an SSL certificate for your old domain, so it still works correctly with HTTPS. Like magic! Only better, because it’s so easy and predictable!
Hosting parties not supporting SSL redirection of apex to subdomain
The domain apex is essentially the root of your domain (without the www.). It’s also called the ‘naked domain’. In this scenario, you might have a newly created website, but your hosting service only allows you to use the SSL certificate on a subdomain. Your users still expect the non-www variant to work correctly, but soon discover it’s not working anymore. But, no problem! We’ve got this covered! redirect.pizza makes setting up SSL redirection child’s play. And we'll even automatically set up an SSL certificate for the apex domain!
Easy SSL redirect service
There are lots of ways to redirect your URLs from HTTP to HTTPS, and working with a number of redirects can make things confusing and frustrating. At redirect.pizza, we help make this task as simple as possible with our user-friendly interface and user experience! You can create or import the SSL redirects of your old website to the new one easily, and manage and monitor them on our dashboard. Easy as a pizza pie!
Get started with SSL redirection for free
What are you waiting for? Preserve your search engine ranking! And while you’re at it, save yourself time and headache by getting started with SSL redirection from redirect.pizza. We have a free tier that supports 5 sources and 100,000 hits per month!
