How to Force HTTPS on Your Website

Once your SSL certificate is installed, you should redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS so every visitor always uses the secure version of your site. At dotCanada, there are two easy ways to do this.

Method 1: cPanel Force HTTPS Toggle (Recommended)

1. Log in to cPanel and go to Domains.
2. Find your domain in the list and look for the Force HTTPS Redirect toggle.
3. Switch it on.

That's it - cPanel will automatically redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS for that domain.

Method 2: .htaccess Redirect

If you prefer to manage this manually, add the following rules to the top of your .htaccess file in your website's root directory:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

This performs a permanent (301) redirect, which is also recognized by search engines and passes SEO value to your HTTPS URLs.

WordPress Sites

For WordPress, update your Site URL and Home URL to use https:// under Settings › General. The Really Simple SSL plugin can handle this automatically if you prefer a plugin-based approach.

If your site has mixed content warnings after enabling HTTPS, see our guide on fixing mixed content. Questions? Contact our support team.