6 Things To Remember When You Make Your Website Secure

OK, we assume you have been through the process of buying and installing your SSL certificate so we can skip this part. If you have landed on this post and you are wondering whether or not you should have an SSL on your website then check these out first:

OK, let's speak about what you need to remember to do now you have an SSL in place

1. Make sure it is a valid
There are lots of websites out there that can check to make sure you have a good certificate in place. We like to use SSL Labs - If things look good then this is great news.

2. Get your website to start using the SSL
You need to switch your website to start using the SSL by default. In applications like Wordpress or any Apache-based website, this is easily achieved by going into the settings of Wordpress or updating the htaccess file.

3. Update your CSS file
Some developers (not Pebble) like to add some hard links in the CSS file, cast your eye over and make sure there are no non-secure links in there.

4. Update your XML sitemap
Now your pages are using your SSL, check out the XML sitemap to make sure the links look right, there shouldn't be any non-secure links in there.

5. Double check using software
You can download some pretty cool tools like Screaming Frog that will analyse your website and point out any errors. It is a good opportunity to pick up on any old links and/or pages that aren't quite right.

6. Resubmit to Google
If you use Google Search Console (aka Webmaster Tools) then you can resubmit your website for indexing.

You should now be all set. You will need to allow Google to update its index in a few days but if you have done the work right on your htaccess file correctly then any inbound links to non-secure pages should be redirecting. 

If this sounds all a bit cocomplicatedPebble pack a serious amount of development skill using multiple platforms and hosting environments. Reach out to us by telephone number on 01733 902070 or speak to us via our contact page. We have offices in Peterborough and Kings Langley.