Easy steps for a hassle-free migration of your wordpress website from http to https, assuming you already have a SSL certificate purchased and installed with your hosting provider.
- Test that your SSL certificate is correctly installed on ssllabs.com (If you have a CDN you may need to temporarily disable it)
- In your WordPress admin panel, install plugin Go Live, find it in Tools > Go Live and use it to rewrite your URL’s to HTTPS. Old: http://yoursite.com New: https://yoursite.com (do the same for www. as well just in case)
- Go to Settings > General and update your site address to https://
- Resave your permalinks in Settings > Permalinks.
- If you have any Caching plugins make sure you clear them.
- Go to your front-facing site and right click then choose View Page Source (or similar depending on browser) and use CTRL-F to find instances of your Old site with http if there are any. Update those manually in the code and css.
- Scan your site using a tool like screaming frog.
- (Optional) Edit your .htaccess file and add this https rewrite rule at the top.
#SSL redirect https rewrite
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]