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.

  1. Test that your SSL certificate is correctly installed on ssllabs.com (If you have a CDN you may need to temporarily disable it)
  2. 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)
  3. Go to Settings > General and update your site address to https://
  4. Resave your permalinks in Settings > Permalinks.
  5. If you have any Caching plugins make sure you clear them.
  6. 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.
  7. Scan your site using a tool like screaming frog.
  8. (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]

Vlad