Categories: Online Marketing

What We Learned Migrating Our Website to HTTPS

There are many great reasons to migrate your website to a secure domain. HTTPS brings obvious benefits to e-commerce sites, helps brands enhance their perception as an established, safe company, and has some SEO advantages.

But making the switch can be intimidating. There are many components of an HTTPS migration you must get right, so it’s best to do your research beforehand and get all of your ducks in a row. Consult with everyone on your team, including web developers, online marketers, marketing automation leads, salespeople, and anyone who might be affected by the change.

If you’re considering a change to HTTPS, follow these tips based on our experience securing the Clarity Quest domain.

Best Practices for HTTPS Migration

1. Weigh the Pros and Cons

Pros:

Google is now using HTTPS status as an organic ranking signal, which may become more influential in the future.
You’ll get more accurate referral data in Google Analytics.
Browsers display “Secure” or lock symbols next to your HTTPS domain, giving visitors additional peace of mind.

Cons:

HTTPS could slow down page load speeds.
Mishandling htaccess implementation or 301 redirects can be dangerous and lead to lost traffic.
You may experience a dip in organic traffic as Google re-crawls your new secure pages.

2. Purchase the Right SSL Certificate

You have many options when purchasing an SSL Certificate. The preferred vendor for WordPress sites is WP Engine, which is our best recommendation. There are a few options depending on your needs (more on that in #3 below), but you can get a Standard SSL Certificate for $49/year.

A bonus of using WP Engine: they will automatically install the certificate for you.

3. Take Marketing Automation into Consideration

Depending on the setup of your subdomain and CNAME in your marketing automation system, you may need an additional SSL Certificate. Contact your MA vendor before purchasing your certificate so you can be sure to make the right choice.

4. Take Baseline Metrics Before Migrating

Before you make any changes to the website, take stock of your current online marketing metrics, including website visits from each source and SEO rankings. You want to be able to identify any negative (or positive) impact of the change and correct any issues if necessary.

5. Verify the Certificate is Installed Correctly

A tool like https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest (or similar) can tell you if you installed your SSL Certificate properly.

6. Ensure Only One Redirect is in Place

A common mistake when setting up redirects is creating a chain of multiple redirects from one version of a domain to another to another. Ensure only one redirect is in place for any HTTP/HTTPS and www/non-www version of your domain.

7. Update Internal Linking Structure

It’s best practice to update all internal links to point to the new HTTPS domain instead of relying on 301 redirects. You don’t have to do this manually; there are plug-ins that can help. Additionally, ensure all elements on your site use HTTPS, including any widgets, JavaScript, CSS files, or images.

8. Update URLs in All Campaigns

Once the HTTPS migration is complete, alert all of your team members of the change and ask them to update the URLs in the campaigns and properties they manage. It’s best to give your team advanced notice so they can prepare for the change and make the URL updates as soon as the migration is complete. Campaigns may include:

9. Check Web Metrics Diligently

You will want to monitor website metrics and organic rankings very closely for a few weeks following the migration. Compare to your baseline metrics (from Step 4 above) and look for any significant traffic drops, organic ranking decreases, or other negative impacts. Be sure Google has indexed all of your HTTPS pages and monitor for any crawl errors in your Google Search Console.

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Brian Shilling

Brian is our Executive Vice President of Client Operations with experience leading diverse teams of marketers and designers in strategic marketing, content creation, and crafting comprehensive messaging and positioning platforms for our healthcare and tech clients. To learn more about Brian's experiences and qualifications, visit our leadership team page.