My WordPress has HTTPS, Now What? [Part 2]

If your site on WordPress has HTTPS and you have read Have HTTPS on WordPress, Now What? [Part 1] for the most essential steps, ensuring that your secure HTTPS versions are automatically served up … what else do you have to do now to ensure that some of the other important related resources are also updated?

What Else To Do Next after your WordPress has HTTPS

For this post, I will refer to How to Move HTTP to HTTPS on WordPress (by websitesetup.org).  There the author talks about “Updat(ing) Your Site Environment”. In particular, I will look at how to:

• add site to Google Search Console (formerly know as Google Webmaster Tools)
• update Google Analytics
• update your sitemap
• include sitemap in your robots.txt file ???

Add HTTPS property to your Google Search Console

Note: Google Search Console was previously known as Webmaster Tools

Google considers a HTTPS url and a HTTP url as two different urls.  Amongst other things, this is not good for your site ranking, SEO, or for getting your site found via organic searches.

You need to add the https versions (both with and without www) to your Google Search Console.

See==> How to add HTTPS property to Google Search Console

Make HTTPS as default URL in your Google Analytics

It has been suggested that it is also useful to update your default URLs in Google Analytics.  And since I have Adsense running, I thought I might as well do it.

See: Making HTTPS URL as default in Google Analytics

Updating Sitemaps after HTTPS

According to Google Support in Overview: Site moves with URL changes:

Unfortunately I don’t quite know how to do both kinds of sitemaps.  So I will just tell you what I did with what I have.

I have the famous Yoast SEO plugin on my WordPress site.  And this fabulous plugin is supposed to take care of generating my sitemaps for me.

First, check that that option is turned on:

Yoast SEO plugin settings

You might notice that there is also the very useful link “See the XML sitemap.”  Click that to see your sitemap.

This is what I get on clicking the link.  You can see that they all have https:// (because I have implemented HTTPS as well as completed the 301 Redirects).  I am guessing yours would look similar.

While it is not essential to submit the sitemaps directly to Google, submitting it may make Google crawl and index your pages faster.

Preferred Domain

First it might be best if you have set your preferred domain (i.e which is preferred: the www or non-www to your domain name?)  You can read Google Support’s Set your preferred domain (www or non-www) on how to do this.  {You will need the old version of Google Search Console – that is Webmasters Tools, to do this.)

Submitting Sitemaps via Google Search Console

Sidenote: I chose https & www version for that domain because both of them have been set as default (via 301 Redirect and setting Preferred domain)

You can read more about whether you need to submit sitemaps from Google Support’s Learn about sitemaps.

Update robots.txt file?

In his article How to Move HTTP to HTTPS on WordPress (by websitesetup.org), the author notes:

“Don’t forget to include it (sitemaps) in your robots.txt file and update all other hardcoded links you might have there”

However in Google Support’s Overview: Site moves with URL changes, Google says there is no need to do anything to the robots.txt file.  So I am not doing anything.

When you do more research, you will find many suggestions of more things to do after you move from HTTP to HTTPS.  However I am for the easy life as much as possible.  Everything seems to be working fine and I think I have covered most of the Must-Dos .. so I will end here.  Thanks for reading.  Hope this has been a help.  Remember .. I am no expert.  My posts are all about the solutions that worked for me!

References:

• WebsiteSetup.org: How to Move HTTP to HTTPS on WordPress (Very Useful!!!)
• support.google.com: HTTPS migration FAQs (Useful as this is from Google itself)
• ?? bounteous.com: Final Steps to Take After Switching from HTTP to HTTPS
• outspokenmedia.com: Sitemap Considerations for a HTTPS Migration
• really-simple-ssl.com: How to setup Google Analytics and Google Search Console/Webmaster Tools