SeoGuard
Error Alerts at once security.https

The page is not served securely

Why it matters

Over plain http://, anyone on the same network can read or alter what your visitors see and type. Browsers label the page "Not secure" in the address bar and warn before any form is submitted, which is where enquiries stop. Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, a light one, and "prefers HTTPS pages over equivalent HTTP pages as canonical". If the http:// address still serves the site instead of redirecting, every old link and bookmark keeps sending people to the insecure copy, and search engines see two copies of everything.

Sources: HTTPS as a ranking signal; How to specify a canonical URL; Enable HTTPS.

How to fix it

Certificates are free: most hosts have a "Let's Encrypt" or "Free SSL" switch in their control panel. Once https:// works, send everything from http:// to it with a permanent redirect. On Apache, in .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

On Cloudflare it is SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates → Always Use HTTPS. Then update the site address in your CMS so its own links use https://.

Examples

These are the rule's own test pages, and what it says about each. They are run on every change to the rule book.

They differ only in what the server answered:

http://www.example.com/

ErrorThe page is served over http, not https: browsers mark it "Not secure", and what visitors send can be read on the way.

fail-http
200 OK, staying on http

WarningThe http:// address answers 200 instead of redirecting to https://, so old links still lead to an insecure copy of the site.

fail-no-redirect
301 Moved Permanently, to https

PassedThe page is served over https, and http:// redirects to it.

pass-redirects