Redirecting a domain from HTTP to HTTPS

Would you like your website to always be accessed in encrypted form via HTTPS? Then you need to set up a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. You can find out how to do this in this article.

Why is a redirect required?

In contrast to HTTP, HTTPS uses an encryption protocol called SSL (short for “Secure Sockets Layer”). This protocol ensures that the data between the browser and the web server is encrypted. For this encryption to work, the website requires an SSL certificate, which is installed on the web hosting server.

However, the data is only transmitted in encrypted form if the website is accessed via HTTPS (instead of HTTP). To enforce this, you must set up a redirect.

How do I set up a redirect?

The following options are available for setting up a redirect:

• If you use a CMS, it is best to set up the redirect directly in the respective system. To do this, follow our instructions for the most common systems (WordPress, TYPO3, Drupal, Joomla!) or consult the documentation for your CMS.
  
  
• If you do not use a CMS, we recommend that you set up the forwarding via the .htaccess file. To do this, follow the instructions below.

Set up redirection in .htaccess

1. Log in to the Hostpoint Control Panel with your Hostpoint ID.
2. Open the web hosting on which you manage the affected website.
3. Click on “Websites” in the menu on the left.
4. On the right-hand side of the page, click on the blue link to get to the document root of your website.
5. Search for a file with the name .htaccess. If a file with this name does not yet exist, create it via “Create file”.
6. Edit the file by clicking on the pencil symbol.
7. Insert the following code and replace https://your-own-domain/ with the desired target URL:
   .htaccess

   redirect 301 / https://your-own-domain.ch/
   

8. Save your settings.

→ The redirection has been set up.