Fixing Mixed Content Issues After an HTTPS Migration

When migrating your website from HTTP to HTTPS, it’s not uncommon for mixed content issues to arise. These issues occur when resources on your site are loaded over both secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) connections, compromising the security of your users.

In this article, we’ll explore the causes of mixed content issues after an HTTPS migration, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to fix them.

What Are Mixed Content Issues?

Mixed content issues occur when a website loaded over HTTPS (a secure connection) includes resources that are loaded over HTTP (a non-secure connection). This can happen when:

• Resources such as images, videos, or CSS/JS files are hosted on external websites and linked to your site using relative URLs.
• Forms or payment gateways point to external websites using HTTP URLs.

These mixed content issues can compromise the security of your users by allowing malicious third parties to intercept sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data.

Symptoms of Mixed Content Issues

Some common symptoms of mixed content issues include:

• A warning message displayed in the browser address bar indicating that the site is not fully secure.
• Insecure resources (e.g., images) not loading properly due to security restrictions.
• Browser extensions or plugins blocking insecure content.

Causes of Mixed Content Issues

Mixed content issues can arise from various sources, including:

1. External resources: Resources hosted on external websites and linked to your site using relative URLs.
2. Forms and payment gateways: Forms or payment gateways pointing to external websites using HTTP URLs.
3. Image sources: Images or other media loaded from external websites.

Fixing Mixed Content Issues

To fix mixed content issues, follow these steps:

Step 1: Identify the Cause

Inspect your website’s code to identify the resources that are causing the mixed content issue. Look for HTTP URLs in your HTML, CSS, and JS files.

Step 2: Update Resource URLs

Update the resource URLs to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. You can do this by:

• Changing relative URLs to absolute URLs.
• Replacing external links with self-hosted resources (if possible).
• Updating forms or payment gateways to point to secure websites.

Step 3: Review and Update External Resources

Review your website’s dependencies, plugins, and libraries to ensure they are not loading insecure content. Update them to use HTTPS whenever possible.

Step 4: Test Your Website

After updating the resource URLs and external resources, test your website using different browsers and devices to ensure that all resources load securely over HTTPS.

Conclusion

Fixing mixed content issues after an HTTPS migration requires careful attention to detail and a thorough review of your website’s code. By following these steps, you can ensure that your users have a secure browsing experience on your site.

Remember to regularly inspect your website for potential security risks and update resources as needed to maintain the highest level of security for your users.

Additional Resources

For more information on fixing mixed content issues, check out these additional resources:

• Mozilla’s Mixed Content Guide
• Google’s Secure Web Page Guidelines