Force HTTPS using your .htaccess file using CLI

So you have installed an SSL certificate for your domain, now let’s make sure that your site is always being served via HTTPS rather than the default which is HTTP.

This article is for users who have are familiar with/have access to Terminal or alternative command-line interface. If you would rather- we also have a guide advising the following steps using cPanel GUI.

Note: If you have not already installed a SSL certificate please follow our guide on how to install a complimentary Let’s Encrypt certificate before completing the below steps.

To follow this tutorial you will need your SFTP details (these are the same as your cPanel login credentials). If you have forgotten your credentials, they were included in the original ‘Welcome to Serversaurus Hosting’ email which you should be able to find in your inbox otherwise follow these instructions on how to update your cPanel password.

1. Open your terminal window and ssh onto your hosting server:

ssh username@yourserver.serversaurus.com.au

When prompted, enter your password

2. Change into your public_html directory:

cd public_html

3. Open the .htaccess file:

vi .htaccess

4. Add the following text to the beginning of your .htaccess file, to insert the text firstly type i to enter insert mode, then paste the text below:

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

If you are a WordPress user you may already have a similar entry in your .htaccess file, in which case you can update the entry using the two final lines in the above entry, see our example below:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on 
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

5. To exit insert mode press the esc key then enter :wq to save. Go back to your browser and enter your domain name, you should now notice that your site is redirecting to HTTPS.