Redirect HTTP to HTTPS instead of answering an error on nginx

Why it matters

Visitors who type the bare domain or follow an old http:// link get an error page instead of the site. A permanent redirect sends every http request to the same page over https.

Staged change. Do this in stages and check each one before the next, so a mistake does not break your site or your mail.

The fix

1. Stage 1: confirm the port 443 server serves every page correctly.
2. Stage 2: replace the contents of the port 80 server (or the default server answering the error) with the redirect below, run sudo nginx -t and reload.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

The examples use example.com. Replace it with your own domain.

Read the documentation ↗(opens in a new tab)

Related

• Reported by the HTTP to HTTPS redirect check
• Serve the site over HTTPS
• Stop redirecting HTTPS to HTTP
• Redirect HTTPS straight to the other host's HTTPS page
• Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
• Check that browsers are redirected from HTTP to HTTPS
• Fix the broken HTTPS redirect chain
• Shorten the redirect chain
• Fix the HTTP redirect chain
• Redirect HTTP straight to HTTPS
• Answer HTTP with a redirect to HTTPS
• Redirect www and apex to one host
• Make the www or apex name work over HTTPS