{"id":3701,"date":"2018-03-27T11:56:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/?p=3701"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:49:46","slug":"faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQ &#8211; Default HTTPS Settings with SSL Certificates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span class=\"s1\"><a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/shared-hosting\/\"><p style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e !important;color:#fff;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">Shared<\/p><\/a> <a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/vps\/\"><p style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e !important;color:#fff;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">VPS<\/p><\/a> <a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/qs-dedicated\/\"><p style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e !important;color:#fff;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px; font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">Dedicated<\/p><\/a> <a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/wp-enthusiast\/\"><p class=\"\"style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e!important;color:#fff !important;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">WP Enthusiast<\/p><\/a> <a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/wp-professional\/\"><p style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e !important;color:#fff !important;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">WP Professional<\/p><\/a> <a style=\"color:#fff; text-decoration:none!important;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/tags\/wp-professional-plus\/\"><p style=\"background-color:#1a3d6e !important;color:#fff !important;padding:6px; display:inline-block!important;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold; border-radius:3px;\">WP Professional Plus<\/p><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ht-blocks-accordion wp-block-hb-accordion\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span><strong><strong>What\u2019s the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">HTTPS is HTTP with encryption to protect data exchanged between your site and browser. For sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, this additional layer of protection is important. <br><br>HTTP by itself is not encrypted and thus is less secure than HTTPS. <\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span><strong><strong>Why does my site now default to HTTPS instead of HTTP?<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">In 2017, Google announced that it would begin penalizing websites that were not using HTTPS and a valid SSL certificate. Because of this, sites served over HTTP now display warnings about the site's security. <br><br>When a domain has an SSL certificate on our hosting platform, we automatically default the site to serve over HTTPS. This change prevents the security warning from appearing on your site. SSL certificates are recommended for all public-facing sites. <\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span><strong>Isn\u2019t web security only important for e-commerce sites?<\/strong><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">Not anymore. While SSL certificates are often associated with e-commerce sites, times have changed. All sites can benefit from the security benefits of SSL certificates and HTTPS. <\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span><strong>Can I change my site back to HTTP?<\/strong><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">Yes, you can change your site back to using HTTP. You can find instructions on how to do this by visiting our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/change-site-https-http\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Change My Site from HTTPS to HTTP article<\/a>.<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span><strong>I already have a redirect set up on my domain. Will this cause issues?<\/strong><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">It may. You should double-check your domain and make sure everything is running smoothly. If you receive an error, the two redirects may not work together<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__section\" data-ht-blocks-accordion-block-state=\"closed\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__title\"><span>Why is my SSL certificate being reissued during the year?<\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"wp-block-hb-accordion__contentwrap\">SSL certificates are provided as a one-year service. As part of this service, certificates are automatically reissued and reinstalled as needed to remain valid. This helps ensure continuous coverage and does not require any action from you.\u00a0<br><br>The industry is moving toward shorter SSL certificate lifespans, which means certificates are renewed more frequently than in the past. You can learn more about the shift here:<br>- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sectigo.com\/blog\/200-day-ssl-certificate-expiration-risk\">Sectigo: Understanding the Risk Scale (6-Month SSL\/TLS Validity)<\/a>\u00a0<br>- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sectigo.com\/47-day-ssl-guide\">Sectigo: 47-day SSL\/TLS Certificates Will Be the New Standard<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"ht-kb-category":[28],"ht-kb-tag":[178,176,177,179,180],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Knowledge Base - Pair Networks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pairnetworks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T16:49:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pairNetworks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/\",\"name\":\"FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-27T15:56:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T16:49:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"FAQ &#8211; Default HTTPS Settings with SSL Certificates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/\",\"name\":\"Knowledge Base - Pair Networks\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pair Networks\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Gb_TUkUE_400x400.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Gb_TUkUE_400x400.jpeg\",\"width\":360,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Pair Networks\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pairnetworks\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pairNetworks\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pairnetworks\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/2269676\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pairnetworksinc\/pins\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/pairnetworks\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase","description":"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase","og_description":"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/","og_site_name":"Knowledge Base - Pair Networks","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pairnetworks\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T16:49:46+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@pairNetworks","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/","name":"FAQ - Default HTTPS Settings with an SSL Certificate | pair Networks KnowledgeBase","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-03-27T15:56:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T16:49:46+00:00","description":"Learn about the default HTTPS settings that we implement when an SSL certificate is installed on a domain. The new default to HTTPS decision was made based on new concerns about web security.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/faq-default-https-settings-ssl-certificate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FAQ &#8211; Default HTTPS Settings with SSL Certificates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/","name":"Knowledge Base - Pair Networks","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#organization","name":"Pair Networks","url":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Gb_TUkUE_400x400.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Gb_TUkUE_400x400.jpeg","width":360,"height":360,"caption":"Pair Networks"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pairnetworks\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/pairNetworks","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pairnetworks\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/2269676\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pairnetworksinc\/pins\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/pairnetworks"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/3701"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3701"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/3701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10571,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/3701\/revisions\/10571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=3701"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=3701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}