SSL Certificate Update Progress & Checklist

Last night we installed an SSL Certificate on WritingForums.org. This updated forces all traffic to https://www.writingforums.org instead of the http:// version.

We've chosen to install the SSL Certificate largely due to Google's strong recommendation. Beginning in 2017, Google began showing user login forms as insecure if the website did not use HTTPS, and noted that this insecure warning was the first of several future steps.

All pages should now show the "Secure" green lock next to our URL in the browser, though there are still a number of checks and configurations that are needed to complete this process. This post will act as a checklist to ensure HTTPS is completely and properly configured on WritingForums.org


SSL Checklist

• Install Certificate
• Force HTTPS
• Ensure Server has HTTPS Turned On
• Convert Smiley URLs
• Configure & Test Image/Link Proxies
• Validate 301 Redirects (three tools confirmed no errors)
• Review .htaccess File
• Test Facebook, Twitter, Google Integration (Xenforo test passed, should test actual login/registration)
• Update Facebook, Twitter, Google Application Accounts
• Update Facebook, Twitter, Google Profiles
• Review Queries on Xenforo Tables (queries ran, should confirm none were missed in locations url types)
• Check Template References for HTTP

1. gravtar.com - account_avatar_overlay
2. facebook.com/profile/ - account_external_accounts (changed)
3. [bd] Medals (changed)
4. data-vocabulary.com/breadcrumbs - breadcrumbs
5. elseusernotes_memberview
6. EWR_block
7. facebook.com - Page_Container
8. twitter.com - page_container_js_head

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• Update Phrases
• Update Notices, Help Pages, User Upgrade Descriptions, Warnings, Style Property Images, FAQ
• Review Ads
• Add Google Analytics Note/Flag
• Test Google Search Results, Ensure Old Links Redirect
• Review Port 80 v. Port 443 Access
• Review cPanel Certificate Choice
• Respond to LiquidWeb Support Ticket (expiration, certificate choice, .htaccess, bugs)
• Re-Write Hard-Coded Internal Links
• Use Fetch & Render to Test
• Leave Old Sitemaps to Process 301 Redirects
• Research Strict Transport Security Only Access
• Identify How to Transfer Social Shares
• Update Media Site Extensions (removed unused, still needs reviewed)
• Update Tracking Codes
• Review robots.txt (review later)
• Change robots.txt Sitemap Address
• Rebuild & Submit Sitemap to Search Engines (rebuilt, need to check against robots.txt)
• Test Old vBulletin Redirects (still works except blog posts)
• Create New Google Search Console Property
• Update Old Google Search Property (not necessary - continue to monitor)
• Review Site Speed
• Seek Support for Better Analytics
• Update External Links to New URL
• Confirm SSL Analytics Configuration
• Ensure Google Can Index New URLs (See Google Guidelines)
• Monitor Webmaster Tools & Analytics Daily to Spot Potential Issues
• Review Analytics for Alerts and Configuration Issues
• Test Paypal Integration
• Update other External Account Integrations

Known Bugs

Solved

• Broken mobile navigation design on horizontal mobile
• Broken authentication when using Smilies
• Unable to post via Safari