HTTP

How it works

• It is the original method browsers use to request pages.
• Nothing is scrambled in transit, so Wi-Fi owners and network operators on the route can see or change the content.
• Browsers label HTTP pages Not secure.
• Modern sites use HTTP only to send the visitor on to HTTPS.

What can go wrong (example scenario)

A small retailer's shop ran a plug-in that still called an HTTP address for product images. Browsers blocked the images as mixed content, so the shop showed empty boxes where products should be, and the owner spent a weekend thinking the store was broken.

How WILDCARD handles it

Managed Hosting keeps plain HTTP doing one job: redirecting to HTTPS. Domain Security keeps the DNS pointing at the right host so those redirects land in the right place.

• A dental office's old site is linked from directories using http://. A redirect keeps those links working and secure.
• A contractor's website builder exports pages with HTTP image links that need updating.
• A law firm checks that its site returns a proper 301 redirect from HTTP so search engines consolidate rankings.

Example scenario: A three-person accounting firm had an old HTTP link printed on business cards from years earlier. The link still worked because the site redirected HTTP to HTTPS automatically. Nobody had to reprint anything, and every visitor landed on the secure page.

A question owners ask

If my site redirects to HTTPS, is HTTP still a risk?

Very little. The first request goes over HTTP before the redirect, so publishing an HSTS header tells browsers to skip even that. Your host can turn it on.