Always Redirect Http To Https Nginx
What is Nginx?
Nginx is an open source web server that is responsible for handling HTTP and other internet traffic requests, capable of configuring static and dynamic caching, handling TCP, UDP and other connection protocols, media streaming, and other related web server functions.
Nginx was initially released in 2004 and since then it has gained huge popularity among web developers and system administrators due to its high performance, scalability, simplicity, and reliability.
Nginx is also known for its ability to redirect requests from HTTP to HTTPS, allowing websites to serve encrypted web content securely over the internet.
How To Configure Nginx To Force Redirect From HTTP To HTTPS
To configure Nginx to redirect all requests from HTTP to HTTPS, you will have to edit the Nginx configuration file, often known as “nginx.conf”.
This nginx.conf file can usually be found in either the /etc/nginx or/usr/local/nginx/ directories, depending on your Linux distribution.
Once you’ve identified and opened the nginx.conf file, you will find a section dedicated to “server” configuration, which is responsible for handling requests from clients.
You will need to add the following code block within the “server” configuration block, which will tell Nginx to redirect all requests from HTTP to HTTPS.
server {
listen 80;
server_name YourWebSite.com;
return 301 https://www.Yoursite.example.com$request_uri;
}
This code will tell Nginx to listen on port 80, which is the standard port used by HTTP requests, and redirect any requests to port 443, which is the port used by https.
The “return 301” line will ensure that the requests are redirected with a “301 Moved Permanently” status code, which will help ensure that search engine crawlers will index the correct version of your website.
Configure Nginx To Redirect To WWW Version
If you want to force all requests from http://yoursite.example.com to the www version (ie http://www.yoursite.example.com) you will need to add the following configuration to the nginx.conf file.
server {
listen 80;
server_name Yoursite.example.com;
return 301 https://www.yourwebsite.example.com$request_uri;
}
This code will tell Nginx to listen on port 80, and redirect all requests from the non-www version of the website to the www version, using a 301 redirect.
Once you’ve saved the changes to the nginx.conf file, you will need to restart the Nginx service for the changes to take effect.
Configure Nginx To Redirect Specific Domains
If you want to force specific domains to use the https version, you can do so by adding additional configuration blocks to the nginx.conf file.
For example, if you want to redirect all requests from http://www.example1.com to https://www.example1.com and all requests from http://www.example2.com to https://www.example2.com, you can add the following configuration blocks.
server {
listen 80;
server_name example1.com;
return 301 https://www.example1.com$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 80;
server_name example2.com;
return 301 https://www.example2.com$request_uri;
}
You will need to replace the domain names “example1.com” and “example2.com” with the domains you’d like to redirect, and add additional configuration blocks for each domain you’d like to redirect.
Using The HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) Header
In addition to the Nginx configuration, you will also want to use the HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) header to help ensure that all requests sent to your website are sent over HTTPS.
The HSTS header is a special header that is sent along with every response from the server, and tells the web browser to always use HTTPS when connecting to the website.
It’s important to note that the HSTS header should only be used if your website is using HTTPS and is properly configured, as it can have a negative impact if the website is not properly configured.
You can set the HSTS header in the nginx.conf file, under the “server” configuration block, as follows.
add_header Strict-Transport-Security “max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload”;
This will tell the browser to always use HTTPS for the website, and include all subdomains. The “max-age” parameter sets the length of time that the header will be in effect, and the “preload” parameter will add the website to the HSTS Preload List, which is a list of websites that are known to always use HTTPS.
Testing The Redirects
Once you’ve configured Nginx and set the HSTS header, you will want to test the redirects to ensure that they are configured properly.
You can use a tool such as the HSTS Preload Tester to test the redirects and verify that they’re working properly.
The HSTS Preload Tester will allow you to enter the domains you’d like to test and check whether they are redirecting properly from HTTP to HTTPS.
You can also use a tool such as SSL Labs’ Server Test to test your HTTPS configuration and check for any potential issues with your SSL certificate.
Conclusion
Setting up Nginx to redirect requests from HTTP to HTTPS is a simple process that can help ensure that your website is served securely over the internet. It’s important to ensure that the redirects are configured properly and that the HSTS header is set, in order to ensure that your website is as secure as possible.
Thank You For Reading This Article
Thank you for reading this article. If you have any other questions about Nginx or web security, please feel free to contact us or check out our other articles. Thank you!
Related Posts:
- Nginx Config Proxy_Pass Docker Nginx Config Proxy_Pass & Docker What is Nginx? Nginx, also known as Engine X, is an open-source, high-performance web server. It is popular for its simplicity in configuration and wide…
- Nginx Redirect Non-Www To Www Nginx Redirect Non-Www to Www Overview of WWWs and Non-WWWs In the world of domains, there are two ways to access a website: with the WWW prefix and without it,…
- What Is Benefit Of Nginx What is the Benefit of Nginx? Overview of Nginx Nginx is a free, open source, high-performance HTTP server, reverse proxy, IMAP/POP3 proxy server, and load balancer. It runs on Linux,…
- What Is Reverse Proxy Nginx What Is Reverse Proxy Nginx? What is Nginx? Nginx is a free, open-source web server software developed by Igor Sysoev since 2002. It gained immense popularity due to its ability…
- Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 What is Nginx Force Https Redirect 301? Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 is an important feature of the Nginx web-server. This feature can be used…
- Nginx Non Www To Www Nginx Non Www To Www What is Nginx and Why is Www Important? Nginx is a powerful web server, both open source and commercial. It is known for its robustness…
- Nginx Config Multiple Proxy_Pass Nginx Config Multiple Proxy_Pass What is Nginx? Nginx is a high-performance web server that is widely used for deploying web applications and handling static content. It is also capable of…
- Nginx Reverse Proxy Vs Haproxy Nginx Reverse Proxy Vs Haproxy What is an Nginx Reverse Proxy? An Nginx Reverse proxy is a web server that fetches content from other web servers. It uses an Nginx…
- Nginx Listen Port 8080 With Ssl Nginx Listen Port 8080 With SSL Understanding Nginx Nginx (pronounced Engine-X) is a high-performance web server that is used for serving static content such as images, stylesheets and JavaScript. It…
- Redirect Ip To Domain Nginx Redirect IP to Domain Nginx Introduction to Redirecting IP to Domain Nginx A procedure for redirecting IP address to domain name in a web server is called IP forwarding or…
- Nginx Redirect To Https Host Nginx Redirect To Https Host What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server designed to be lightweight, secure, and high performance. It delivers a wide range of features…
- How To Setup Https On Nginx How To Setup Https On Nginx Why do you need TLS or SSL on Nginx? Using TLS or SSL on your Nginx webserver is important because it adds an extra…
- Nginx Location Header Http To Https Nginx Location Header HTTP to HTTPS What Is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is an open source web server software designed to handle high traffic websites and applications. It is a…
- Nginx Tcp Multiple Port Forwarding Nginx Tcp Multiple Port Forwarding What is TCP Port Forwarding? TCP port forwarding is a network action that enables a computer to redirect communications that are normally sent over the…
- Disable Http Redirected To Https On Nginx Disable HTTP Redirected to HTTPS on Nginx What is HTTPS Redirection? HTTPS redirection is a method used by websites to ensure that users are connected to the secure https protocol…
- What Is The Difference Between Uwsgi And Nginx What Is The Difference Between Uwsgi And Nginx? What Is Uwsgi? Uwsgi stands for “Unicorn web server gateway interface”. It is a powerful, highly configurable and widely used web server…
- Ssl Configuration Nginx For All Sub Domain Ssl Configuration Nginx For All Sub Domain Overview of Nginx Nginx is a popular web server used by many webmasters. It is a web server software designed to provide high-performance…
- Laradock Nginx Exit Duplicate Default Server For… Laradock Nginx Exit Duplicate Default Server For 0.0.0.0:80 In What is Nginx Derived From? Nginx is derived from an open-source and high-performance HTTP server developed by Russian developer Igor Sysoev.…
- Nginx Proxy Redirect To Another Url Nginx Proxy Redirect To Another URL What is Nginx’s Proxy Redirect? Nginx’s proxy redirect is a feature that allows you to route or proxy requests from one URL to another…
- Nginx Https Gtmetrix.Com Reports… Nginx Https Gtmetrix.Com Reports Absensi.Acehprov.Go.Id Z4qowh8i What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server software that has become increasingly popular in recent years. It is known for its…
- How To Configure Https In Nginx How To Configure Https In Nginx Introduction HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is the most secure and reliable way to communicate on the web. Although HTTP is still the most…
- Nginx Css File Not Working In Https Nginx CSS File Not Working In Https Why HTTPS is Important for Nginx CSS Files Securing your website with HTTPS is an absolute must these days. Not only does it…
- Where Default Root Folder Nginx Where Default Root Folder Nginx? What Is Nginx Nginx is an open source web server designed for high concurrency, performance and low memory consumption. The official website defines it as…
- How To Configure Https Owncloud Using Nginx Ubuntu How To Configure Https Owncloud Using Nginx Ubuntu What Is OwnCloud? OwnCloud is an open-source file synchronization and hosting service. It is developed primarily to provide a web service, allowing…
- Where To Put Crt File In Nginx Where To Put Crt File In Nginx What Is an SSL Certificate and Why Do You Need It? An SSL certificate is an encryption layer that helps to ensure secure…
- Nginx Http Proxy Http 1.1 Nginx Http Proxy Http 1.1 What is Nginx Http Proxy? Nginx Http Proxy is an open-source web server used to serve web resources such as images, static files, and dynamic…
- Nginx Get Variable From Url Nginx Get Variable From Url What is Nginx? Nginx is a web server that is commonly used in hosting services as well as in development projects. It was initially released…
- Not Redirect To Https With Nginx Reverse Proxy And Certbot Not Redirect To Https With Nginx Reverse Proxy And Certbot Introduction HTTPS is the secure version of the HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) that encrypts communication over the web. Having an…
- Nginx Https Letsencrypt Setting Location Nginx Https Letsencrypt Setting Location Introduction to Nginx and HTTPS Nginx is an open source web server that is very popular in the web hosting industry. It is extremely flexible,…
- Use Https As Default Nginx Use HTTPS as Default Nginx What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source, high-performance, extensible web server and reverse proxy. It can be used as a web server to serve static…