Serve a site over HTTPS

Going from HTTP to HTTPS takes three steps: start the service, download the certificate, install it. This page walks the whole chain.

1 HTTP versus HTTPS

HTTP is the foundation of data exchange on the web, but it is not secure — anyone in the path can intercept the traffic. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP: data between the browser and the server is encrypted.

The lock icon and the HTTPS prefix are the first trust signal visitors see, and a ranking factor for search engines.

Detail	HTTP	HTTPS
URL	Prefixed `http://`	Prefixed `https://`
Port	80	443
Security	Known weaknesses	Removes interception risks

HTTPS also brings SEO benefits, compliance (GDPR for example) and protection against content injection — it is the baseline for any modern site.

2 Configure a self-signed certificate

2.1 Start the Fast-Https service

Click the tray icon in the notification area and start the local web management service.

2.2 Download the certificate

Open the local management address in the browser and download the root certificate root.crt from the console.

http://localhost:8080/

2.3 Install the certificate (Windows)

Find root.crt in your download folder, choose “Current user” and finish the import so Windows trusts the self-signed certificate. The lock icon then appears in the address bar.