http or https

[Chris M]

I'm willing to be shot down here...but...
I go with the https://name-of-site.whatever. This brings up https:// prefix when someone types the site name directly into the address bar. Using www returns http://.

I could be wrong. I quite often am.

[lex]

Chris,

Yes and no, it all depends what is programmed at the remote end.
I have this in my .htaccess at my root www folder:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule ^ https://www.mysite.com%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L,NE]
</IfModule>


This forces HTTPS and adds www if it is missing. Writing http://www.mysite.com or mysite.com brings up https://www.mysite.com every time.

I'm willing to be shot down here...but...
I go with the https://name-of-site.whatever. This brings up https:// prefix when someone types the site name directly into the address bar. Using www returns http://.

I could be wrong. I quite often am.

[Chris M]

behzad was asking if it mattered what was written in the Xara Website URL section. Whatever you write there reflects in the sitemap.xml. The bit I'm vague on is if that affects the way the URL is handled if typed directly into the address bar without any http prefix.

Editing, or creating, an .htaccess will ensure https is enforced provided you have an SSL certificate with your hosting.

[behzad]

Very informative. I even wonder if we need xara to create a site map, since google may already do that.

[lex]

Behzad,

Like Acorn, I use an external service to make a site map. Google crawls your site, and uses your site map in the process, if any. A good site map is a valuable SEO asset that you can use to point Google and others in the right direction.

Very informative. I even wonder if we need xara to create a site map, since google may already do that.

[behzad]

Care to tell me what that external service is?

[lex]

Behzad,

There are quite a few good free online services (e.g. https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/, https://www.web-site-map.com/, http://www.check-domains.com/sitemap/). If you like a downloadable free alternative, this might be for you: https://xmlsitemapgenerator.org/site...-download.aspx, and then there are paid programs that do site maps and much more like https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/.

Personally, I have used xml-sitemaps.com many times with success, and occasionally some of others.

Care to tell me what that external service is?