HTTPS Redirect and HSTS Setup: Server Configuration

Imagine: your site runs on HTTPS, but some links lead to HTTP, and the browser blocks loading. Or the search engine indexes both versions, diluting PageRank. An incorrect redirect kills SEO and user trust. Each lost customer due to mixed content costs the business an average of $1000. Our task is to set up a unified HTTPS version with HSTS to eliminate traffic leaks and downgrade attacks. With proper configuration, SEO traffic can grow up to 15%, and load time can decrease by 30% by eliminating unnecessary redirects. We have been doing this for over 10 years, completing over 40 projects for HTTPS migration.

Why One Redirect Is Not Enough?

Redirecting from HTTP to HTTPS is only the first step. Without HSTS, the browser does not remember the requirement, so on the next visit it makes another HTTP request, potentially vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, a chain of multiple redirects (e.g., http → https://www → https:// without www) increases load time by 1–2 seconds and negatively affects Core Web Vitals. In practice, each additional redirect adds 50–100 ms to TTFB. The optimal scheme: a single 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS (with or without www) and an immediate HSTS header.

Problems Solved by Proper Redirect

• Mixed content: When an HTTPS page loads scripts or styles via HTTP. The browser blocks them, breaking functionality. We check all resources and fix the protocol.
• Downgrade attacks: An attacker intercepts the HTTP request and replaces the content. HSTS with preload completely eliminates this vector.
• SEO losses: Duplicate indexing, incorrect redirects, loss of link equity. We set up canonical URLs and correct status codes.

How We Do It: Stack and Configs

We use proven stacks: Nginx + Laravel, Apache + WordPress, Cloudflare. Here are configurations for each case.

Nginx: Redirect HTTP → HTTPS

# Redirect all HTTP traffic
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.ru www.example.ru;

    location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
        root /var/www/certbot;
    }

    location / {
        return 301 https://example.ru$request_uri;
    }
}

# Redirect www to non-www (or vice versa) + HTTPS
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name www.example.ru;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.ru/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.ru/privkey.pem;

    return 301 https://example.ru$request_uri;
}

# Main server
server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.ru;
    # ...
}

Add HSTS to the main server:

add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload" always;

Laravel: Enforce HTTPS in Application

// AppServiceProvider + bootstrap/app.php
public function boot(): void
{
    if (app()->environment('production')) {
        URL::forceScheme('https');
    }
}

->withMiddleware(function (Middleware $middleware) {
    $middleware->trustProxies(
        headers: Request::HEADER_X_FORWARDED_FOR |
                 Request::HEADER_X_FORWARDED_HOST |
                 Request::HEADER_X_FORWARDED_PORT |
                 Request::HEADER_X_FORWARDED_PROTO,
        proxies: '*'
    );
})

Without trustProxies, Laravel does not see that the request came via HTTPS (Nginx → PHP over HTTP) and generates HTTP links. This is a common mistake that can cost weeks of indexing.

Apache: .htaccess

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
</IfModule>

Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload"

Cloudflare

In the Cloudflare panel: SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates:

• Always Use HTTPS → enable
• HSTS → enable, max-age 12 months

Verification of Correct Redirect

Use curl with flags -I and -IL:

curl -I https://example.ru | grep -i strict
curl -IL http://www.example.ru

It should return the header Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload. You should expect no more than one 301 redirect (with www to non-www and HTTP to HTTPS). If there are more redirects or an error, the chain is not optimized.

How to Fix Mixed Content?

After setting up the redirect, check the browser console for blocked items. Use Screaming Frog to scan—it will find all resources loaded over HTTP. We replace the protocol in the database or use Content-Security-Policy: upgrade-insecure-requests. The latter forces the browser to automatically upgrade HTTP requests to HTTPS. On one project, this reduced manual fixing time from 8 hours to 10 minutes.

Comparison of Configurations for Different Servers

Nginx processes redirects faster: up to 30% less overhead compared to Apache mod_rewrite.

Checklist: What to Check After Setup

What's Included in the Setup

• Audit of current configuration: check redirects, HSTS, mixed content
• Server setup (Nginx/Apache) or Cloudflare
• Adding HSTS with max-age and preload configuration
• Fixing mixed content in code and database
• Verification of redirect chain and SEO metrics
• Documentation of work performed
• 30-day support guarantee after deployment

Process: From Audit to Deployment

1. Analytics: check current redirects, HSTS, mixed content, SEO metrics.
2. Design: choose scheme (www vs non-www, subdomains), plan the chain.
3. Implementation: configure server configs, add HSTS, update application.
4. Testing: curl, browser console, SEO tools (Screaming Frog).
5. Deployment: roll out to production with gradual increase of HSTS max-age.

Timeline

• Basic Nginx/Apache setup with HSTS: from 1 hour.
• Comprehensive setup with Laravel, Cloudflare, and mixed content fix: from 4 hours.
• Cost is calculated individually. Engineers evaluate the project for free.

Contact us—we will conduct an audit and prepare a configuration. Get your setup ordered today and receive a free consultation. We are ready to help.

According to MDN HSTS documentation

Web Application Security: HTTPS, CSP, XSS, CSRF, WAF, DDoS Protection

A website breach rarely looks like in movies. More often it's: a bot finds an unprotected /admin/export endpoint, downloads the customer database, and closes the connection. Or: through an outdated WordPress plugin, a web shell is uploaded, and the server starts sending spam. Or quieter: an XSS in a comment field allows stealing admin session cookies, unnoticed for months. We have analyzed dozens of such cases — each vulnerability could have been fixed at the development or audit stage.

Web application security is not a single setting. It's layers of protection, each closing a separate class of attacks. Order an audit — we'll assess the project and deliver a turnkey plan within 2–4 weeks.

How do we ensure comprehensive web application security?

HTTPS and Proper TLS Configuration

HTTPS is the minimum mandatory level. But having an SSL certificate and having a properly configured TLS are different things.

In Nginx/Apache configuration we check:

• Protocols: only TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3, SSLv3 and TLS 1.0/1.1 are disabled
• Cipher suites: prefer ECDHE (Forward Secrecy), remove NULL, RC4, DES, 3DES
• HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload) — browser will never make insecure requests
• OCSP Stapling — speeds up certificate revocation check
• Redirect 301 from HTTP to HTTPS — both in server config and code (double redirect causes SEO weight loss)

Check: SSL Labs (ssllabs.com/ssltest) should show A or A+. If B, the configuration is weak.

Let's Encrypt + Certbot for production is standard. Automatic renewal via certbot renew in cron. Wildcard certificates for subdomains via DNS-01 challenge.

Content Security Policy: The Most Powerful and Complex Protection

CSP is an HTTP header that tells the browser which sources are allowed to load resources. A properly configured CSP completely blocks most XSS attacks, even if the vulnerability exists in the code.

The problem: breaking the site with an incorrect CSP is easy. default-src 'none' — and fonts, images, JS stop working. So we start with Content-Security-Policy-Report-Only — CSP logs violations but does not block anything. We monitor reports for 2–4 weeks, refine the policy, then switch to enforcement mode.

Example of a real policy for a site with Google Analytics, Google Fonts, and Stripe:

Content-Security-Policy:
  default-src 'self';
  script-src 'self' https://www.googletagmanager.com https://js.stripe.com 'nonce-{random}';
  style-src 'self' https://fonts.googleapis.com 'unsafe-inline';
  font-src 'self' https://fonts.gstatic.com;
  frame-src https://js.stripe.com;
  img-src 'self' data: https://www.google-analytics.com;
  connect-src 'self' https://api.stripe.com https://www.google-analytics.com;
  report-uri /csp-report;

nonce — a random string generated server-side per request. Inline scripts with the correct nonce are allowed; without nonce, they are blocked. This completely breaks XSS via <script>alert(1)</script>.

'unsafe-inline' in style-src is a compromise for inline styles. It's better to remove it by moving all styles to CSS files, but that requires refactoring.

Why XSS Remains the Most Common Vulnerability?

XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) — injection of JS code through user input. According to OWASP, XSS is in the top 3 web application vulnerabilities. Three types:

Protection: never insert user input into HTML without escaping. In PHP — htmlspecialchars() with ENT_QUOTES. In Laravel Blade templates — {{ $var }} is safe, {!! $var !!} is dangerous. In React — {variable} is safe, dangerouslySetInnerHTML is dangerous. For Rich Text — use htmlpurifier on PHP or DOMPurify in the browser.

CSRF: Protecting Forms and APIs

CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) — an attacker forces the victim's browser to send a request on their behalf. Example: a user is logged into a bank, opens a malicious page, which makes fetch('https://bank.ru/transfer?to=evil&amount=50000') — if the bank is unprotected, money is transferred.

CSRF tokens — standard protection for forms: the server generates a random token, stores it in the session, and inserts it as a hidden field in the form. On POST request, the token is verified. The attacker does not know the token. Laravel does this automatically with @csrf.

SameSite cookies — modern protection: SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax prevents the browser from sending cookies in cross-site requests. Works in all modern browsers.

API without sessions (JWT, Bearer tokens) — CSRF is irrelevant if the token is not stored in a cookie (but in the Authorization header or localStorage). However, localStorage is vulnerable to XSS — so for sensitive data, HttpOnly cookies with SameSite are preferable.

WAF and DDoS Protection

WAF (Web Application Firewall) filters HTTP traffic for attacks: SQL injection, XSS, path traversal, known exploit patterns. Options:

• Cloudflare WAF — cloud-based, OWASP Top 10 rules out of the box, custom rules via expressions. Managed Rules automatically block new threats.
• ModSecurity (Nginx/Apache) — self-hosted, OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS). Flexible but requires tuning and monitoring of false positives.
• AWS WAF — for infrastructure on AWS, integrates with CloudFront and ALB.

DDoS protection. Cloudflare at L3/L4/L7 is the de facto standard for most sites. Automatic mitigation of volumetric attacks, Under Attack Mode during active attacks. For critical infrastructure — Cloudflare Magic Transit or specialized solutions (Qrator, StormWall for the Russian market).

Rate Limiting at the application level — an additional layer. Laravel ThrottleRequests middleware: 60 requests per minute per IP for general endpoints, 5 for /login and /password/reset. Redis as a counter store — mandatory for horizontally scalable systems (otherwise limits are not synchronized between servers).

Other Mandatory Measures

Security headers. Besides CSP: X-Frame-Options: DENY (clickjacking protection), X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff (MIME sniffing), Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin, Permissions-Policy (restrict browser API access: camera, microphone, geolocation).

SQL injection. Prepared statements everywhere. No concatenation of user input into SQL strings. ORM (Eloquent, Doctrine) protects by default. $wpdb->prepare() in WordPress is mandatory.

Dependency updates. composer audit and npm audit in CI/CD pipeline. Dependabot or Renovate for automatic PRs with updates. Critical CVEs — patch within 24 hours.

Secrets and configuration. .env — never in Git. Secrets in production — via CI/CD environment variables (GitHub Secrets, GitLab CI Variables) or HashiCorp Vault. Leak detection: git-secrets, truffleHog in pre-commit hooks.

How We Work

1. Audit — code scanning, configuration review, dependency analysis, manual business logic verification.
2. Planning — vulnerability remediation plan, stack selection (CSP, WAF, rate limiting).
3. Implementation — TLS setup, CSP configuration, headers, Rate Limiting, WAF.
4. Testing — re-penetration test, load testing, false positive check.
5. Deployment and Monitoring — enable production CSP, set up alerts, train the team.

What's Included

• Report with found vulnerabilities and recommendations (PDF + code snippets)
• Ready TLS configuration (Nginx/Apache)
• CSP policy with Report-Only and production versions
• WAF and Rate Limiting setup
• Dependency update plan
• Access to monitoring tools (Sentry, Datadog)
• 30 days of post-audit support (consultations, fixes)

Timeline and Cost

The budget is calculated individually — contact us for a project evaluation.