Website visitors are becoming more aware of the importance of secure data transfer, and they often look for the green lock that appears in their browser on HTTPs-enabled websites.

Before you can have your website loading at https:// instead of http:// you need to have SSL certificate installed for your domain.

You can get one from the hosting control panel -> My Domains -> SSL Certificates

The options are either to Order SSL certificate or Request Let’s Encrypt certificate.

Once you have installed the SSL, please allow up to 1 hour for the new SSL IP propagation!

After you have enabled SSL certificate on your domain name, you will need to set up a redirect for your website to use SSL and HTTPs protocol.

The procedure is valid for any static or dynamic website, which does not have a configuration for the URL it is installed on, like WordPress.

If you need to enable HTTPs for your WordPress site, please see the How To Enable SSL (HTTPs) in WordPress article.

First, go to Files -> File Manager in your hosting control panel and navigate to your domain root folder, usually /www/mydomain.com/

If there is no file called .htaccess created, then create one using the New File button.

Edit the .htaccess file and place the following code at the top:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Click Save.

Once you do this, your website is now fully setup to use SSL / HTTPS.

After you have enabled SSL certificate on your domain name, you will need to set up WordPress to use SSL and HTTPs protocols on your website.

We will show you two methods to do that, and you can choose one that best fits your need.

Method 1: Setup SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Using a Plugin

This method is easier and is recommended for beginners.

1. Log into the WordPress Dashboard.
2. Roll your mouse over Settings in the navigation menu, then click General.
3. In the WordPress Address (URL) field, enter your https address.
4. Enter your https address in the Site Address (URL)  field. 
5. Click the Save Changes button on the bottom of the screen. 

Once the settings are saved, WordPress will log you out, and you will be asked to re-login.

Then, you need to install and activate the Really Simple SSL plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit Settings in the navigation menu, then click SSL. The plugin will automatically detect your SSL certificate, and it will set up your WordPress site to use HTTPs

The plugin will take care of everything including the mixed content errors. Here’s what the plugin does behind the scenes:

– Check SSL certificate
– Set WordPress to use https in URLs
– Set up redirects from HTTP to HTTPs
– Look for URLs in your content still loading from insecure HTTP sources and attempt to fix them.

Note: The plugin attempts to fix mixed content errors by using output buffering technique. It can have a negative performance impact because it’s replacing content on the site as the page is being loaded. This impact is only seen on first-page load, and it should be minimal if you are using a caching plugin.

Method 2: Setup SSL/HTTPS in WordPress Manually

This method requires you to troubleshoot issues manually and edit WordPress files. However this is a permanent and more performance optimized solution.

1. Log into the WordPress Dashboard.
2. Roll your mouse over Settings in the navigation menu, then click General.
3. In the WordPress Address (URL) field, enter your https address.
4. Enter your https address in the Site Address (URL)  field. 
5. Click the Save Changes button on the bottom of the screen. 

Once the settings are saved, WordPress will log you out, and you will be asked to re-login.

Next, you need to set up WordPress redirects from HTTP to HTTPS by adding the following code to your .htaccess file.

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

If you want to force SSL and HTTPS on your WordPress admin area or login pages, then you need to configure SSL in the wp-config.php file.

Simply add the following code above the “That’s all, stop editing!” line in your wp-config.php file:

define(‘FORCE_SSL_ADMIN’, true);

This line allows WordPress to force SSL / HTTPs in WordPress admin area

Once you do this, your website is now fully setup to use SSL / HTTPS, but you will still encounter mixed content errors.

These errors are caused by sources (images, scripts, or stylesheets) that are still loading using the insecure HTTP protocol in the URLs. If that is the case, then you will not be able to see a secure padlock icon in your website’s address bar.

Majority of the incorrect URLs will be images, files, embeds, and other data stored in your WordPress database.

All what you need to do is find all mentions of your old website URL in the database that started with http and replace it with your new website URL that starts with https.

You can easily do this by installing and activating the Better Search Replace plugin.

When attempting to delete a file or folder, you may encounter an error if its permissions do not allow removal. This applies to both individual files and directories.

If you are trying to delete a folder, the issue may not be with the folder itself, but with one or more files or subfolders inside it that have restrictive permissions.

To resolve this issue, you need to update the permissions of the affected file. If the problem involves a folder, you may need to change the permissions for the folder as well as all files and subfolders contained within it.

Set the permissions to 755. Once these permissions are applied to the file or folder (including its contents), you should be able to delete it using the File Manager (Files → File Manager) or via FTP.

If you don’t know how to change the permissions of a file or a folder, please refer to this article: How to change the permissions of a file or a folder?

You can renew one or several domains without renewing your hosting plan.

To do that, go to My Domains -> Registered Domains, where you will see all domains that you have registered through our company listed in a table.

You can renew one of them by clicking on its expiration date in the Expiration/Renewal column of the table.

If you want to renew several domains at once, tick the checkbox next to each one of them, then click on the Renew button that is located just above the table of domains.

A domain renewal page will come up and take you through the renewal steps. 

We offer Regular SSLs for one domain/subdomain and Wildcard SSLs that cover all subdomains under one domain, both from Sectigo.

They can be ordered for a period between one and two years.

For the time being, we do not offer multi-domain SSLs that can be installed on several domains in the same time, and Extended Validation (EV) SSLs, which show the company name in a green bar in the browser URL bar.

You can request the installation of a “Let’s encrypt” certificate too.

Here is what you need to consider when choosing an SSL certificate:

“Let’s encrypt” certificates – really quick and easy to install. Perfect for non-commercial sites, blogs or photo galleries. Valid for only 90 days and must be renewed before they expire. On our platform, “Let’s encrypt” certificates are renewed automatically, so you won’t have to worry about that.

Regular SSL certificates – include a warranty against misuse or mis-issuance. Suitable for e-stores or enterprise sites, which need warranty-equipped SSL certificate issued by an established CA. Valid for at least one year and can be purchased for more years in advance.

Third-party certificates – if you have an SSL certificate purchased from somewhere else, you can upload it to a selected host with a click of the mouse.

Yes, you can buy an SSL certificate from any vendor.

An SSL is issued based on the so-called Certificate Signing Request (CSR), which is a block of code generated on the basis of the contact details you enter for that SSL.

If you have already bought an SSL from another company, you can download/copy the CSR code, the Private Key, which was generated with it, then add them along with the SSL from My Domains -> SSL Certificates.

If you have any issues, you can also contact us by opening a ticket from the Help menu on the top-right of your hosting control panel or from the button below.

Clearing your browser’s cache forces it to load the most recent version of the websites you visit, which can help resolve display or loading issues.

Below are instructions for clearing the cache in common web browsers:

Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
3. Go to More tools → Clear browsing data.
4. Select Cached images and files.
5. Click Clear data.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click History → Clear Recent History.
3. Select Cache from the list.
4. Click Clear Now.

Internet Explorer 8 / 10

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click Settings → Delete Browsing History.
3. Select Temporary Internet files (cache).
4. Click Delete, then click OK to close the Internet Options window.

Vivaldi

1. Open Vivaldi.
2. Click Tools → Clear Private Data.
3. Click Clear browsing data.

Opera

1. Open Opera.
2. Click the Opera menu in the top-left corner.
3. Select Clear browsing data.
4. Check Cached images and files.
5. Click Clear data.

Safari

1. Open Safari.
2. Click Safari → Clear History.
3. Choose the time range you want to clear.
4. Click Clear History.

For a number of reasons, you may need to change from the current hosting plan that you now have to a less expensive package.

For example, if you are not utilizing the plan’s features, you may wish to consider downgrading to a lower plan in order to minimize your expenses.

The option to downgrade to a lower plan is only provided per request.

You will need to contact our Sales Department by opening a ticket from the Help section that is located on the top right or use the button below.

The best-case scenario is to downgrade to a lower package right before you renew your plan for another year.

That way, you will utilize the most of your current plan prior to downgrading it.

Please note that a dowgrade is only possible if the resources you are currently using (hosted domains, number of databases, etc.) are equal or below the resources offered by the plan that you consider changing to.

For example, if you currently have four hosted domain names but you wish to downgrade to a plan that allows you to host only two domain names you will not be able to do so, unless you remove two of your domain names from the Hosted Domains section in your Control Panel.

The example applies for all resources that come bundled with every hosting plan we offer.

If you pay by PayPal, a recurring payment is created automatically.

The subscription can be cancelled at any time not only through this Control Panel, but also directly in your PayPal account with a couple of clicks.

In some countries, however, such subscriptions are not allowed for PayPal accounts (e.g. Germany), so you have to use a credit/debit card as the funding source instead of the PayPal balance.

If this happens, you can send the amount manually to our PayPal account cs2@duoservers.com.

Please mention what the money is for in the payment comments box that will appear during the process.

A domain can be transferred only if 60 days have passed from its initial registration or from a transfer to our company.

The domain should also be unlocked and you need its EPP transfer authorization code, which may also be called an EPP key, authorization key or domain password.

When you log into your hosting control panel on our end, go to My Domains -> Registered Domains, where you will find your domain, and click on the padlock icon to unlock it and on the EPP icon to request its transfer code.

After that, you can order the transfer through the other company.

They will send a verification email to the Administrative contact email address associated with your domain with a link that you will have to click to approve the transfer.

In this light, you can double-check the address in your control panel here -> My Domains -> Registered Domains -> select your domain -> Edit  WHOISDetails.