Managing Secure Protocol in Apache-Based Websites using PHP

The secure protocol (https://) is highly important for security, particularly for commercial websites. If you are a beginner with Internet technology you may have met the two most common protocols used by Internet browsers. They are:

• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the usedprotocol for governing the communication between the client (most likely the browser) and the server (where the website contents are located).
  
  
• HTTPS (Secure hypertext transfer protocol) is theprotocol for governing the communication between the client and the server, but encrypts the data as it travels in the data communication network, in the form of packets. This makes it impossible for someone to intercept data in the network, because it cannot be understood due to encryption.

HTTP is common and easy to manage; a lot of website templates will be able to run without problems. But things become a bit complicated when running HTTPS in a website.

Apache-based websites are common on the Internet today, occupying a higher market share than IIS (Microsoft Servers). The primary reason is simple: Apache is an open source web server, which means it is free to use.

PHP is the most common server side scripting language; it is commonly used with Apache websites. And in modern online business technology, https is becoming more and more popular due to increasing security risks. Thus, it is necessary to manage secure protocols in Apache websites.

This article provides tips and solutions to help any web developer effectively manage the two most difficult problems in maintaining the secure protocol side of any website. These are the:

• Duplicate content
  
  
• 301 redirection from the non-https to http version

The primary objective is to not cause any issues pertaining to search engine optimization. All recommended scripts in this article will use PHP, as it runs smoothly with an Apache website.