HTTPS Redirect And Post Editor HTTPS Warnings

Last month, as part of the SSL rollout, Blogger added a page / post / template editor feature - that not everybody understands.

A blog with "HTTPS Redirect" enabled will provide SSL access, for every reader - both those who intentionally use HTTPS, and those who normally use classic "HTTP". Those who normally use "HTTP" will find themselves redirected to "HTTPS" - no choice.

When you use page editor, post editor, or template editor, on a blog which offers "HTTPS" to everybody, you may see an alarming alert.

If you decide to enable "HTTPS Redirect" on your blog, page editor, post editor, and template editor will let you know when you are editing mixed content.

This page contains HTTP resources which may cause mixed content affecting security and user experience if blog is viewed over HTTPS.

When editing pages and posts, on a blog with "HTTPS Redirect" enabled.

Editing your template so it mixes HTTP and HTTPS may affect the security and user experience of your blog when it is viewed over HTTPS. Learn more. Hide warning

And when editing the template, on a blog with "HTTPS Redirect" enabled.



You will have several choices, when encountering the "This page contains HTTP resources ..." / "Editing your template so it mixes HTTP and HTTPS" alert.

• Change all links to "HTTPS:", using "Fix".
• Fix each link selectively, and select "Dismiss".
• Don't change anything, and select "Dismiss".
• Don't enable "HTTPS Redirect".

Change all links to "HTTPS:", using "Fix".

Select "Fix" - and page / post / template editor will automatically change every "http:" reference to "https:".

You will have broken links, which reference services and websites that do not yet support SSL. You will eventually need to find out what services and websites you link and use, that don't provide SSL - and drop them, or encourage them to upgrade.

Fix each link selectively, and select "Dismiss".

You will have broken links, which reference services and websites that do not yet support SSL. The links that you leave as "HTTP:" will still throw "Mixed Content" warnings.

Don't change anything, and select "Dismiss".

Your blog will throw "Mixed Content" warnings.

Don't enable "HTTPS Redirect".

Let your readers decide how to access the blog. The readers who use HTTPS will see "Mixed Content" warnings.

"Mixed Content" warnings will be around, for a while.

Until all blogs, services, and websites provide SSL, every blog and website that links to or uses those blogs, services, and websites is going to throw "Mixed Content" warnings.

The purpose of the warnings is to let the readers of our blogs know of possible risk.

Hey! This blog has content that may not fully support your need for security!!

That's what the warnings are designed to do. Keep our readers informed, so they can protect themselves.

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Not every blog owner knows what to do, when using #Blogger page, post, or template editor, and encountering the Blogger equivalent of a "Mixed Content" alert. Blogs that have the recently added "HTTP Redirect" option enabled will be susceptible to this alert.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/SHhkzy1uh8g

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Blogger Provides A Mixed Content Detection Tool

In the process of publishing my earlier post "Blogger Magic - Add An HTML Gadget", I discovered the latest feature in the Blogger SSL upgrade.

Page / Post Editor now scans page / post content, and warns us when there are links still using "http" protocol. This will help us avoid publishing pages and posts which will generate "Mixed Content" warnings, when pages and posts are displayed using SSL.

The new post editor tool will help us avoid subjecting our readers to unexpected "Mixed Content" warnings.

We will be responsible for finding out what specific content can be accessed, using SSL. If we believe that a significant proportion of the identified page / post content can be accessed using SSL, we can have all content automatically changed from "http" to "https" - then deal with individual access problems.

The "Fix" link will change all "http:" links to "https:".



If you believe that all links, currently accessed using "http", can be accessed using "https", you can use the "Fix" link. Otherwise, use "Dismiss", then manually change individual links.

Alternately, use a browser based "string find" tool, as available, and identify each instance of "http:".

The "Dismiss" link lets you evaluate each "http:" link, using the browser "find" wizard.

Then, make your own decision.

Using either "Dismiss" or "Fix", you are responsible for each link - if you want your readers to get results from each link that you provide.



Click on "Learn more", for more information, in Blogger Help: Fix mixed content on your blog.

Which ever you choose, your readers benefit should be your guiding force.

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As part of providing SSL connectivity for our blogs, #Blogger now provides an "http:" detector, in post editor. The blog owner has the choice to change each "http:" link in the post automatically - or to manually evaluate change each link, and change when appropriate.

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Correct Your Post, After Using MS Word

Sometimes, advice provided in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, comes too late.

Telling people to avoid use of MS Word, for composing posts, is one example of "too late". But maybe this delinquency can be repaired.

Blogger provides the the page / post editor "Remove formatting" tool ("Tx"), for removing unwanted formatting.

When you've just published your post - and can't figure out why the formatting is all whacky - or maybe you can't get the post successfully passed through a FeedBurner feed - the most obvious way to correct the post is to use Notepad, or a similar text editor.

But that's a pain, and it's rather complicated. Maybe there's an easier solution.

Like an over edited post - or a victim of too much switching between Compose and HTML modes - the "Remove formatting" tool ("Tx") might save you, here.

Select everything in the page / post.

And use the editor "Remove formatting" tool ("Tx").


As in the previous example, you may have to spend a few hours adding essential formatting back. But with MS Word meta formatting, aren't you better off getting rid of all of that, at once?

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Some #Blogger blog owners publish posts full of junk meta formatting, courtesy of MS Word - then look for a quick solution. Copying out then back, using Notepad / WordPad, or a similar text editor is the most obvious solution - but it's a painfully complicated one.

Maybe this is another case when the page / post editor "Remove formatting" tool can save the day.

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