iis forward http to https

Seriously—how many times have you punched in http://yourcompany.net, hit Enter, and watched your screen spin like it’s buffering the secrets of the universe? Or worse, gotten slapped with that soul-sucking “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS” error? If you’re running your site on Windows Server with IIS, chances are you’ve tangled yourself in a classic iis forward http to https loop. And hey, don’t sweat it—we’ve all been there. It’s like trying to teach your GPS to understand sarcasm: frustrating at first, but totally fixable once you speak its language. The trick isn’t brute force—it’s finesse. And today, we’re handing you the decoder ring.

Let’s get real: serving a site over plain HTTP in 2026 is like leaving your front door wide open with a neon “Steal My Stuff” sign. Browsers flag it as “Not Secure,” Google quietly demotes it in rankings, and let’s be honest—nobody trusts a login form without that little padlock. On IIS, which powers everything from legacy .NET apps to modern ASP.NET Core sites, enforcing HTTPS isn’t just smart—it’s expected. A clean iis forward http to https setup tells users and search engines alike, “We’ve got our act together.” Plus, it keeps your bounce rate low and your compliance folks happy. Honestly, it’s easier than explaining why your e-commerce checkout looks sketchy on Safari.

Here’s the lowdown: when someone hits your IIS site via http://, your server can respond with a **301 Permanent Redirect** to the https:// version. This isn’t sorcery—it’s a rule (usually in web.config or via IIS Manager) that says, “If this request ain’t encrypted, ship ‘em to port 443, stat.” The browser gets the memo, updates the address bar, and reloads securely. Search engines treat 301s like gospel—they pass link juice, preserve rankings, and keep your SEO intact. But if you stack conflicting rules or forget your SSL cert, you end up in redirect limbo. That’s why getting your iis forward http to https logic right the first time saves hours of late-night debugging and cold pizza.

Hold up—can you redirect to HTTPS without an SSL certificate? Straight-up **nope**. It’s like building a drawbridge with no castle behind it. Before you even think about redirect rules, make sure your IIS site has a valid SSL/TLS cert bound to port 443. Free options like Let’s Encrypt (via Win-ACME) work great, or you can spring for a commercial cert from DigiCert (~$150/year). Once installed, test by visiting https://yoursite.com directly. If you see a green padlock and no warnings, you’re good to go. If not, fix that first. No amount of clever iis forward http to https config will save you if the destination’s broken. Trust us—we’ve seen folks skip this step. It ends in tears, coffee, and angry Slack messages.

Microsoft’s **URL Rewrite Module** is hands-down the cleanest way to handle redirects in IIS. If you don’t have it installed (and most fresh IIS installs don’t), grab it from Microsoft’s official site—it’s free and lightweight. Once installed, fire up IIS Manager, select your site, and click “URL Rewrite” in the Features View. Then add a new blank rule with these settings:

• Pattern:(.*) (matches all paths)
• Condition: Input = {HTTPS}, Pattern = ^OFF$
• Action: Redirect to https://{HTTP_HOST}/{R:1}, Status = 301 (Permanent)

This rule checks if the incoming request is insecure (HTTPS=OFF), then redirects to the exact same path on HTTPS. Elegant, efficient, and perfect for multi-site servers. And yeah—this is the industry-standard approach to any serious iis forward http to https implementation.

Prefer code over clicks? We feel you. Just drop this snippet into your site’s web.config file inside the <system.webServer> section:

<rewrite>
  <rules>
    <rule name="Redirect to HTTPS" stopProcessing="true">
      <match url="(.*)" />
      <conditions>
        <add input="{HTTPS}" pattern="off" ignoreCase="true" />
      </conditions>
      <action type="Redirect" url="https://{HTTP_HOST}/{R:1}" 
              redirectType="Permanent" />
    </rule>
  </rules>
</rewrite>

This does the exact same thing as the GUI method—but lives in version-controlled code, so it deploys cleanly across environments. Just remember: if the URL Rewrite module isn’t installed on the server, IIS will throw a 500 error. Test on staging first! One missing bracket and your whole app vanishes. But when it works? Pure poetry. This is how you nail iis forward http to https like a seasoned sysadmin.

After debugging dozens of IIS redirect loops, we’ve spotted patterns. Here’s how to avoid facepalming later:

Also, if you’re behind a load balancer or Cloudflare, check headers like X-Forwarded-Proto instead of {HTTPS}. But for most standalone IIS setups, the standard rule works flawlessly. Dodge these traps, and your iis forward http to https flow stays smooth as Tennessee whiskey.

Don’t just cross your fingers—verify. Open PowerShell and run:

curl -I http://yoursite.com

You should see:

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://yoursite.com/

Then test the secure version:

curl -I https://yoursite.com

Should return 200 OK. Also, open Chrome DevTools → Network tab, disable cache, and reload the HTTP URL—you should see exactly **one** 301, then a 200. No loops, no errors. If it’s clean, resubmit your sitemap to Google Search Console. A solid iis forward http to https setup means zero HTTP pages indexed and full SEO credit. Easy win.

Want to go scorched-earth? You can **remove the HTTP binding** from your IIS site entirely. Right-click your site → Edit Bindings → delete the entry for port 80. Now, only HTTPS works. This is perfect for internal APIs, admin panels, or services where clients are hardcoded to use HTTPS. But for public websites? Don’t do it—users still type http:// out of habit, and they’ll just see “Connection Refused.” A graceful redirect is always better for UX. Save the hard kill for scenarios where you control both ends of the pipe. Otherwise, stick with a clean iis forward http to https redirect.

Look, setting up an iis forward http to https redirect might feel like defusing a bomb while juggling flaming torches—but it’s simpler than it sounds. Install URL Rewrite, add one clean rule, test like your job depends on it, and sleep easy knowing your users are safe. And if you’re knee-deep in web.config files and need a lifeline, our full walkthrough on IIS Redirect HTTPS Implementation covers edge cases like reverse proxies and sub-applications. Need broader context? Check out our Hosting section for migration best practices. And hey—don’t forget to bookmark the Peternak Digital homepage. We’re always cookin’ up guides to keep your Windows servers lean, mean, and locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

References

• https://www.iis.net/downloads/microsoft/url-rewrite
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/extensions/url-rewrite-module/creating-rewrite-rules-for-the-url-rewrite-module
• https://www.sslshopper.com/article-how-to-force-https-in-iis.html
• https://win-acme.com/