How to Fix Mixed Content Errors on WordPress Quickly

The Mixed Content error is one of the most common problems when you move a WordPress website from HTTP to HTTPS. Even after installing SSL, your website can still show a “not secure” warning because some resources are still loaded over HTTP, which hurts user experience and can even lower your website's SEO ranking on Google. In this article, MONA Media will help you understand what the mixed content error is, point out its root causes, and guide you through fixing the Mixed Content error on WordPress quickly and in detail.

What is a Mixed Content error?

Mixed Content (the mixed content error) occurs when a web page is loaded over HTTPS (secure), but contains images, videos, CSS or scripts loaded over HTTP (not secure). In this case the browser URL still shows HTTPS, but as long as one small resource on the page loads over HTTP, the page is still judged as not secure.

For example, if you visit the site at https://mona.media but an illustration on the page loads from an http:// URL, that still counts as a Mixed Content error.

Fixing the mixed content warning is also an important topic covered in many SEO courses courses, helping students learn to handle errors that directly affect user experience and keyword rankings.

Causes of the mixed content error

Many things can cause the Mixed Content error on your website, typically:

• Embedding a video from an outside source whose link uses HTTP instead of HTTPS.
• Some plugins or themes you install do not use absolute paths to link JavaScript and CSS, and use relative paths instead, so the browser cannot determine the secure protocol.
• Images inserted into posts, pages or widgets use a URL hardcoded in the form http://, so they are not loaded securely.
• You have just added a plugin or third-party service without carefully checking whether the resources it calls follow HTTPS.

Active vs. passive Mixed Content

Not all Mixed Content errors are the same. To fix the mixed content warning effectively, you need to tell the two types apart: active Mixed Content and passive Mixed Content, because their impact and security risk are very different. Specifically: 

How the Mixed Content error affects SEO

When a web page contains both secure (HTTPS) and insecure (HTTP) content, the browser warns users and interrupts their experience. This leads to a chain of negative effects on search rankings, especially as Google increasingly values security.

The Mixed Content error can raise security risks 

A website with the mixed content error easily becomes a target for cyberattacks. Hackers can exploit resources loaded over HTTP to inject malicious code, steal user information, and even take control of the entire website. The biggest threat to a website with a Mixed Content error is a man-in-the-middle (MitM)attack, where the hacker intercepts the data passing between users and the website for malicious use.

Security risks like these not only cause data loss but also destroy visitors' trust, leading search engines like Google to judge the website as untrustworthy.

The mixed content error hurts user experience

When a website has a mixed content error, the browser may show a “not secure” warning, which makes users anxious about data theft, and 99% will leave the page immediately. This raises the bounce rate (bounce rate) and reduces time on page.

In addition, insecure content such as images, videos or fonts failing to load properly can cause display errors or slow down page loading. This makes customers feel the website is unprofessional, creating a negative experience without anyone intending it, and affecting the SEO website.

The Mixed Content error affects Google search rankings

Since 2014, Google has officially treated HTTPS as a ranking factor and prioritizes websites using this secure connection in search results. If your website still has a Mixed Content error, Google may judge the page as less secure and lower your website's ranking. When rankings drop, users will easily skip your website for pages in higher positions, and traffic and engagement fall sharply as a result.

See also: A roundup of 8+ common Google SEO algorithms you should know

How to fix the Mixed Content error effectively

Fixing the mixed content error is one of the important steps when fixing errors on a Technical SEO Website. If your website already has security measures such as an SSLcertificate and redirects all HTTP to HTTPS across the site, but the browser still shows a Mixed Content warning, you can follow the 4 simple steps below to fix the mixed content warning:

Step 1: Check which resources are loading over HTTP

The first step in fixing the Mixed Content error is to identify exactly which resources load over HTTP. To do this, open the page that shows the Mixed Content warning and open Chrome DevTools in one of these ways:

• On Windows: Press the keys F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I.
• On macOS: Press the keys in this order Cmd + Option + I.

Next, open the Console tab. If your website has the mixed content warning, you will see red or yellow warning lines reading: “This request has been blocked, the content must be served over HTTPS.”

You can also check Mixed Content in the Security or Network tab to see which resources still use HTTP.

If you want to speed up checking for the mixed content error, use the Why No Padlocktool. Just enter the URL and click “Test Page”, and the tool immediately lists every insecure resource. Businesses can also use SEO tools Ahrefs Site Audit to find Mixed Content errors in bulk across the whole website.

Step 2: Check whether the HTTP resources can be switched to HTTPS

After identifying the resources causing the Mixed Content error, check whether those URLs can be reached over HTTPS. This fix is simple: copy the problem URL, change the http:// prefix to https://, and paste it into the browser. If the resource still loads normally, you can safely replace the old link with the HTTPS one.

Step 3: Find and replace all HTTP links

To fix the Mixed Content error for good, update all the old HTTP URLs to HTTPS in your website's database. If your website uses hosting like Kinsta, you can use the Search and Replace tool in MyKinsta to make this easier. Here are the steps for fixing the Mixed Content error with MyKinsta:

• Step 1: On your website's tools page, click the Search and Replace.
• Step 2: Enter the value you want to find/check in the database and click Search.
• Step 3: Tick the Replace.
• Step 4: In the Replace withbox, paste the link that will replace the HTTP link you searched for, then tick the checkbox “Clear cache when ready” to clear the Kinsta cache automatically.
• Step 5: Click the word Replace and you are done. 

If you do not use Kinsta, you can install the free Better Search Replace plugin from the WordPress library. After installing and activating it, just enter the HTTP domain to find and replace it with the matching HTTPS version.

Besides the Mixed Content fixes above, you can also use scripts like Interconnect/It Search Replace DB PHP or the WP-CLI command-line tool if you are comfortable working with servers.

Step 4: Recheck your website after the changes

Finally, visit your whole website again in the browser to make sure every Mixed Content warning is gone. Click through a few random pages and check the display, loading speed and the padlock icon in the address bar. If no warning remains and the security icon shows steadily, you have fixed the Mixed Content error successfully.

An insecure website with piles of technical errors will quietly “kill” your online business results. If you want to increase website traffic, improve your search ranking and have a sustainable operating system, SEO services at MONA Media is the most effective solution for you,

We not only optimize your website to the latest technical standards but also build a content strategy, do link building and carry out many other SEO techniques in-depth services. All of it is meant to help your business grow for real, rank better for real and generate real conversions.
Call MONA to start your SEO strategy in-depth today!

The Mixed Content error may look small, but it can cost your website points in the eyes of both Google and users. We hope the guide above helped you identify and fix the mixed content error easily and quickly. If you need an overall, comprehensive SEO solution that includes technical website optimization, contact MONA Media for detailed SEO quote with full details.