Before we explain how to find and fix mixed content, first, let’s explain what mixed content is.
The mixed content error occurs when your site contains secure and non-secure content.
As secure and non-secure content, we consider having HTTPS and HTTP content mixed on the site. Why is mixed content a problem for a site owner or user? First, visitors should be protected from potentially malicious content if your site has an SSL, and SSL is a must-have. But, even if the site the user visits is HTTPS, some HTTP content will skip over SSL and be delivered to the browser.
To be clear: it is impossible to have 100% safe content. If this were the case, any website page would have very little content. So let us explain the difference between two types of mixed content: mixed passive content and mixed active content.
Mixed passive content
This type of mixed passive content is more common, and it is not as dangerous as active mixed content. Usually, it is an image or audio file. Web browsers may not send warnings immediately since this content is “passive” and probably can’t endanger your site security. But any mixed content is considered a “bad practice,” and you need to fix these errors.
Mixed active content
This type of mixed content is also known as mixed scripting. And this is ruining the complete security of the page or site. Because the HTTPS site loads script files over an insecure HTTP connection, a negative impact will occur. Immediately browser will block this content or site completely. And to see if there is mixed content, you can search for the “mixed content” warning message in your browser settings.
Quickly find and fix mixed content on your HTTPS site:
If you manually search for “mixed content” in any browser settings, be sure that the process will be slow, time-consuming, and never-ending. That is the reason you need to use scanners for mixed content.
One excellent scanner is WP Force SSL Content Scanner. You will find this scanner, among other features this plugin has to offer: tools and options to safely configure SSL on any theme, SSL monitoring in real-time, a centralized dashboard, and premium support.
But let’s go back to an excellent feature of WP Force SSL, one we need now, and that is Content Scanner. This mixed Content scanner will not only, in seconds, find and display all mixed content on your site but will enable you to fix it immediately.
How Content Scanner works
The manual option for the Content Scanner is to “click a button” and quickly scan all your posts, pages, or complete site. After Content Scanner scans your site, you will receive a complete report with the conducted scan results.
The report will contain the following data:
– Status (type of error)
– Description (short description of the error)
– Location (the page where the error occurs)
– Details (complete error details).
Now you can easily see all mixed content errors from your site. And it is also very important to show the direct location of the mixed content errors. Just go directly to the post or page, and correct all mixed content you have in there.
Conclusion
You cannot avoid having mixed content, but it is important to be able to detect and fix it quickly. This way, your site won’t be blocked from the browser.
This is the reason and true value of having a WP Force SSL Content Scanner because with a simple button press, you will have the location and description of all mixed content errors on your site. It will enable you to correct errors quickly and have a safe website.
You can fix mixed content errors automatically in plugin Settings, or if you prefer, run scans in the time frequency you prefer by doing a manual Content Scan. Mixed content errors will be detected and corrected quickly, which is the main advantage of using this Content Scanner.