(Entry was posted by Neil Cheesma on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 09/20/2016).

301 to http if no https

If a website doesn`t have https should there be a 301 to http in the htaccess?

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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

Eren Mckay: Hi Neil Cheesman if it doesn`t have HTTPS then the site should be HTTP. A 301 is a permanent redirect, so how could you permanently redirect a site from HTTPS to HTTP if HTTPS doesn`t exist on that domain?
Neil Cheesman: But what if a website doesn`t take any payments >>>>> "Chrome’s security team announced today that the browser will start marking websites that use insecure HTTP connections to transmit passwords and credit card data as insecure, beginning in January 2017."
Steve Wiideman: Best answer? All websites should be https. Especially now: https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/08/chrome-is-helping-kill-http/
Steve Wiideman: So you`re not taking forms, asking for opt-ins, or having the user make any actions that can be recorded and tied to the user`s IP? What`s the business model or goal of the website? When Google says "HTTPS EVERYWHERE" and my business relies on traffic from Google, I don`t ask questions. Based on adoption rates, probably a `safe` bet to just get it over with. ;)
Neil Cheesman: That is what I would think but when running a Semrush report it shows the https variation of the domain as a 404...
Neil Cheesman: What about blogger and wordpress sites.. they aren`t https (yet) are they?
Steve Wiideman: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/6284029?hl=en
Steve Wiideman: https://en.support.wordpress.com/https/