Is your website showing "Not Secure"? Learn how to diagnose SSL issues, check DNS records, test redirects, and fix the warning using free tools. No technical skills required.
How to Diagnose and Fix a "Not Secure" Warning on Your Website
Last updated: June 11, 2026 | By Rankcept Team
Seeing a "Not Secure" warning in your browser's address bar is bad for business. It scares away visitors, reduces trust, and can hurt your search rankings. Google Chrome and other browsers now clearly mark HTTP sites as "Not Secure."
In this guide, I'll show you how to diagnose the root cause of the warning step by step using free tools (all available on Rankcept). Then I'll walk you through fixing it.
- How to check your SSL certificate status.
- How to verify DNS records for security issues.
- How to test redirects (HTTP → HTTPS).
- How to check if your site is blacklisted.
- Step-by-step fix for the "Not Secure" warning.
🔍 Step 1: Verify Your SSL Certificate (SSL Lookup)
The most common cause of the "Not Secure" warning is a missing, expired, or misconfigured SSL certificate.
How to diagnose: Use Rankcept's SSL Lookup tool to check your site's certificate details.
What to look for:
- Valid SSL? The tool should confirm your certificate is active.
- Expiration date: If expired, you need to renew immediately.
- Issuer: A trusted issuer like Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, or Sectigo.
- Domain match: The certificate should cover your exact domain (e.g., rankcept.com, not an old one).
🌐 Step 2: Check Your DNS Records (DNS Lookup)
Sometimes misconfigured DNS records can cause SSL or redirect issues.
How to diagnose: Use Rankcept's DNS Lookup tool and check your A, CNAME, and TXT records.
What to look for:
- A record: Points to the correct IP address of your hosting server.
- CNAME (www vs non-www): Consistent with your SSL certificate.
- TXT records: No conflicting verification entries.
🔄 Step 3: Test HTTP to HTTPS Redirects (URL Redirect Checker)
Even if you have an SSL certificate, your site must redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
How to diagnose: Use Rankcept's URL Redirect Checker to test http://yourdomain.com.
What to look for:
- Redirect chain: Should end at
https://yourdomain.com. - Status code: Should be 301 (permanent redirect).
- No redirect loops: The chain should not go back and forth.
⚠️ Step 4: Check if Your Site Is Blacklisted (Safe URL Checker)
In rare cases, browsers show "Not Secure" because Google has flagged your site for malware or phishing.
How to diagnose: Use Rankcept's Safe URL Checker to see if your site appears in Google's Safe Browsing blacklist.
What to look for:
- "Safe" status: No security issues detected.
- Warning status: Your site may be compromised. You need to clean it immediately.
🚀 Step 5: How to Fix the "Not Secure" Warning
Based on your diagnosis, follow the appropriate fix:
🔐 If SSL certificate is missing or expired:
- Shared hosting (cPanel): Most hosts offer free SSL via Let's Encrypt. Go to your cPanel → SSL/TLS → Install certificate.
- Cloudflare: Enable "Always Use HTTPS" and Flexible/Full SSL under SSL/TLS settings.
- VPS/Dedicated: Install a free Let's Encrypt certificate using Certbot (
certbot --nginxorcertbot --apache).
🔄 If redirects are broken:
- WordPress: Install "Really Simple SSL" plugin or edit .htaccess to force HTTPS.
- Nginx: Add to your server block:
return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri; - Apache: Add to .htaccess:
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
⚠️ If your site is blacklisted:
- Clean your site of malware (remove suspicious files, update plugins, change passwords).
- Request a review via Google Search Console after cleaning.
📋 Quick Diagnosis Checklist
🎯 Next Steps
After fixing the "Not Secure" warning:
- Test your site again using all tools above.
- Request re-indexing in Google Search Console (use URL Inspection → Request Indexing).
- Monitor your site weekly using the same checklist.
All tools used in this guide are completely free and available on Rankcept.
Did this guide help you fix your site? Share it with someone who might be struggling with the same warning. Have questions? Leave a comment below.
Disclaimer: For complex server configurations, consult your hosting provider or a system administrator.