After enabling Really Simple SSL and clicking the “Activate SSL” button, a 301 PHP redirect to https:// will be activated by default. If you notice that your site can still be reached over http://, it is possible that the redirect does not work because the site is still cached.
If you’re using Apache or LiteSpeed, the recommended redirect method is the 301 .htaccess redirect. But as not every server uses Apache/LiteSpeed, and not all servers support the detected .htaccess redirect rules; the 301 .htaccess redirect method is not enabled by default.
If you’re on Apache or LiteSpeed and enable the 301 .htaccess redirect in the plugin’s settings (so, only activate this if you’re using Apache or LiteSpeed); the plugin activates a redirect that is executed even before the site is loaded, which is faster than the standard WordPress/PHP 301 redirect.
Before activating the .htaccess redirect, please make sure that you know how to remove it if necessary. In rare cases, the detected redirect might not work, resulting in a ‘redirect loop’. You should then remove the .htaccess redirect using FTP. On NGINX, if you want to perform a redirect before WordPress is loaded similar to the .htaccess method, you can add a redirect in the nginx.conf file.
