By Shad Super in Questions — May 13, 2025

How Can Screaming Frog SEO Spider Help Detect and Fix Mixed Content Issues on a Website?

Summary

The Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a powerful tool for identifying and fixing mixed content issues on websites. It allows you to crawl your site, identify insecure HTTP resources on HTTPS pages, and provides actionable insights for resolving them. Here's a detailed guide on how to use Screaming Frog to address mixed content issues effectively.

What Are Mixed Content Issues?

Mixed content occurs when a secure (HTTPS) webpage loads resources (e.g., images, stylesheets, scripts) over an insecure (HTTP) connection. This can compromise the security and functionality of your site, resulting in browser warnings or blocked content. Resolving these issues is crucial for improving user trust, SEO performance, and compliance with modern browser requirements.

How Screaming Frog Helps Detect Mixed Content

The Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a versatile crawler that can identify mixed content issues by scanning your website for HTTP resources embedded in HTTPS pages. Here's how it works:

1. Crawling Your Website

Download and install the Screaming Frog SEO Spider from the official website.
Open the tool and enter your website's URL in the search bar. Click "Start" to begin the crawl.
Ensure that the protocol of your site (e.g., HTTPS) is correctly configured in the URL you provide.

2. Configuring Filters for Mixed Content

To specifically detect mixed content, follow these steps:

Navigate to the "Reports" menu and select "Insecure Content."
Enable the "Protocol" filter under "Internal" to display URLs and their associated resources.
The tool will flag insecure HTTP elements, such as images, JavaScript files, and stylesheets, on HTTPS pages.

3. Exporting the Results

Once the crawl completes:

Go to the "Reports" section and select "Insecure Content."
Export the data as a CSV file to analyze the affected pages and resources.

Fixing Mixed Content Issues

After identifying the sources of mixed content, you can take the following steps to resolve them:

1. Update Resource URLs

Replace all HTTP URLs with their HTTPS counterparts. For instance, update http://example.com/image.png to https://example.com/image.png.
If the resource is hosted on an external domain, verify that HTTPS is supported on the host's server before updating the URL.

2. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

If your site uses a CDN, ensure that resources are served securely via HTTPS. Most modern CDNs provide HTTPS by default. Check with your provider for configuration details.

3. Implement Automatic Redirects

Set up server-side redirects to automatically serve HTTP requests over HTTPS. This can be done using:

Apache’s .htaccess file.
NGINX configuration files.
Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress using plugins (e.g., Really Simple SSL).

4. Verify Security Certificates

Ensure that your site has a valid SSL/TLS certificate installed, as invalid or expired certificates may result in mixed content issues or other connection problems.

5. Monitor with Screaming Frog

After making updates, re-crawl your website with Screaming Frog to confirm that mixed content issues have been resolved. Repeat this process periodically to ensure that new issues do not arise.

Example of Mixed Content Detection

Imagine you have an HTTPS webpage with an embedded image using an HTTP URL:

Using Screaming Frog, this would be flagged as mixed content. You could resolve it by updating the URL:

Conclusion

The Screaming Frog SEO Spider is an invaluable tool for detecting and resolving mixed content issues, helping to ensure that your website remains secure, fully functional, and compliant with modern web standards. By using the tool to identify insecure resources and taking proactive steps to address them, you can enhance your site's security and performance.