How to Enable HTTP/2 on IIS?

Introduction

HTTP/2 is the newest version of HTTP, and it provides substantial enhancements in terms of performance over the prior version. If you have a website that resides on IIS, you can readily activate HTTP/2, which has the potential to provide faster pages, decreased Latency, and overall better user experience.

Please consider this guide as a step-by-step instruction on how to enable HTTP/2 on the side of your IIS server.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Windows Server 2016 or Newly Released Versions
• IIS 10. 0 or later
• The certificate compliant with SSL/TLS standards, on your server

Steps to Enable HTTP/2

Verify IIS Version: First, check your IIS version:

• Open IIS Manager
• In the “Connections” pane, right click the server name
• Then in the center pane, there will be an icon labeled “Server Certificates” Double click on it.
• As for the location of the version number one should check the field “IIS Version”.

Install SSL Certificate: If you haven’t already, Install an SSL Certificate:

• Right-click on the “Connections” pane in IIS Manager and then choose your server.
• Double-click “Server Certificates“
• In the case of actions choose ‘Import’ and go through the procedure of importing your certificate.

Bind SSL Certificate to Your Site:

• Select your server and then click on ‘Sites’ in the IIS Manager console tree as shown below.
• Choose your site right-click and click on edit bindings
• Click on “Add” and from the “Type” drop down select “https”.
• Choose your SSL certificate and set the port as 443
• Press the OK button on this report to save the binding.

Also Read: How to Install SSL Certificate on Microsoft IIS?

Enable HTTP/2:

You might be surprised to learn that HTTP/2 is enabled by default on IIS 10 on all your HTTPS connections. To ensure it’s active:

• Click ‘Windows Key + X’ to open the Windows Menu, then click on ‘Windows PowerShell (Admin)’.
• Run the following command:
  Get-WebConfiguration -filter system. webServer/http2
• It is self-explanatory that if “enabled” is set to “True”, HTTP/2 is already enabled

Enable HTTP/2 (if not already enabled):

If HTTP/2 is not enabled, you can activate it with this PowerShell command:

Set-WebConfiguration -filter system. webServer/http2 -PSPath IIS:-value @{enabled=”True”}

Restart IIS: After making changes, restart IIS:

• The next step is to open a command prompt in Windows as an administrator.
• Run the command: iisreset

Also Read: How to Enable HTTP/s on IIS?

Verify HTTP/2 is Enabled

To confirm HTTP/2 is working:

Use Online Tools

• Visit https://tools.keycdn.com/http2-test
• Enter your website URL and check the results

Browser Developer Tools

• Go to the website that you have created with Chrome or Edge browser.
• In order to use some of the features, you need to press the F12 key to open the Developer Tools.
• Click on the tab labeled network
• Look for “Protocol” in the connection details

Wrapping Up

All in all, the HTTP/2 has to be enabled on the IIS server as it helps a lot to improve the site’s performance. That way, through these steps you have made your site compatible with the new developments in technology where the internet is a concern so that those visiting your site can have a better experience in their internet usage.

Take your HTTP/2 configuration to the next level with our handpicked SSL certificate. Not only do our certificates ensure the safety of your site but they also clear the path for magical HTTP/2.