diff --git a/websocketpp/base64/base64.hpp b/websocketpp/base64/base64.hpp
index ec4b3ad88f..2fed34228d 100644
--- a/websocketpp/base64/base64.hpp
+++ b/websocketpp/base64/base64.hpp
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ static inline bool is_base64(unsigned char c) {
            (c >= 97 && c <= 122)); // a-z
 }
 
+inline std::string base64_encode(const std::string & data) {
+    return base64_encode(data.data(),data.size());
+}
+
 inline std::string base64_encode(unsigned char const* bytes_to_encode, unsigned 
     int in_len)
 {
@@ -145,4 +149,4 @@ inline std::string base64_decode(std::string const& encoded_string) {
     return ret;
 }
 
-#endif // _BASE64_HPP_
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif // _BASE64_HPP_