In the past, having a secured website wasn’t deemed necessary for websites that weren’t passing along or storing any secure data. But, as we see nearly daily in the news, malicious cyber crimes are on the rise.
Say you’re using your smartphone on a public Wi-Fi connection in an airport. When you view insecure websites (those using only HTTP) you run a higher risk of having your session tampered with. It’s good practice to avoid using any websites where you are viewing or sending highly sensitive data while on a Wi-Fi connection that isn’t password protected or is accessible by the general public.
Starting in January, Chrome will display a “not secure” label to the left of the URL field. Google is making more efforts to push the importance of security for all users browsing the web. Most people don’t realize the difference and this small change will bring more awareness to what should be common knowledge given recent news stories about our vulnerabilities in this digital age.
HTTP vs. HTTPS
In a nutshell, HTTP is the system used to transfer information across the web. HTTPS is the secure version.
When you see a website URL that uses HTTPS instead of HTTP, it’s using an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to transfer the information securely.
Why Switch to HTTPS?
There are a few benefits to switching to HTTPS. First and foremost is security.
HTTPS Security Benefits
HTTPS helps prevent unwanted meddling with the communications between your web server and your users’ browser. It encrypts things like browser history, credit card information and anything passed between the browser and your website. HTTPS confirms the identity of the website and makes sure that the information your user might be sending through it isn’t tampered with along the way.
Ranking Benefits
Google states that websites who use HTTPS will have a small ranking benefit because of the added level of security. They want users to be secure as possible when browsing the web. As the largest search engine in the world, they have some level of social responsibility to protect us from unwanted tampering while browsing the web.
Google has always pushed hard for usability too by displaying a mobile-friendly tag in search results for mobile sites. Security is no different.
Technology Benefits
Many new technologies require the use of HTTPS including offline in-browser experiences.
How to Switch to HTTPS
Switching over to HTTPS isn’t as daunting as it might seem but does require a few steps.
Please contact me today to find out more about making the switch.
