What’s all this about HTTPS?
Is your HTTP website now labelled “Not Secure” in the address window? You may need to update your site to encrypted Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to protect its visitor data, in line with Google Chrome’s best practice policy, which seeks to make web surfing safer.
HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) has been around for a while now, however it has become easier to intercept and hack information exchanged.
HTTPS uses a secure procedure to protect shared information by an “SSL certificate”, which encrypts online data so that it is coded and inaccessible to hackers. HTTPS has up until now mainly been used by sites such as online banking and shopping.
However, be aware that from October 2017 without an SSL certificate Google will flag your website as “Not Secure” 
if you collect any visitor information without HTTPS*, and this could penalise you in Google web search results!
*Eg. The page contains a password field, the user interacts with any input field, or the user is browsing in Chrome incognito mode.
So what do I need to do about this?
You will want visitors to your site to know that it is safe to access it. Where the letters “HTTPS” are visible in the address window it is a sign to them that your website has this necessary layer of safety.
You need to use a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer (TLS) certificate to protect visitor information.
How will visitors know my site has an SSL certificate?
There are 4 visual clues when visitors access your site to show that it has this protection. They should see:
- A padlock to the left of a URL
- https URL prefix instead of http
- A trust seal
- A green address bar
Contact Kingdom Creative Media UK today to discuss your website needs and make sure that Google identifies your website as secure. Let us help you show your website visitors that their safety and privacy is your priority.
