Google has been focused on ensuring the internet is safe for browsing for years now. As far back as 2014 Google was rewarding webpages running over HTTPS with a small ranking boost.
More recently, pages that required the input of sensitive data like credit card details and email addresses were flagged with a warning in the address bar if they were not using HTTPS.
In October 2017 a warning started appearing on HTTP pages with any data input fields when users visited an HTTP page using “Incognito” mode.
July 24th marks another step towards making users aware of how safe their data is when entered into a website with the latest version of Chrome, Chrome 68, displaying a “not secure” warning in the browser bar on any webpage that does not use HTTPS.
Previously, only sites with a working SSL certificate had an icon display - the little padlock that you are probably familiar with. Sites without an SSL certificate had nothing displaying in their browser bar apart from a little “i” in a circle which, when you clicked on it, informed you that your connection to the site was not secure.
This “not secure” warning that will display in Chrome 68 onwards will be far more obvious. It is an instant reminder to users that there is no protection over their personal data when it is entered through the website.
With internet users becoming increasingly aware of data breaches and hacks in the news there is an increased desire to ensure personal data is kept safe. Any indication that their data might be susceptible to interception could put consumers off buying from your site or even signing up to a newsletter or using a contact form.
If your website is still not using an SSL certificate, you need to think about this now. Making the switch from HTTP to HTTPS can be easy, however if done wrong the impact on your website’s visibility in the search engine results can be great. Incorrect meta tags, mixed HTTP/HTTPS content and missing redirects can all cause problems on a website that could see its keyword rankings plummet.
Don’t panic though, we’ve created a very comprehensive guide to transitioning your website from HTTP to HTTPS. Just visit https://www.reflectdigital.co.uk/https-migration and you should find all the information you need to get started making your site secure.
