Do You Need a Secure Certificate (https)?
March 21, 2018
Article
Cool! The Hartford Courant newspaper published an article I wrote based upon the below secure certificates alert.
Google Has Issued the Official Warning—Encrypt by July 1 or Else! Google has been nudging everyone toward using a secure certificate for their website. There have been a few soft deadlines but now it appears that July 1st is the official deadline. After that, if you do not have a secure certificate and use “http” rather than the secure “https”, your visitor’s address bar will display the “Not Secure” warning:
Even worse is the red alert displayed if you try to use “https” without having a secure certificate.
About Secure Certificate and HTTPS
The standard HTTP has been the mainstay for websites for a looong time. However with the current state of the Internet, this standard has one crucial flaw—it’s not at all secure. Evil people can intercept content and change it to their benefit or your detriment.
However, HTTPS is secure and displays the more secure https to your visitor in the browser bar letting them know that the transmission is secure and the content has been encrypted. For that reason, Chrome and soon all web browsers will be making it the basic standard.
In addition to encryption, HTTPS also gives your website a boost in performance through it’s HTTP/2, giving you up to a 5% boost in search engine visibility, gives your users a better experience and opens your website to many new mobile options.
How to Get Your Own Secure SSL Certificate
SSL Certificates enable HTTPS—so the sooner you install one on all your webpages, the better. But, remember, website security is about more than encrypting data. Ensuring who’s on the other end of the data transfer is equally, if not more, important so making sure you have the right level of identity validation matters. Choosing the right SSL certificate can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. We’re here to help you sort through your options and find the most cost-effective way to meet the July 1, 2018, deadline and boost your bottom line.
Contact us for details and to determine the best option for your website.
