Why is Google mandating SSL certificates for your websites?
17 May 2022 . minute read
This change will affect your website if it contains input fields, requests passwords or other sensitive information, or is accessed in incognito mode.
This change will affect your website if it contains input fields, requests passwords or other sensitive information, or is accessed in incognito mode.
Your webmaster may have received an email from Google via Google Search Console in August informing you that, as of October 2017, your website will receive a 'Not Secure' warning when users enter data on your site and when visiting your site in Incognito mode. This email was sent to everyone whose website was still HTTP, and it served as a reminder to upgrade to HTTPS.
Until now, HTTPS was only really required for sites that dealt with sensitive data, such as credit card numbers and logins. It then spread to include safeguarding social media browsing, and it is now becoming a requirement for all websites on the internet.
Why Is This a Problem?
Several web browsers, including Google Chrome, now display an unmistakable warning whenever a user is about to visit a site that does not use HTTPS. If your site does not use HTTPS, prospective visitors may see this warning. What would you do if you saw this? You'd probably click away. As a result, you're losing a tonne of traffic and potential conversions.
Though the web user can ignore the warning and continue, the warning page, as you can see, does not make this easy or appealing.
Google recently reported that more than half of the websites visited by Chrome users are already encrypted. With the upcoming update, this will only increase rapidly, and HTTP websites will soon be a distinct minority. This sign of poor security is likely to have a negative impact on how visitors behave on your site and, ultimately, how they perceive your company.
Why Has Google Done This To Us?
Google is attempting to protect web users from fraudulent and spoofed websites. In addition, it is cracking down on financial fraud and identity theft. We believe you will agree that this is crucial.
It may appear to be yet another annoyance from the internet's elders, but there are numerous advantages.
Moving to HTTPS not only protects sensitive data that may pass through your website, but it also has the potential to improve your website's rankings, as https is a confirmed Google ranking factor.
Where you were quick to adopt HTTPS and your competitors were not, you have an advantage.
HTTPS is designed to protect internet users from hackers and identity thieves. There is no such thing as a small website that cannot be hacked. Most nefarious interceptions are performed electronically, with no human deciding who to target behind the wheel.
What Is An SSL Certificate?
There are three main types of SSL that we recommend purchasing. These are:
DV (Domain Validated SSL): DV SSLs have the lowest level of validation and are thus the most affordable of the three SSL varieties. Although no corporate information is examined or presented on the certificate, they can be issued rapidly.
These are appropriate for small personal websites and minimal encryption needs that do not contain transactional data.
OV (Organisation Validated SSL): OV SSLs are a step up from DV SSLs. The domain name's ownership is verified, as well as the organisation and firm applying for the certificate. For example, the Certificate Authority will verify the registered company address and the name of a specified contact.
Visitors will be able to see this validated information displayed on your site, providing them with additional assurance of your SSL security level. These are ideal for businesses that do not deal with transactional data but must deal with the public.
EV (Extended Verification SSL): Higher security validation is provided by EV SSLs and High-Assurance SSL certificates. Phishing schemes and fraudulent behaviour are promptly discovered thanks to human monitoring, while the in-depth verification procedure guarantees that the website itself is in the best possible shape.
The green bar that appears across the URL bar to signify that you have taken the precaution to ensure optimum security will inform visitors to your site that you have Extended Verification SSL. If your website handles sensitive or transactional data, you'll need this accreditation.
Conclude
All of our clients are now required to use SSL/HTTPS at Diginow. We made this decision because we want to keep all of our clients and their website visitors safe and secure online, as well as contribute to making the internet a safer place for everyone.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the security of your website or would like to learn more about SSL certification. We'll be pleased to answer any questions you may have and point you in the proper way.