https your business website

https your business website

What’s the difference between http and https, and do you need it for your website?

It’s time to https your business website!

http or HyperText Transer Protocol, for the geeks out there.

‘http’ and ‘https’ are the names of two protocols (computer language/transfer rules) that dictate how an internet file gets beamed to your computer screen from the server (aka your host).

Currently the most common one you’ll see is http:// for a regular hypertext page. The second most common protocol you will see is https://, for hypertext pages that are secured against hackers.

Later this year (October 2017) the standard will be moving from http to https. Big deal? Well yes it is actually atleast to your customers, clients, enquiries, website users, call them what you will.

http is not secure

Why? Because from October, the extremley popular browser Chrome that is ‘made by’ Google, will be highlighting the fact that plain ol’ http is not secure. There will be an icon notification on every page that users browse through on unsecure (http) websites. What do you do, or think, when you arrive on a website that is flagged as insecure or unsafe? You bail out right and find an alternative website that is secure.

By doing this you are also having a negative impact on that website’s ranking (SEO) because you are bouncing (I’ll write about bouncing on another date).

So how can you tell if your business website is secure or insecure? It’s really easy, just look for a padlock symbol along your browser address bar, and/or the letter ‘s’ in your website URL (address). Have a look at the screenshots below from some of the most popular browsers.

If your site is in the (current) majority and insecure then please feel free to get in touch with Enterprise Web Design and we’ll be able to help you.

Safe surfing!