Prepare For Google’s New Security Warnings

Is your website still on http? Does it have elements—things like iframes, embed codes and third-party plugins—that come from an http address?

If it does, then your website will be labeled as an unsecured site when viewed in Chrome browsers.

The difference between HTTP and HTTPS

Google has promised to make the internet safer. To make true to this promise, they have started to show a “Not Secure” warning to all HTTP sites viewed on Chrome browsers. This includes all pages, even those that do not have sensitive input fields.

There is nothing wrong per se in visiting websites on HTTP. However, you have to understand that when you send a request to transfer data on the internet, it still has to travel between you and the server, going through several intermediaries in between.

This “in-between” is where hackers intercept data. If the data is not encrypted, they can easily get your passwords, credit card details and other information.

There is a way to protect such information from hackers and that is using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. SSL allows servers to communicate over a secure connection by encrypting and decrypting requests and responses.

Why the “not secure” label should matter to you

If there’s nothing wrong in visiting websites still on HTTP, why should you switch to HTTPS?

Aside from keeping your website safe, a Not Secure warning overlaid with a bold red X can scare off your visitors. Once they see the warning, they might think it’s unsafe, broken or has been hacked and would immediately click the back button.

Aside from being bad for your business, websites with high bounce rates can also indirectly affect your SEO.

So it’s worth checking whether or not anything on your website is HTTP to make sure that when Google roll this out in February, you won’t be marked as an unsecure website.

If you need help combing your website for any elements that can mark it as “Not Secure” or perhaps you want to know how your website is performing, just send us an email at [email protected].