Have You Made the Secure Switch Yet?

Have You Made the Secure Switch Yet?

We wrote about the benefits of migrating to HTTPS at the end of last month and as we approach the end of the year, we want to make sure you’re prepared for what Google, Supreme Commander of Internet Success, has in store for 2017. You may have noticed that many major web companies HTTPS on their websites. It’s done to create peace of mind for their users when visiting their site and making electronic transactions with potentially sensitive information. Companies that haven’t migrated to HTTPS may want to consider a few things. We’re sorry, but your site is not secure. Google will be implementing this change in January next year. This means that if your site is still under HTTP and users input passwords or credit card information on your site, it will be listed as “not secure.” If you’re thinking, They might not even notice, think again. We’ve already noted the differences between HTTP and HTTPS, but this change will cause HTTP sites to display a red triangle next to them in the address bar. Does it really matter? Yes. There’s no doubt you should migrate your site, not least because security is important to customers. They want their information to be protected, but they also want to access a site that will perform well. Try the test out for yourself if you don’t believe us. The link will bring you to an HTTPS site that shows you the time it takes to load the page. You can click on “HTTP” in the upper right hand corner to compare the length of time it takes to load the unsecure site. Amazed? It also matters because it can affect your search results. Google has announced that they are “starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal.” Do you want your refusal to migrate to cost you a good search ranking position? We don’t think you do. How much is this going to cost me? Not much. You usually don’t have to pay much for SSL certificates, and because HTTPS is more common now, the migration costs are not as expensive as they would have been 5-10 years ago. Google Chrome Developers discuss this and bust the myths on HTTPS in their YouTube video. Migrating to HTTPS will save your business money on the last minute scramble, and it will boost your reputation with users because site visitors will know the site is secure and performs well. It’s better to invest in a small change like this now, instead of waiting until it becomes a problem for your business. What do you think? Are you ready to migrate to HTTPS now? Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss your website and we can help you engineer authority with our secret spices to success!