The war against unsecure websites is heating up and Google is leading the front with their own campaign to get the internet secure by default. In Google Chrome’s next update in October, a site that doesn’t have a valid SSL certificate will be labelled as ‘not secure’ when entering data. A bit like this:
(image: form-and-incognito-http-bad-verbose.png)
## What is an SSL certificate?
SSL keeps the sensitive or personal information you send over the internet safe by encrypting it in a way only the intended recipient can understand. It converts HTTP site into HTTPS. You’ve probably noticed it in the web addresses of some of the more popular websites you visit
## Why is this important?
Ever noticed the green padlock in the top-left of your browser? Chances are, all the top sites you visit will have this green padlock. It shows the site is secure and any data you put in will be encrypted. But imagine using a website and not seeing that padlock. Do you think you would automatically distrust the site? How about if we throw in a big red exclamation mark with not secure written next it? Would you trust a site then? Eventually, this is how Google wants every unsecure website to look:
(image: second-transition-titled-eventual.png)
Not a good look, right? You may think, ‘Damn you Google for doing this to us,’ but they are absolutely right to do so. This doesn’t just apply to ecommerce sites either. Have you ever filled out a contact form or signed up for a newsletter on a website? If that site doesn’t show the green padlock then that information is potentially up for grabs. Google is well within its rights to warn people when they are on an unsecure site.
## Higher security = higher rankings
But the benefits of an SSL don’t stop with a green padlock and encrypted data. Google likes safe sites and will give a ranking boost to ones that are secure. Not only that, an SSL allows a website to run over HTTP2 rather than HTTP1. This allows websites to run faster, bringing down the load speed to give content quicker.
Recent advancements mean it’s never been easier to get an SSL certificate. Many companies like Let’s Encrypt now offer free SSL certificates that auto-update. Gone are the days of expensive SSL certificates that you’d have to apply for and manually upload to a server. This increased ease could be why Google are now starting to push hard to securing the web. There’s no excuse not to.
There’s some work involved for some sites. On some, especially older ones, we need to convert them to become ‘SSL ready’ and this is a few hours work.
So, does your site need SSL? Yes. Still don’t believe me? Here’s just a few more reasons why you need HTTPS.
Do you need an SSL or help getting one set up for your site? [Get in touch here](https://www.superdream.com/get-in-touch).