It’s really important that your site makes the move to HTTPS if you haven’t done it already. Google is determined to make HTTPS the standard across the web and it provides a very secure experience for your visitors. Let’s take a closer look at HTTP and HTTPS.
HTTP
HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol and it’s designed to let two different systems communicate. This means that your web browser can communicate with a web server to deliver a website. The protocol defines how all of that information should be formatted and transmitted. Now, HTTP was designed to transfer all of that information openly in plain text. It’s essentially a postcard. Your message is visible to anyone who handles that postcard or anyone who finds a way to take a look at that postcard before it arrives at the destination. If you want something to be secure, you need to hide the contents, and that’s where the S comes from.HTTP
It means secure. It does the same thing, it just encrypts the information before transmitting any messages. Essentially, it’s going to put your contents in a secure envelope that only the intended recipient can open. And additionally, HTTPS comes with authenticity. So you need an SSL certificate to not only create that encryption, essentially secure that package, but also to prove that the website is who it says it is and nobody is impersonating it in an attempt to intercept that message.SEO Advantages of Migrating to HTTPS
You should be protecting all of your sites with HTTPS. Not only does it enhance security, but it is also a ranking factor for Google and the modern Chrome browser issues a warning to users for sites that aren’t on HTTPS.Now, setting up HTTPS is going to vary from host to host. Some come with it built-in out of the box, others require that you find and secure your own SSL certificate, but it’s worth the effort and I encourage you to evaluate how to set it up on your site if you haven’t already.
