Due to a decision made by Google in September 2017, websites without HTTPS certificate will show on the Google Chrome browser as being insecure in a website’s address bar. This decision has been effective since mid 2018. The only way to prevent sites from being marked as “not secure” is to install HTTPS certificate on your website. As of July 2018 Google has disclosed how they will alert web surfers of the non-HTTPS status, or not secure. Sites that remain on the HTTP non-secure protocol will be flagged with a warning in the URL bar of the surfer’s browser.

For a while now, Google has wanted the use of HTTPS to to protect a user’s data from people who might be seeing their web traffic. According to Google in February 2018, 81% of the top 100 websites used HTTPS at the time. Google chose to display connection as not secure because there is no protection between what you and spies can view. A website that is not encrypted with HTTPS can be tampered with by outsiders.

It used to be that only sensitive websites such as ones owned by banks and e-commerce companies had HTTPS. In the past, HTTPS cost a lot of money to use, HTTPS was slower than HTTP connections, and most websites used HTTP. Companies such as Google have wanted to move all websites to HTTPS for several years now to protect people on the internet. HTTPS is now much faster and not as slow as it once was. Now it is even more important because HTTP websites will be marked as not secure which can easily lead traffic away and affect search results in the Google and other search engines.

Transitioning a website to use HTTPS can be easy for some websites, but it can be hard to do for some existing websites. HTTP websites are generally considered to not be secure which is why Google is pushing for them to be marked as not secure. No matter what type of website it is, a HTTPS certificate is needed. If HTTPS is not used, a hacker could steal a user’s information such as numbers from credit cards. Google has the one of the most used web browsers in the world so a website being marked as not secure can easily drive many people away from the website. There are hosting providers that will issue HTTPS certificate for a website for free as a way to get you to join them. Other companies will take advantage of website owners and charge an outrageous fee to issue a HTTPS certificate. Website owners should shop around for the best deal to avoid being taken advantage of. HTTPS improves security and privacy for home home networks and public wireless connections.

Why are Google SSL Requirements Important?

• Establishes Trust and Builds Brand Power
• Provides Encryption of Sensitive Information
• Provides Authentication
• Will adversely affect your SEO if it does not follow the protocol