For many years, the standard cryptographic protocol used for internet security was the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). In 1999, it was replaced by Transport Layer Security (TLS). However, this technology was still referred to as SSL.
SSL provides secure channels between two devices or machines operating over an internal network or the internet. An example of this is the use of SSL to secure internet communications that turns a site’s address into HTTPS from HTTP. The ‘S’ that was added stands for ‘Secure.’
Every website needs to be protected by one form of SSL or the other. It doesn’t matter if it is not an eCommerce website or doesn’t capture user data. Website owners must switch to HTTPS, and it has a lot of benefits to it too.
Why Https is Important?
1. Security
Security is the primary benefit that HTTPS adds to your website. Websites that use HTTPS are protected against MitM (man-in-the-middle) attacks resulting from insecure and compromised networks. Hackers use this technique to capture sensitive information about website users.
The implementation of SSL on a website secures all data transmitted between the browser and server as the user interacts with the website. This is important for data protection, especially given the GDPR legislation surrounding the protection of personal data.
2. Confidence
Every secure website has a green padlock that appears at the URL box, and this gives the website users some confidence and peace of mind. They trust the website and the safety of their information on the website. This can help eCommerce sites make more conversions and make customers more loyal.
3. SEO value
Websites that use HTTPS have an obvious advantage over those that don’t use it for search engine ranking, according to Google. So, if two websites have the same quality and equal in all aspects, but one uses HTTPS and the other uses HTTP, Google will prefer the one with HTTPS. Google prioritizes secure sites. It gives these websites an advantage over other insecure websites.
3. Mobile technology
The world is switching to mobiles, and website design is also tilting towards mobile-friendly websites. In addition, mobile-friendly websites have faster load speed which is an essential factor in SEO.
Google AMP was created to make a website load faster on mobile devices and make them more prominent on search results. However, AMP only works on websites that use HTTPS.
Benefits of Https Certificate
The benefits and importance of HTTPS to your website are numerous. However, the few mentioned in this article are convincing enough. So, if your website does not use HTTPS, you must switch. Follow these steps to change your website to HTTPS.
1. Choose an SSL certificate.
HTTPS uses the SSL protocol, so your website must have an SSL certificate before using HTTPS. SSL certificates come in three types:
- Domain validation: this is the most basic and cheapest one. It only covers encryption.
- Organization validation: this is more expensive and also covers authentication. If your website collects personal data, then this is the least option you should go for.
- Extended validation: this is the best and the most expensive one. It gives all-around security for HTTPS. It is used mainly by big websites that collect crucial private data.If you’re going for the organization validation certificate, you should keep in mind that google recommends the 2048-bit encryption certificate.
2. Build another URL map for your website and redirect
If your website is https://www.bloggersneed.com, you need to create another URL with HTTPS, i.e., https://www.bloggersneeed.com. This is because you are making copies of your website pages and redirecting them from the old “HTTP” to the new “HTTPS” website.
3. Update your site’s internal links
This is an essential part of the linking. You are most likely going to have numerous internal links scattered throughout your website, and they are all still pointing to the former “HTTP” pages. You must update these links so that they now point to the new “HTTPS” pages.
If your website already uses the relative URLs, then you are lucky. The relative URL doesn’t specify an URL. Instead, they tell the browser to include something after the domain.
So, if you have a link on your website that led to the old HTTP page before you switched to HTTPS, the moment you make the switch, that same link would lead directly to the new HTTPS page. However, if your website wasn’t built with the relative URL and used absolute links instead, you must find all the internal links and change them to the new URL.
4. Update other links and images
It is not enough to update your internal links. Other resources need to be updated, too, such as scripts, stylesheets, and images. In addition, after switching to HTTPS, it is essential that all the files and resources on your website be HTTPS too.
5. Re-add your website to WMT
Now you have a new HTTPS website; you must make sure that Google crawls it quickly. This will reduce the chances of negatively affecting your traffic. Next, you must add your website to the Google webmaster tool again as you have a new website. Next, submit the new sitemap in the listing. Lastly, resubmit the old sitemap in the former WMT property.
Why Https: Conclusion
In conclusion, https is an important security protocol that should be used whenever possible to protect sensitive information. While it may not be perfect, it is still the best option available for most users. In order to stay safe online, everyone should make sure they are using https whenever possible.
It is vital to switch to HTTPS because of its benefits. After completing the switch, ensure to test the website to see that everything is perfect.
Hi Elizza,
Great content!
Thank you for sharing this useful information. I can now get a clear understanding of how important it is to switch to HTTPS. It helped me to explain confidently to my client too.