How do you know if a website is secure? It’s easy to tell. You can check the URL address for the cute little “S” at the end of the HTTP and the padlock icon next to it.
HTTP stands for “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.”
HTTPS is Hyper Text Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
It’s important to pay attention to whether a site is secure or not because if it has it, the connection is safe and your personal information as well as the data you enter into the site, such as personal contact information, credit card numbers, etc. are not accessible to unauthorized users–but if it doesn’t, your session isn’t secure and your private information is vulnerable to hackers.
It’s okay to visit websites that are not secure, but be careful about entering any information about yourself on these sites. Consider using Google Chrome’s HTTPS Everywhere Extension, which automatically makes your connection with any website more secure, though it’s no substitute for an SSL connection.
You can probably see where I’m going with this. If a website you own doesn’t have an SSL Certificate, you need to giddy-up and get it. Your hosting company (Hint: we know a good one!) can help you set up the certificate on your website. You don’t necessarily need to have a dedicated IP address to use SSL Certificates, but getting it set up could be part of a hosting package upgrade. You will have to buy the SSL Certificate, which could cost around $65 per year.
The bonus of adding HTTPS encryption to your website is that Google rewards sites that have this extra layer of security with a boost in search rankings. It’s one of Google’s many SEO ranking signals.
Pro Tip: Once you have successfully upgraded your website to HTTPS, you will want to update your Webmaster Tools website address so you can get accurate information about your site.
*This post originally appeared on the nethosting.com blog.
The food brands
Useful post, but it’s not so easy to transfer website from http to https
Great Content! I would strongly recommend using https to find much more benifits in SEO which will give you better results in SERP. Thanks for sharing such a valuable content.
Quite informative! Very well explained about the difference between HTTP and HTTPS
Good
This is a great piece of valuable information. Thanks for sharing.
Nice information thank you for sharing..
HTTP VS HTTPS. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The ‘S’ at the end of HTTPS stands for ‘Secure’. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted.
This is very informative for people having some issues between HTTP and HTTPS settings on website. I personally advice to use HTTPS but some blog sites often prefer HTTP access for a more wider range of audience.