Why SSL is important? By now you’re likely to have heard the buzz about SSL and website security. In case you missed it, in July 2018, Google Chrome started alerting site visitors that a website isn’t secure if
it doesn’t have an HTTPS connection. This created a lot of panic for website owners because visitors are highly likely to leave your website out of fear. Even worse, they won’t purchase if
you have an eCommerce business.
To help ease this burden, HostGator now offers free SSL certificates for all customers. They’ll
even help you install it on your website so you can be secure and back to business quickly. They
want to make sure that you and your audience know about this free offering from HostGator and
how to install it.
There are many reasons that SSL is important for your customers, but be sure to activate SSL
to improve your Google search rankings. The free SSL will be credited to your account, but
you must complete a few steps to activate it on your website and force https.
The Background on the Google Chrome Update…
In July 2018, Google Chrome released a browser security update that may change the way your
website shows up online. In order to provide visitors with a more safe and secure browsing
experience, Google Chrome now alerts site visitors that a site isn’t secure if it doesn’t have an
HTTPS connection.
What is HTTPS and SSL…
SSL (short for secure sockets layer) is the certificate that encrypts communications between the
server and the person visiting your website. In order to use SSL, you need to have an SSL
Certificate installed on your server. Once installed, your web address will change from http:// to
https:// to indicate that your website is secure.
You’ve probably noticed sites that have a secure “lock” icon in the upper left-hand corner of the
search bar. It will look like this:
Why SSL is important?
The SSL indicates that your site is secure and can be trusted to safely process information
such as contact information, credit cards, and billing address. HTTPS can be incredibly valuable
for your site as it creates a secure channel between the browser and the website. A secure
connection is a must-have for sites that process personal information like an eCommerce
website.
At one point, Google Chrome entirely grayed out your website and made visitors accept the risk
of loading your website. Luckily, the July Chrome update was a little milder than expected. But,
if your site is not secure, visitors will see a “not secure” notice next to your website address and
a pop-up option that indicates “you should not enter any sensitive information on this website
such as passwords or credit cards because it could be stolen by attackers.”
In addition, Google will likely give search engine ranking preference to websites with SSL
installed and https activated. What does that mean? If you don’t have SSL on your website, your
site may appear lower in Google search rankings, and more secure websites will rank higher
than yours.
How can I avoid a security warning?
The only way to avoid this warning is to install an SSL certificate. To help ease this burden, all
HostGator customers receive a free SSL certificate that is recognized and trusted by 99.9% of
browsers and devices. By having this certificate, you will avoid a ‘not secure’ warnings when
people visit your site. We also have paid SSL options for customers looking for additional
features from their SSL certificate.
Thank you very much for reading Why SSL is important, hopefully useful.
