Increase Website Security
Is your website safe? Do your users feel confident in the security of your site?
Over the last couple of years, you’ve probably noticed an increase in the number of websites that have the “padlock” icon that tells users it’s secure with an HTTPS connection.
Remember when it used to be only on e-commerce site? Or when entering highly sensitive information? It’s now becoming standard practice.
Let us explain why.
In addition to the obvious (safer!), the HTTPS connection also has other benefits:
- Increased customer confidence, which of course leads to better business.
- Increased conversions, when customers do what you’re hoping they’ll do by visiting the site.
- Better search engine optimization (SEO).
It’s been well documented that Google is on board with all sites becoming secure, and they announced that it was a ranking signal a couple of years ago. Then, in 2017, they stated that Chrome (Google’s popular browser) would begin to flag sites that aren’t secure by marking the sites with a red triangle and a “Not Secure” label. You can imagine how this might affect traffic and, ultimately, SEO.
As explained in Blue Corona’s “5 Reasons Your Site Should Be HTTPS”, author Chase Wolf explains:
“When users see those red labels, something as simple as entering a name, email, and phone number into a basic lead generation form can cause anxiety and concern for users.”
What can you do if your site isn’t secure?
Thankfully, becoming secure is pretty simple. First, check with your web hosting service. Many offer an option right in your management dashboard to move your site to HTTPS or will provide step-by-step instructions. Alternatively, there are countless articles detailing easy-to-follow steps, like the ones we found on Website Setup or Google Support.
In short, you’ll need to do the following:
- Backup your website.
- Obtain and then implement SSL certificate.
- Secure the back end by adding HTTPS to the administration area of your site.
- Update your site address.
- Update links in your site content and database. Consider a plugin to help with this task!
- Set up redirects to your new version.
- Do an SSL test and, if there are no errors...
- Go live!
Make the change today and avoid any security problems on your site, for your sake and your customers’. What steps have you taken to ensure security on your website? Leave us a comment and share your expertise!
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