We’ve now reached a tipping point as the web moves from http (non-secure transmission) to https (secure transmission). Over half of the web is now encrypted meaning that if your site is not protected by a SSL/TLS certificate, you’re the exception rather than the norm.
There are big advantages for your business when you move to HTTPS:
- Increases user trust (privacy concerns)
- Faster loading times (if coupled with HTTP/2)
- Possible increases in SEO ranking
Is your site already secure? It’s simple to check your site:
- Enter https://yourwebsiteaddress into Google Chrome
- Look at the icon to the left of the website address
If you are not secure, then you can follow these high level steps to move your site from http to https:
- Get cert from Lets Encrypt
- Install and enable cert for your website
- Install and enable certificate auto renewals with certbot
- Add server-side 301 redirect so all http traffic goes to https
- Verify website pages work as expected
- Fix mixed-content errors
- Add HSTS header to save browsers redirecting
- Add new https URL in Google Search Console
If you need any help moving your site to HTTPS, please email me.
Glen Scott
I’m a freelance software developer with 18 years’ professional experience in web development. I specialise in creating tailor-made, web-based systems that can help your business run like clockwork. I am the Managing Director of Yellow Square Development.
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