Google have announced this week that July 2018 will be the deadline for ensuring all websites are secure. From July 2018, Google Chrome will rank your website based on having this security, and also alert users to unsecure websites for those that don’t. This may or may not be on your radar, but does your website have https:// rather than http://? If yes, then you’ve got nothing to worry about! If not, you might want to look at getting that sorted.
What is HTTPS?
It stands for HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL SECURE – it makes your website secure and protects your users data.
What are Google going to do?
Google have now announced that from July 2018, their internet browser Chrome will begin explicitly warning users if a site is flagged up as insecure (so not having HTTPS). This may put users off visiting your site altogether, and did you know that more than 50% of internet browsers worldwide are Chrome? In the UK, figures state around 40% of users use Chrome.
With Google giving warnings that websites aren’t secure, we expect visitors to instantly go back to the search, which will mean increased bounce rates and negative impacts on enquiries and sales.
Google are also looking to change their ranking algorithms on Chrome, supporting websites that are secure over those that aren’t. As of yet, no one is quite sure how much weight this will have, but in the highly competative world of SEO, it’s certainly something to bear in mind.
What can I do?
Our latest website launches have come with included secure certificates for free, as part of the hosting packages. Get in touch with us if you’d like to upgrade your hosting package to include the secure certificate, or move to our servers for the free bonus!