Ever seen that green lock that appears to the left of your browser’s URL?

Yes, that’s the one. Most likely, you’ve seen it as you causally browse the internet, or even check in on your own website. It’s there, it’s showing “secure” and you’ve never given it a second thought. But this secure layer for your website (an SSL) should no longer be an optional addition. Having an SSL, and ensuring you have HTTPS versus HTTP at the start of your URL, is an urgent matter to address.

Google is now confirming your website is a secure resource for your customers and clients.

SSLs are not just for eCommerce websites anymore.

And, what’s more, it’s a Google ranking factor for all sites across the internet. 

So…what happens when your website isn’t secured with an SSL in Google’s eyes?

Ouch. That’s not good.

We’ve been seeing this coming for some time, but it is imperative now more than ever. If you want your website to securely share data with your customers and rank well in Google, you must get an SSL added to your website.

What does SSL / HTTPS mean?

HTTPS signals to both browser and user that all data being sent between the webpage and the server is encrypted, and secure. If someone were to intercept data from a HTTP site, they would get the data whole. So, if that data was an email address, the hacker has stolen an email address. If it was a credit card number—well, you get the point. But if the text was encryped, the information would be useless. For example, the phrase “let’s see what encryption does,” when encryped reads “VgpFO/Ogg/Wf?p/gzmxItpD0z/E0gO.”

If your site collects user information (which most of them do), it makes sense why encryption is so often recommended.

3 Reasons Why You Need an SSL Today

It Makes Your Website Data Secure

The most important (and most obvious) reason you should consider switching to HTTPS is because it makes the sharing of data secure on your website. No matter what data is shared from email to credit card information or social security numbers, all data you have users share on your website should be securely shared to give your users peace of mind.

It’s a Google Ranking Factor

The fact is, you can’t have a website and ignore Google. For better or for worse, Google brute-forces web trends because it holds the key to much of the world’s web traffic (40,000 searches a second, anyone?). And, with the addition of having (or not having) an SSL to the Google ranking factors. Your site ranking will be at risk if you don’t take the proper precautions to secure the data you are sharing.

It’s Now an Internet Standard

No matter if you use your website to sell products or to act as a brochure to pique the interest of potential customers, your website will be flagged if you do not secure your sebsite with an SSL. Any sort of online transaction (purchase, email sign up, etc.) requires a great amount of trust on the user’s part, which is why Google specifically flags sites without encryption on their payment page with a warning sign. It looks like this:

If someone had planned to make a purchase or contact you, they certainly won’t after seeing that.

We Can Setup an SSL on Your Site for You

The actual process of implementing HTTPS on your website can be difficult if you don’t have a professional on the job (if it’s done incorrectly, it will completely break your site). However, you are not in this alone. We have an entire team of experienced developers and web designers trained professionals ready to implement an SSL on your site, you just need to call us and we’ll take care of it. 

Check out our complete range of web hosting and security capabilities:

Additional Reading

If we haven’t convinced you, check out this article/website titled DoesMySiteHTTPS.com. It goes into the subject in much greater detail, but the bottom line is the same: everyone should use https.
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