Internet is growing at a rapid rate with the passage of time and more numbers of sites and services are being introduced on the internet day by day. So, in such an atmosphere of billions of sites, it is really needed to move to HTTPS now.
Photo by geralt (Pixabay)
Since the major internet giants such as Google and Mozilla have been focusing on safer internet environment now, it is quite interesting to see these effects over many sites.
There is no second thought that Google wants the internet to be more safer place than ever before. Well, this should be. We usually don’t only just hangout on the internet, actually we live on the internet now. Peoples from blogging industry usually stays whole day surfing the internet.
Recently, Google has their HTTPS campaign everywhere on the internet just to show that it considers secured web in its priority list now and thus all webmasters should start migrating to HTTPS now. Being Search Engine giant, HTTPS were even included as a ranking factor as well and started to index secured pages over unsecured ones which had a great impact on SEOs and they started to debate on HTTP and HTTPS.
Google has even written an exclusive guide, “Secure Your Website With HTTPS” which is completely concentrated on HTTPS and its core factors. But, even after so much push of HTTPS recommendation, SEOs are not really taking much interest in it and still major high traffic sites are on HTTP. According to a study, Less than 0.1% of websites are secured.
Well, if you are new to this concept, then let us first clear what actually HTTP and HTTPS are:-
What is HTTP & HTTPS actually?
Before we dive deeper into HTTPS, let’s get a quick understanding of HTTP and HTTPS version of websites.
Well, There are various kinds of protocols which are used in networking and are TCP, IP, UDP, POP, SMTP, HTTP, and FTP protocols. Out of which we only know few, such as FTP and HTTP. Cut the crap, as we are here to discuss more on HTTP and HTTPS so, we will be ignoring the rest and will be discussing about these two only.
HTTP and HTTPS are protocols which are used to surf websites on the internet.
HTTP: HTTP also known as HyperText Transfer Protocol is a simple protocol for sending and receiving text-based messages over the internet.
HTTPS: HTTPS also known as HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure is the same protocol as HTTP, but the text is encrypted. As the name suggests, the protocol is secured and third parties can’t see what’s inside it. Hence, making the site secure from any outer interference.
Why Switch To HTTPS?
Apart from Google ranking boost in search, there are several other reasons behind switching from HTTP as you website protocol. Let’s discuss some of the major reasons:-
- Having secured Hypertext Transfer Protocol certificate on your site ensures three key layers of protection of data as it is secured via Transport Layer Security protocol also known as TLS.
- Encryption– Keep the data secured from eavesdroppers. This helps in ensuring privacy as nobody can see what is being exchanged between client and server. So while browsing a HTTPS-enabled site, be sure that nobody can steal your information.
- Data Integrity – One of the best feature of secured Hypertext Transfer Protocol is that nobody can never modify or corrupt the data which is sent from server to client, intentionally or otherwise. Recently we have seen such news that AT&T was injecting ads into their hotspots, which is no longer possible on HTTPS enabled pages. So, even if by chance, one succeeds in modifying the data, he will be detected of sure. Hence, It protects against man-in-the-middle attacks and build user trust.
- Google Analytics – What is the problem with Google Analytics? Actually if your site is served at non-HTTPS and you are getting referral traffic from some enabled sites, then it will be considered as Direct Traffic rather than being mentioned as referral traffic. So, moving to HTTPS will help you with the loss of referral data too.
- Trust and Credibility– While moving to secured Hypertext Transfer Protocol, you need an SSL certificate. So, when users will visit your site and see that GREEN PADLOCK in front of your website, it actually puts a nice impression on them that your site is trusted and secured. I mean think about it.
- More Security– The main reason behind using SSL certificate on your site is a mark of trust. Also, if you are running an e-commerce site or other transactional sites, you are actually sharing sensitive information between server and you like credit card details and all that. In such a condition, being an e-commerce company, you will definitely don’t want to harm your customers. So, HTTPS is must for sites which deals in exchange for sensitive data.
- WordPress – If you are blogger, you might have heard of WordPress which is of course a great CMS. Coming to point, suppose you are running a non-HTTP site. During WordPress login, whatever login credentials your provide in order to login, all are sent to server in simple text format, which is much more vulnerable to hacks. So, using HTTPS on WordPress sites is must for security reasons.
Final Thought:
Well, there are lot of debates going to in-between SEO Gurus around the world regarding HTTPS migration. And one of the major reason why SEOs are not switching to HTTPS is that it makes a little delay in site loading hence slowing download loading speed and main reason behind it is poor planning, poor implementation or poor tracking. But if you follow proper steps to switch from HTTP, you will have no problem.
You should keep the fact in mind that migration is being pushed hard by these internet giants like Google and Mozilla and it’s the time to make the switch. There is no doubt, with the expansion of its services, Google have been making HTTPS essential to use for latest services. So, HTTPS is not going anywhere. It’s the time to move to from HTTP.
So, let’s what you have got on your mind about migration now. Let’s discuss here.
Photo by geralt (Pixabay)
