What To Look For When Hiring A Website Design Company
April 17, 2022
Why Your Website Says Not Secure And How To Fix It
Making sure your website is online and secure is one of the most important aspects when it comes to establishing your presence on the internet. It’s crucial for websites that are just newly made or have been created a long time ago, having a secure connection gives comfort to users entering your site.
Any website that is live and requires any visitor information such as login details, phone numbers, email address etc. or an eCommerce store which requires sensitive information such as card details, you should 100% have security for potential visitors.
A survey done by Real Business found out that people that don’t have a secure website are more likely to lose 46% of people entering your site as they believe it’s dodgy or possibly a scam. If you are running a business we don’t want to lose any potential clients through something as simple as not securing your website.
If you’ve created your website and published it so it’s live but it says that your website is unsafe to enter and has an unsecure connection but your unsure why, through this article we will explain to you why your website is showing up as ‘unsecure’ and how you can make sure website secure once and for all!
Keep reading through to learn more!
What Exactly Does ‘Not Secure’ Mean On Your Website?
On your website if it says on the top left corner an unlocked lock with a ‘not secure’ warning, it can be daunting after all we’ve all backed out of a website when we’ve been warned by our search engine that it’s not secure.
You might be wondering to yourself what exactly does ‘not secure’ website mean? Or ‘how isn’t the information secure on my site?’ These are sound questions that many people wonder and it’s good that you are aware of the security of the site for people entering your website.
Here are some things you should know when your website isn’t secure:
Not Secure Doesn’t Mean ‘Dangerous’
People when entering a site that says ‘not secure’ can often assume the worst, which isn’t bad but not secure doesn’t mean you are going to be hit with a computer virus or your computer will be suddenly hacked by expert hackers in another country.
You don’t have to worry as a ‘not secure’ warning for your website simply means that information stored on your site isn’t secure and that you should not be taking any personal information details on your website.
Websites That Aren’t Secure Rank Lower In Searches
One of the main jobs that search engines such as Google provides is safety to its searchers. There’s many factors search engines take into consideration when ranking your websites from keywords, the number of backlinks you’ve acquired and much more but it also takes in your website security as a ranking factor!
These search engine providers want to give the best searching experience possible so it wants to give them a secure experience and not make them click any potentially dangerous websites.
Use HTTPS For A Secure Website
When a website uses HTTPS, they are secure. Any website that uses a URL of HTTPS, you’ll find that you won’t get a ‘not secure’ warning and users entering won’t have to worry about any personal information getting stolen by any hackers that’s stored on your site.
The most popular websites that are on the internet such as Amazon and Google use HTTPS to show to users that their website is secure and is safe when making any purchases or storing personal information on.
The reason for this is that HTTPS provides encryption which means that nobody will be able to steal information or be tracked. That means any data can’t or won’t be corrupted. Google has always favoured HTTPs more than HTTP sites as it now even shows in the search bar beforehand if your website is not secure before even clicking on it.
How Can I Make My Website Secure?
So now we know a bit more about website security, we can start making your website more secure and make your website more Google friendly to get your site up the rankings. Securing your website could seem like a bit of an effort from the outside but it’s an easy process to get your site secure, we’ll guide you through here.
Install SSL Certificate
One of the first steps in making your website secure, you’ll need to install a SSL Certificate on your website. When installing your SSL, this process will happen in order to provide a secure website to any potential visitors.
- The browser will connect your website and request the server’s identity.
- The browser will then receive the SSL certificate sent by the server.
- It will then determine if the SSL is trustworthy on the browser.
- If the SSL is trustworthy, it will send a message back to the server.
- You will then have a digitally signed document to say it’s trusted.
If you aren’t sure about how to fully install your SSL, you can contact The Wolf Of The Web who are web design experts.
Make Sure That Your External And Internal Links Use HTTPS
This task might sound a bit time consuming but it’s key to ensure the security of your website instead of potentially hurting it. Change all your external and internal links to use HTTPS as we spoke about before earlier in the article.
Verify In Google Search Console
Now that you’ve got your SSL certificate for your website and the main domain is using HTTPS. Make sure that you verify it in the Google Search Console by doing this, you’ll be verified by Google and show up secure in the search bar.
You’ll want to be sure that the preferred domain that you are using is the HTTPS version of your site. Ensuring that the preferred domain is this will give your visitors the most secure version of your site as possible!
Riley Williams is the creative force behind The Wolf Of The Web! With over 100+ websites built across diverse sectors. I believe in crafting eye-catching websites that not only look amazing but also generate more calls, leads, and sales for your business.
