Google's Latest update aims to change security measures and this is how it will affect your website

Google has updated their Chrome Web Browser that will let the visitors know that they have landed on a website that is not secure or not. This update will create more awareness among the website owners that need to implement strong security measures. Looking at these changes there will be also other web browsers that will implement these measures to eliminate and minimize the online threats. 

Online threats are increasing and the concern for security is been shooting skyrocket so Google has taken the first step in eliminating this. But with such changes that are being implemented your website will be affected if you don’t take action over this matter soon. 

Customers are now being aware of the importance of security measure and they won’t be comfortable doing a transaction or even just simply browsing on a website that is not secure. Google has prioritized this move to a certain level by determining the website’s search engine ranking depending on the security measure of the website. This means that no matter how great your website or the content is but if it doesn't have any security measure such as SSL certificate or HTTPS then your SEO ranking will be affected. Your website will be at the bottom and this will decrease the number of users that you receive. Basically, this will disrupt your online business set up and your customer base.

What will happen with the new update by Google?

The Google Chrome browser version 68 will release in July and with this, the users will come to know that the website that they are visiting is not encrypting the traffic by showing ‘Not Secure’ message on the URL tab. 

When the customer comes across such website that is not secure then they are most likely to avoid entering such website to make any purchases or signing up for a newsletter. The customers now also look out for another sign to check the website authenticity by looking at the URL tab to see whether there is HTTPS at the start of the URL or no. The website that is secured with https will be seen as (https://www.hostindia.net/) and if it is not secured with https then it will be simply written www.hostindia.net. The other downfall of not having an SSL certificate and HTTPS will be that your website will not be favored in the Google Search Engine Ranking. This will affect the amount of traffic that you expect to receive with your website being at the bottom of the Search Engine list. 

How can I make my Website Secure?

You can opt for an SSL certificate which is a standard security technology for encrypting the link between the web server and the browser. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer that will make your website more secure for browsing. A web server stores, process and delivers the web pages to the clients and web browser is a medium where the customers can view the website from their devices. The Web Server and Web Browser work together to deliver the contents of the website. Thus, there is a need to keep the link between the interaction between the web server and the web pages secure and that is what SSL certificate do to keep the browsing more secure. It encrypts the link so that the hackers won’t be able to infiltrate the information that transitions from the browser and the server. This creates the confidence and the trust between the customer and the company so that they can securely browse through your website without any worry of any online threats. 

With the seriousness of the online threats that is affecting many website owners and visitors, Lets Encrypt offer free SSL certificates for basic protection of your website.  You can read this article here about how Let's Encrypt is providing free SSL certificates.

Importance of Encryption:

A website without an SSL certificate is a house with no lock because when information that are passing through the web server to the web pages are at a greater risk. That information can be stolen, misused or exploited so to prevent that website should implement SSL certificate and HTTPS. SSL certificate can benefit your business in many ways by improving the trust, quality, security and SEO ranking of your website. Encrypting your website will not only protect your website from any harm but it will also protect your customer's interest. 

Step by Step Guide in Switching Website to HTTPS

Earlier not many had an idea about online security so there were many people who took risk in storing their data and information on the website. When online payment gateway was introduced it wasn't so secure but there were some people who had partaken in such activity had faced heavy loss. At the start when the online world was introduced, the traditional modes of working, sharing and communication methods changed but even though if there was evolution, it had come at a certain risk. But if we discuss the online world now we can for sure say that it is far more secure than before. 

Online Security has become a Priority now and to make the website secure you need to switch to the HTTPS web hosting solution. You will need to use a SSL Certificate which stands for Secure Sockets Layer which will be the way of building an encrypted link between the web server and the computer browsing.  

Why adopt HTTPS?

HTTPS secures your website from the Online Threats and hackers. A website that has a small padlock on the browser bar is said to be secure or you can also choose a green browser bar but that will depend on the type of the certificate that you will be choosing. Apart from being a security consideration HTTPS is also encouraged by the Google for ranking factor. Google wants the website owners to have an HTTPS so that the browsing experience becomes more secure for everyday users. A website that has HTTPS will be taken into consideration by Google when it comes to Search Engine Ranking Factor. 

Types of SSL Certificate:

Domain SSL - 

Domain SSL Certificate is the most popular SSL. Browser Padlock and Domain Name will appear in the browser bar. It is low cost and instantly issued because there is now paperwork so you have to not wait but it is only limited to one domain. 

Wildcard SSL – 

With WildCard SSL it is same as Domain SSL but it can be extended to the subdomain of the Domain. 

Organizational SSL –

It is expensive SSL type where domain ownership and Company Verification is required. It is issued in 1 to 2 business days. With Organizational SSL the Browser Padlock will show with the domain name and the company name in the browser bar.

Extended SSL – 

This is the most expensive type of SSL but it comes also with distinctive benefits where a green browser bar will shop up with the company name in the browser bar.

SSL Certificate can be purchased from the hosting company but it will depend on you whether you want to have a website with www. or without www. which will be according to your personal preference and requirement. 

First, plan an order of the SSL Certificate that you wish to install and then you will receive an email asking your confirmation that you approve the SSL Certificate for your website. After you approve the mail your host will then provide you with a dedicated IP address and will install the certificate for you. 

As you are moving to the HTTPS make sure that you do a full back up of your website. You need to also reflect HTTPS on your internal links so that when people are trying to find out your other pages on your website it shouldn't show 404 error (file not found). 

If you have a big website and thousands of pages then worry not because there are tools that can help you with this procedure very quickly. External Links can also be changed to the HTTPS but if it is not under your control then worry not because you can later make changes and meanwhile the HTTP traffic can be redirected to the HTTPS. 

Tools and the code libraries will be required to be changed for the users who have complex and larger websites. Implementing 301 redirects will be a smart decision because 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that enables the HTTP traffic to be sent over to the HTTPS. 

"If you have a Content Delivery Network then you should let your host support team know about your switch to the HTTPS so that they can update the Content Delivery Network."

If you are using Third Party Tools and transactional Emails then you should ensure that you update all the links with the current HTTPS link. Anyway, the HTTP links will be forwarded to the main link but it will be more professional if you update these links so that it will be a smooth browsing experience. 

If your website is using the Google Search Console and Google Analytics then make sure that you update it by just setting the default URL to HTTPS. If your website has a landing page setup then the 301 redirect will automatically update it but its better you double check just to be sure. 

Switching the Website to HTTPS may need some time and some procedure to be performed but looking on the brighter side you will be saving your website from hackers and online threats. 

People are also becoming aware of the importance of HTTPS so now is the time where in the future it may become compulsion for every website to have HTTPS so that no one have to compromise with the security protocols of the website. There are different types of SSL in the market varying from the usage and features that it will provide. Choose a Web Host that will install the SSL certificate with you and provide 24/7 technical support team.

Wondering why do we need SSL certificate for our website, here's the answer..!

       

   SSL(Secure Socket Layer) certificate is nothing but the 128- bit encryption, the method of securing your website for your valuable customers.  A large percentage of internet users leave websites when asked to provide any information about themselves, simply because the website was not a secure website.

Security and SSL certificate

There is no better way of building users' trust than by enabling SSL and getting it installed for your website.

If you are transmitting sensitive information on a website, such as credit card numbers or personal information, you need to secure it with SSL Encryption. 

It is possible for others ( I call them, hackers) to see every piece of data unless it is secured by an SSL certificate.
Thinking from a customer's perspective, I will always choose to browse a site or purchase from it only if it keeps my account information safe.
Now returning back to answering your question, To find out if you need an SSL certificate for your site or not.

Now let's focus on these points:

• Is my site an e-commerce site that collects credit card information from its customers?

Frankly speaking, if your answer is yes, then HURRY..! you might be loosing a valuable customer right this second! More and more customers are becoming online shoppers and won’t buy from you if you don’t have an SSL certificate installed.

Your customers are providing you with very important and personal information that allows access to their hard earned money. If an identity thief gets access to your customer’s credit card information because you didn’t take the necessary precautions, it can be devastating to you and to your customers.

• Do I use a 3rd party payment processor?

This is very easy if you forward your customers to a third party payment processor (eg. PayPal) then it's not mandatory to get the SSL certificate installation. Still, security has its prime value and there is no loss in a little extra precaution.

Here you have to know it for certain that you or your site has no payment authentication, you just redirect your customers to the third party. The address bar should not display your domain registration name on the payment gateway page.

But on the other hand, if you accept the credit card information on your site itself, you definitely need an SSL certificate. There is no negotiation on this point.

• Do I have a login form?

Login form where you ask your customers to enter their username and password to log-in to a specific page, and when you are not using an SSL certificate, any attacker can hack their password. It is well known that users have same passwords for different accounts, thus an attacker can potentially compromise many other accounts.

If you let people store a password with you, you must take responsibility for protecting it, even if the security of your own site isn't critical.

• Where do I purchase an SSL certificate?

Great! So you’re now sure that you need SSL for your e-commerce or another type of site. How do you know what type of certificate to purchase?

All the SSL certificates provide you with the security of the confidential information, by providing you with 128-bit encryption and 256 bit SSL encryption strength.  It secures your domain name from any potential threat. over the years the use of SSL certificate has dramatically increased. Some companies simply need SSL for confidentiality i.e encryption. And some others need it to grow their customers trust them.

You can check SSL certificate feature and pricing for more details.

Purchasing of SSL depends on your business requirement.

1. Extended Validation certificate:

Validation has simple meaning that your SSL provider does a background check on your company, it validates the following things:

• Verifying the legal, physical and operational existence of the entity.
• Verifying that the identity of the entity matches official records.
• Verifying that the entity has exclusive right to use the domain specified in the EV SSL   Certificate (Extended validation)
• Verifying that the entity has properly authorized the issuance of the EV SSL Certificate.

                    If you have business sites with number of domains, or You are an E-commerce site and while your users enter a username and password to access your site, and you accept card payments, in this scenario you need the highest security level SSL, it's called the extended SSL certificate it gives a green bar to you web address. Yeah, customers notice that green bar, trust me!

2. Organizational SSL Certificate:

•  Where the certificate authority checks right of the applicant to use a specific domain name also it conducts some examination of the organization.

• Many business sites have the requirement of single SSL certificate to all of their subdomains (eg. info., systems.), for this, they can use wildcard SSL or say shared SSL service, it's provided in the organizational SSL certificate category.

• Shared SSL can be used to avoid the need for purchasing an SSL certificate. The shared certificate does not use your domain name. The server host name is used in addition to the cPanel username to allow a secure connection to happen.

3. The AplhaSSL and DomainSSL: 

•  Are the basic and powerful SSL certificates. Where the CA(certificate authority) checks the right of the applicant to use a specific domain name.

•  No company identity information is vetted and no information is displayed other than encryption information within the Secure Site Seal. It can be used as per your business requirement.

•   It's on you to decide to have an SSL certificate or not, but after knowing that the internet is continuously battling with security threats it's wiser to go with a security protection option rather running without any. Because it's our service that matters in the business most. 

               If you are satisfied with the above answer do not forget to leave a reply,  in the case of any doubts or queries feel free to ask.

 -P.S