Okay Google, Is My Site Safe? Big Changes to Website Security Warnings You Need to Know

Do you realize any communication or personal information can be made available to anyone in the world when you visit an unencrypted website? Yeah, that’s a lot of eyeballs.

Security is one of, if not the biggest concerns for web users. As we connect more through online and mobile transactions, the number of e-commerce fraud attacks continues to increase. In 2017, there was a more than 30% increase in online related fraud incidents in comparison to 2016. This alarming statistic led Google to give users more information about the security of the websites they visit.

Google is soon changing the way information about website security is displayed on its Chrome browser to let users know when their information is at risk for exposure. Starting in July, Google Chrome will showcase a red warning icon and a “Not secure” label to the left of the URL bar for all websites without security. We can’t blame them though. Without proper security, a user’s information could be compromised and fall into the hands of third parties.

Investing in security lets your users know they can trust your website

Users are increasingly conscious of the dangers of providing any personal details online. To avoid taking away from your user’s overall web experience, you can invest in an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). But like bell-bottoms and pagers, this is out-of-date and should no longer be used. The new standard is TLS (Transport Layer Security), and so if you purchase a security certificate, chances are you’re going to implement TLS. This encryption aims to provide privacy and data integrity between two or more communication computer applications. In other words, it ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser remains private and safe.

Having a secure website can improve Google search rankings

A number of the internet’s major websites still don’t have a form of encryption, potentially exposing their users to hackers. Google recently published a study that tracked the HTTPS state of the top 100 websites on the internet. These 100 sites account for approximately 25% of all website traffic in the world. The study showed that 25 out of these 100 websites still fail to enforce any type of encryption used to protect a user’s privacy. Looks like we’ve got a pretty vulnerable web after all. Here’s another fact: Google actually gives an extra ranking boost to sites that are safe and secure – giving you an edge on a number of the top websites that still fail to provide their users safe and secure internet.

Taking the steps to make sure your website is secure

All in all, one of your top priorities should be giving your website visitors nothing short of a good and comfortable experience. Receiving a security certificate and or encryption should be done before Google rolls out these significant changes. Contact your web server provider to help you get on the road to safe and secure internet.