The latest updates to Google Chrome will soon show websites using HTTP as ‘Not Secure’. The new version of the web browser, Chrome 68, will be rolled out by the end of July.
Chrome 68 will contain a fundamental change to the way that people see the web – any website not using HTTPS will show “Not Secure” in front of the URL, where you would typically expect to see a green padlock and “Secure” for a website that does use HTTPS.
This will become even more apparent in September when Chrome 69 removes the green “Secure” text altogether and will just highlight when a website is not using HTTPS.
Why Having A Secure Website Is Important
There are many reasons that using HTTPS on your website is A Good Idea™.
The main reason, and perhaps the most obvious, is that it greatly increases the security of your website for your users. It prevents outside parties from interfering with the content of your website (something that happens disturbingly often!) and also shows your users that you care about their data. Even if you’re not collecting any sort of data or taking online payments, having HTTPS instils confidence in your users which is, of course, very important!
By enabling HTTPS you also indicate to search engines, Google in particular, that your website is secure. This is becoming increasingly important for SEO and can improve your rankings.
The past 12 months have seen big pushes to increase the prevalence of HTTPS on websites, with the idea that eventually all websites will use HTTPS – so why not stay ahead of the pack and update sooner rather than later?
If you need to update to HTTPS and secure your website, speak to our web developers today who will be happy to help.
