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Website security is not just for online stores anymore, the truth is that all websites will benefit from being secured.
If you have a website, run an online store, e-commerce website, you will obviously want to ensure customers that the information they give you on your website including sensitive information is handled securely.
**HTTPS** stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. It's an extension of **HTTP**, the protocol used for transferring data over the web. The major difference is that HTTPS uses encryption protocols to ensure that all communication between the browser and the website is secure. This encryption protects sensitive data such as passwords, credit card numbers, and personal details from being intercepted during transmission. While HTTP transmits data in plain text, **HTTPS uses SSL/TLS certificates** (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) to encrypt the connection, making it safe from hackers, data thieves, and third parties.
Google actually recommends this for all websites as a way to authenticate that the information on that site is secure and coming from that company and is not someone trying to spoof the site somehow. As such, Google is now rewarding sites that do use an SSL certificate. Which is yet another reason on top of improved Security to add this to your website.
Key Benefits of SSL Certificates:
To secure any Internet transmission, your website will need to use Hypertext Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer. SSL and HTTPS for short is a protocol to transfer encrypted data over the Web. When someone sends you data of any kind, sensitive other otherwise, HTTPS keeps that transmission secure.
There are two primary differences between an HTTPS and an HTTP connection:
Most customers of online stores know that they should look for the HTTPS in the URL and to seek out the lock icon in their browser when they are making a transaction. If your storefront is not using HTTPS, you will lose customers, and you will also possibly open yourself and your company up to serious liability should your lack of security compromise someone's private data.
As mentioned above, your Browser by way of HTTP protocol sends the data collected over the Internet in plain text. This means that if you have a page asking for a credit card numbers, that credit card number can be intercepted by anyone with a packet sniffer. There are many free sniffer software tools available and can be done by anyone with very little experience or training.
Implementing HTTPS is more than just about securing your data. It also serves as a proof of identity. This verification is provided through an SSL certificate.
There are only a few things you need in order to host secure pages on your website:
If you are not sure about using HTTPS, you should contact your web hosting provider. They will be able to tell you if you can use HTTPS on your website. In some cases, if you are using a very low-cost hosting provider, you may need to switch hosting companies or upgrade the service in order to get the SSL protection you require.
If this is the case, make the change. The benefits of using SSL are worth the added trouble of an improved hosting environment.
Once that is set up, you can start building your Web pages. These pages can be built the same way that other pages are, you just need to make sure you link to HTTPS instead of HTTP if you are using any absolute link paths on your site to other pages.
If you already have a website that was built for HTTP and you have now changed to HTTPS, you should be all set as well. Just check the links to make sure any absolute paths are updated, including paths to image files or other external resources like CSS files, JS scripts or other documents.
Once you've installed your SSL certificate and your website is securely running on HTTPS, it’s crucial to ensure that every aspect of your website is aligned with the new secure protocol. This includes updating internal links, resources, and setting up automatic redirects from HTTP to HTTPS. Here's why and how to do it effectively:
Update All Internal Links to HTTPS
Correct All Mixed Content Issues
Updating Scripts and Images
Set Up 301 Redirects from HTTP to HTTPS
Using .htaccess (Apache)
If your server uses Apache, you can add the following code to your .htaccess file to force the redirect from HTTP to HTTPS:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
Point all forms to the HTTPS URL. Whenever you link to Web forms on your website, get in the habit of linking to them with the full server URL, including the https:// designation. This will ensure that they are always secured.
Use relative paths to images on secured pages. If you use a full path such as (http://www...) for your images. And those images are not on the secure server. You will receive HTTPS Warning, or error messages saying Insecure data found. This can be disconcerting. Most Browsers will issue an "Unsafe Website Warning" and many people will go elsewhere.
If you use relative paths, your images will load from the same secure server as the rest of the page.
Example of a Relative Path
<img src="images/picture.jpg">
Example of an absolute path
<img src="https://www.rshweb.com/images/picture.jpg">
The benefits of running an SSL certificates for your business or personal websites are incredible, and most web hosting providers have them pre-installed.
Do not miss out of the advantages of HTTPS security. Add that extra layer of security for your website visitors and gain their trust.
By adopting HTTPS, you’re not just protecting your site; you’re also giving yourself a competitive edge in an increasingly digital world. Whether you run a small blog or an e-commerce giant, the benefits of HTTPS are undeniable. Take action today, secure your site, and start reaping the rewards of better rankings, higher conversion rates, and more satisfied customers.
Whether you are running a small blog or a large-scale online store, investing in HTTPS and SSL is one of the most important steps you can take for the future of your website.
A professional with extensive international copy-writing experience, specializing in crafting compelling content for various industries. As a skilled presentation coach, he has helped numerous...
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Comments (1)
Excellent breakdown on why HTTPS is essential for websites, As a small business owner with an e-commerce site, the tips on fixing mixed content and setting up 301 redirects via .htaccess were a lifesaver; I just implemented them and saw the HTTPS padlock appear without warnings. The Google ranking boost mention is spot on, linking to those SEO sources, our traffic's up already. For SSL providers, we went with a free one from Let's Encrypt, but curious: What's the best affordable paid option for small sites? Anyone dealt with common mistakes like absolute HTTP links? Thanks for the practical guide