As of the end of October 2017, the web browser Google Chrome will start to mark http websites with forms, search boxes or any kind of input sections as ‘not secure’.
If you still haven’t implemented SSL Certificate on your website, this is a great reason for you to make this a top priority. Read more about SSL Certificate here.
The change towards more secure (encrypted) websites has been on-going for quite a while – and Google has been one of the key players in terms of driving this development forward.
In 2014, Google declared on their webmaster blog that https was a (lightweight) ranking signal for the search index.
In the last couple of years, Google has been setting stricter criteria for websites in need of SSL Certificates, pushing the ’encrypted web‘ even further. From the get-go, it was primarily websites with passwords and credit card fields that were at risk of being flagged if they did not use SSL Certificates. As of October 2017, all websites with any kind on input sections need to have https in order to not risk being flagged or marked as ‘not secure’ in the search results or in the URL bar.
So what does SSL Certificates do, besides increasing our websites status in the eyes of Google? It prevents phishing and/or other type of hijacking of information from third-parties, making web browsing more secure. It also increases customer trust. Read more about SSL Certificates here.
The forthcoming changes in October tell us that SSL Certificates are no longer a ‘nice to have’, it is a ‘need to have’ for website owners.
Author: Peter Leidehorn, Dotkeeper
Want to know more about SSL Certificates? Please contact Dotkeeper and we will be happy to assist you.