Google’s Security Team recently published this article, which explains how Google is slowly beginning to limit access to insecure websites in the form of a warning to your website’s visitors (screenshot below). This warning is daunting and could potentially deter visitors from continuing to your website. In order to secure your website we must encrypt all of the data that is coming to and going from your website’s server. We do this by installing an SSL Certificate. Below is a real world example of how an SSL Certificate works.

Here is a real world example of how an SSL Certificate works.John Doe visits your website and fills out a contact form to inquire about your services. He enters his phone number and email address and submits the form, which transmits his personal information from his computer to your website’s server. Without an SSL Certificate, John’s data is not encrypted and vulnerable to anyone/anything that is “eavesdropping” on the transmission. With an SSL Certificate, John’s data will be encrypted. For example, John’s email address, john.doe@gmail.com will be transmitted as 6hvpxJXQMNEhLkZxgYLqWF thus mitigating any risks of John’s personal information being stolen.

HTTPS is faster + more secure than HTTP