This is why your eCommerce website needs HTTPS encryption right now

19/04/2018

As the owner of an eCommerce store, you know how important it is for your customers to feel safe and protected when using your website and making an order.

Can you imagine how potential customers would feel, if they landed on your website and were presented with an alarming warning sign telling them that your site was unsecure?

From July that’s exactly what will happen, for visitors using Google’s Chrome browser and browsing unencrypted HTTP websites. A ‘Not Secure’ warning will be prominently displayed in Chrome’s URL bar whenever someone visits a site that’s not had an SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate installed and been upgraded from HTTP to encrypted HTTPS.

HTTPS encrypts the data passing between a browser and a server - for example when a visitor sends a message via your site’s contact form, or submits their personal details during an order checkout. This sensitive information is encrypted during transmission, which makes it much harder for criminals to access and steal it.

Google have been advocating for webmasters to move sites to HTTPS encryption for some time. Up until now however, a ‘Your connection to this site is not secure’ message has only appeared when a visitor clicks the ‘I’ (information) symbol in the top left of the browser. From July a ‘Not Secure’ warning will automatically appear without a visitor first having to click the button.

The implications of this move for eCommerce businesses are obvious. The alarming warning may well deter potential customers from buying from a website - and once they leave, they are unlikely to ever return.

An SSL certificate is a data file which digitally binds a cryptographic key to an organisation's details, and secures your site.

When the certificate is installed on your web server it activates the padlock in the browser URL, as well as the HTTPS protocol; this confirms that connections between your web server and a visitor’s browser are secure.

Chrome browser users will then see a green padlock next to the URL bar, as well as the reassuring word ‘Secure’, also in green. This means your website is safe and will help your visitors to feel confident in using it – making them much more likely to stick around and buy something!

Google report that over two thirds of Chrome traffic on both Android and Windows is now protected – with 81 of the top 100 sites on the web using HTTPS by default. It’s very important for your business that your website doesn’t get left behind.

Installing an SSL certificate and enabling HTTPS encryption can be tricky, but thankfully here at WTS Technologies we offer a full installation service to quickly and effectively secure and encrypt your site and be rewarded with the reassuring green padlock.

Contact us today and secure your site before the July deadline!