Do Your Customers Know Your Website Is Secure?
Your website could be losing sales if it’s not up to date with the latest big change in the world of digital. In keeping with its mission to make the web safer and more secure for everybody, Google has released an update for Google Chrome that will mark any site without an SSL certificate as ‘non-secure’ in the browser bar. That means that if you don’t have an SSL certificate, people won’t trust your site enough to use it!
In the interests of keeping things clear, I’m not going to dive too much into the technical details in this post. What I will do, though, is cover the basics of what you need to know, so you can quickly get yourself up to speed on all the key information, and how me and the guys at 21Digital Agency can help.
- What is the update?
- Why is it important?
- What do you need to do?
So then, here’s what you need to know…
What Is The Google Chrome Update?
Basically, the update to Google Chrome means on all sites without an SSL certificate, any input fields will be very visibly marked in Chrome’s browser bar as ‘non-secure’. That means if customers try and fill in any forms, search boxes or similar fields, this ‘non secure’ message will be the very first thing they see. As you can imagine, this is going to drastically affect customer’s chances of filling them out!
Google Chrome’s update also affects all pages visited in Incognito mode. As one of the most-used privacy features, browsing in Incognito mode can sometimes make users think that they’re more secure than they really are, and Google is keen to make sure all its users understand the risks.
Why Is Your SSL Certificate Important?
This ‘non-secure’ label has the potential to really damage your business through loss of consumer trust, which is just one reason why you need to put securing your SSL Certificate at the top of your to-do list. If your site it labelled as non-secure, it means that your customers won’t have the confidence to fill in enquiry forms, leave their financial details or perform any sort of transaction through your site. This means that not only could you be losing money directly, but also business through enquiries and sales leads.
If you’re still unclear on exactly what an SSL is, we’ve explained it in full in one of our previous blogs, but if you’re pressed for time, here’s a quick breakdown:
- SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, and it’s the basic foundation for any website.
- The SSL technology encrypts all communications between your browser and the site, reducing your vulnerability to hackers.
- As well as providing security, it’s necessary for accepting payments, guarantees confidence in your brand, and it can even improve your site’s rankings in Google’s search engine results.
It’s worth remembering that over 50% of Google’s users use Google Chrome to surf the web. If they don’t see your site as being secure, that’s an awful lot of business to lose!
What Do You Need To Do?
The good news is that it’s really not difficult to get your site’s SSL certificate sorted. All you have to do is call into our office on 01254 660 560 and I’ll get started on setting your site up with an SSL. It’s a fairly quick, easy job, and trust me when I say it’s worth its weight in gold when it comes to guaranteeing consumer trust in your brand.
Drop me a line today to safeguard your website – and don’t forget, if you’ve got any questions or need any help with anything, just let one of us know and we’ll be happy to help out.
Michael Cain is 21Digital Agency Technical Director, responsible for developing, coding and maintaining the technical infrastructure of our clients’ websites here at 21Digital Agency. A die-hard Clarets fan with a passion for football, in his spare time he’s a scout for Manchester City Youth Academy.
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