Google Wants To Shame Your Website URL, Unless You Do This!
Google is making some changes and your website could soon display a big, red "X" unless you do this one thing.
Published: 09/16/2016 by Rich Visokey
Let's cover some basic web technology. When you enter a credit card number, personal info, or other sensitive information on a website you probably already know to look for the ‘LOCK' symbol or HTTPS at the beginning of a web page URL. The 'S' in HTTPS tells you the page you are on is encrypted and is protecting your information.
Some time ago Google announced that it was going to start using HTTPS as a metric for determining the search results position for any given website. What this means to website owners is that all other things being equal, a website with HTTPS will display higher in search results than a website with only HTTP. It was not a welcome announcement and most website owners largely ignored it or refused to make the update. Although it was a metric, it wasn't very punitive.
Ok, we'll that requirement wasn't so bad. But wait, there's more!
Google recently announced that new versions of Chrome, Google's web browser, will start marking websites as "unsafe", and warn users about websites that are not using HTTPS. It's not going to be subtle. The plan is to place a Big Red X in the address bar.
So unless you change all the pages in your website to HTTPS, Google is going to start shaming you. It does not matter if you have a simple website, blog, or don't gather sensitive information. Google doesn't care. Don't make the switch and you'll soon face the dreaded red X. You might as well place a big "Go Away" sign on your website.
Google is trying to make the web safe because web pages delivered over HTTPS are less susceptible to hacking and intrusion than regular web pages. But in doing so Google sure is making life difficult for website owners who now have to install SSL certificates and update their website to ensure compliance.
So if you have a website and want to avoid the "Red X", make sure you start putting a plan in place today.
For more information about this topic you can go here:
Google Blog
If you need help fixing your website give Flusion a call. We'll gladly talk with you about making the switch to HTTPS ensuring your site remains "Red X" free.