Making the move to SSL

Earlier this year we moved our website across from standard ‘http://jonkdesign.co.uk’ to the more secure ‘https://jonkdesign.co.uk’ (not sure what we mean? Just take a look at our URL in the address bar).

What is all the fuss about?

Well  firstly, what do we mean by HTTPS and why is it so important? The S is the key element in this protocol, it stands for ‘secure‘. It secures its connections by using SSL/TLS which authenticate web servers and encrypt messages. This kind of encryption is typically used to protect sensitive personal information, such as credit card details and prevents them from being read by potential cybercriminals.

Google are now in on the act

Ok, so you might be thinking, ‘this isn’t relevant to me as I don’t run an eCommerce website’? If you own a website then it’s very relevant… according to Google.

Recently Google announced changes to its indexing algorithm that gives priority to sites that use SSL when defining search engine rankings. Google is usually very tight-lipped about its algorithms, so it’s clear that the company sees this as an important step to securing the internet. The search team claims to be making the Internet safer by “making sure that websites people access from Google are secure.”

As a result, website owners are being encouraged to apply SSL technology to their entire site to protect their customers and potentially receive a favourable Google ranking. Eventually HTTPS sites will appear above standard HTTP sites in search engine page results. At the time of writing this only 10% of the crawled and discovered URLs on the web are HTTPS URLs – so what are you waiting for?

Moving to SSL?

You can normally buy an SSL through your web hosting company, prices vary depending on the type of SSL you purchase. Alternatively ask us to host your website and we can manage the SSL purchase, installation and migration for you!