Make sure your security certificate is up to date
Google sure likes to keep things interesting.
Your thriving and attractive website that pulls in new clients suddenly is replaced with a big, red scary-looking warning message that says “Your connection is not private.”
Here’s what’s happening
You’ve probably noticed that some websites seem safer-looking than others—and less vulnerable to the kind of hacking that can expose you to identity theft. Safe website addresses begin with “https,” which stands for “hypertext transfer protocol secure,” instead of the more common “http.” In Chrome, a safe website displays the word “secure” in green along with a lock icon in the nav bar. Websites without “https” may simply say “Info,” or even “Not secure.”
Google says about 50% of website pages are secure. But that means 50% are not secure.
What this means for you
You need to update your security certificate for your website, even if your site is not an e-commerce website. This is especially true if you have any kind of form that visitors fill out.
How to secure your site
To update your site so it meets Google’s standard, you’ll need to contact your web hosting provider. Installing SSL is super-important —your site won’t be considered secure and have that all-important https without it. Some web hosting companies make this a fairly straightforward process, and some do not. We recommend hosting that includes security certificate updates at no cost. You can set it and forget it, so you never see this message again!
Talk to your web developer to get this in place, so your online marketing will not miss a beat. If you’d like our help in setting this up, give us a ring at 301-933-4062.
