Google Chrome’s New Update May Harm You

 

Google is about to release a Chrome update which may impact the way your website is displayed to your audience...  

For the last 3 years, Google has been favouring websites that use encrypted HTTPS connections in their search engine results, giving them a little boost over those that don’t use HTTPS but now they are going a step further.

Next month, Google will show a prominent “Not Secure” message in the browser bar starting in July 2018.

So, if your website only uses HTTP, users will be prompted with the message “Not Secure” in the browser’s omnibox (next to the URL) -

 

 

 

At present, there is no warnings for non-secure HTTP websites, but secure websites display a green secure icon. However, the green “Secure” won’t be displayed anymore. Instead a grey padlock icon will appear next to websites that use HTTPS but eventually no icon will show at all.

 

 

 

This is because users should expect that a website is secure so Google are reserving the warnings for sites that aren’t secure.

 

Is It Important For You To Convert To HTTPS?

Of course it is! You definitely should consider taking the steps to secure your website.  Anything that may have a negative impact on your SEO or online trust and authority must be avoided at all costs.

All websites will be affected by this update. This prominently displayed red warning icon followed by “Not Secure” may potentially scare away visitors or make them reluctant to engage with your website/business further.

If your website doesn’t use HTTPS these enhanced security warnings may lead to higher bounce rates for your website. Not only that, your site visitors may not trust you as much as they would have if you had a Secure website and your overall SEO could suffer.

Google aims to make it very clear to all visitor that your website is not secure. Converting to HTTPS encryption may help to improve your SEO performance and rankings as well as reassuring your audience that your website can be trusted and that you are authentic. 

So, if you haven’t already, we’d highly recommend that you take the steps to make sure your website complies with Google’s HTTPS requirements.

At Resource Techniques, we have ensured that all of our responsive websites are fully HTTPS encrypted, however if you aren’t sure if your website is secure, feel free to contact us on 0208 457 4777 or email us at websupport@restech.co.uk.