06 May SMEs and HTTPS: Why should my site be secure in 2017?
You have probably heard of a secure website? It’s probably an automatic reflex to check it when you are doing an online transaction? On the other hand, you may not know that you could have a secure website for your SME? The number of secure sites is increasing rapidly and varies according to your industry sector.
Let’s start with the basics, what is a secure site?
You’ve probably seen the little padlock at the top of your Chrome, Firefox or Safari browser:
The small padlock simply means that the website uses a SSL security certificate. This is actually there to encrypt all the information that is sent and received on their server. By clicking on the small padlock, you will get a summary of the security related to the information on the site.
It is also a way of ensuring the integrity of the data that is shared on a website. Which is a very good thing in the eyes of the search engines. Finally, it is a means to ensure an authentication of the organization. This prevents attacks by a hacker who could create a site-mask between the true interface of the site and yours.
Two reasons why a website must be secure in https
The idea of a secure site has always been a best practice on the web. Many organizations implemented it many years ago. Data security is becoming increasingly important to the various stakeholders of the web including Google. Internet users who are more and more informed are also paying attention.
Provide a secure experience for users
As described above, you can offer an online experience that does not compromise the data that customers can provide you with online information request or transaction forms. If you only have one field to take user emails, for your newsletter, you may not need an SSL certificate.
On the other hand, if you collect important information that you use to process orders or create lists of potential customers with sensitive personal data, you must implement the HTTPS. If you want to sell your products or services online, this is mandatory. The general public no longer leaves their payment information on unsecured sites.
Google: HTTPS is a ranking factor on the search engine
Did you know that having a secure https site was a ranking factor for the Google search engine since 2014? Depending on your competition, it may be a good idea to see what proportion has a https site. It’s an easy way to get authority from Google’s search engine.
The impact of migrating from HTTP to HTTPS for an already online business is easier than a new site. SMEs starting from scratch will follow best web practices from the start, you will not see it.
L’Atelier Web offers the security certificate in a systematic way on all its web sites
Because of the data security implications, the SSL certificate is part of any website we deliver. See our section on e-commerce for more information.