So you land on a site and it’s showing as ‘website not secure’. This can display in a number of ways. Your browser may block you from entering a website completely, displaying ‘Your connection is not secure’. Or it may display the site but show the ‘not secure’ information in the URL. In this blog I will be explaining what this means for you as a visitor. If this is your website, I will guide you on securing your website.
What does it mean if a website is not secure?
When you are shown this notification that a site is ‘not secure’. This is your browsers way of warning you that your data is not safe on this website. This can be due to the website not having enough, or any, security measures in place. When you visit a site, you will see that it starts with either HTTP:// (unsafe) or HTTPS:// (safe). This is how you browsers finds out if this website is okay for you to visit.
What happens if a website is not secure?
Visiting or running an insecure website can be very dangerous, more so if there is sensitive information being stored. An example of this would me and ecommerce site, where visitors enter their card or banking details. If your site is not secure, this data can be compromised by a cyberattack. This in turn can loose your returning clients or even ruin your reputation.
How can I secure my website?
As a website owner, the security of you website should be a priority. Otherwise, you risk your website being inaccessible for you visitors. Depending on the use of your website, the level of security you need varies. Every website should have an SSL certificate, this protects your data as it travels between your site and the server. Making it more difficult for cybercriminals to intercept sensitive information such as your users details. There are further precautions you can use such as vulnerability patching, use a firewall, or scan for malware. These are recommended for sites where there is more sensitive data stored on your site.
To set up an SSL, visit your hosting providors website, as this is something they should be able to offer. (Eg. GoDaddy, IONOS, or an external SSL site – Cloudfare).
If you need help securing your website or thinking of setting up a new website, book in your FREE 30-minute consultation to see how I can help.
