Google has been out to make websites adopt SSL. A website with an SSL certificate is one accessed using https:// instead of http://. Normally, a padlock is displayed next to the https:/ tag for sites secured with SSL.

There are 3 things Google does to push site owners to adopt SSL:

• Google uses the presence of SSL certificate in a site as a SEO ranking factor. Sites with SSL rank better than those without on Google
• It adds a Secure tag on sites that have SSL installed.
• It displays a Not Secure tag for sites that have no SSL yet there are forms on the site that require user input

Now, Google is taking a different approach to achieve the same goal. Instead of focusing on display Secure for sites with SSL certificates, Google wants to concentrate more on displaying Not Secure on sites without SSL.

Currently, https pages show a green padlock and the word Secure besides that. With the onset of Chrome 69 in September, this will be changed to a black padlock without the tag Secure. From there, we will have the pages not displaying any padlock or Secure tag. Instead, we will have a Not Secure tag blinking on Chrome for sites without SSL.The focus is shifting to the insecurity, so as to make the internet more secure. The objective of Google here is to ensure that eventually, people will have sites as secure by default.

The other objective of abandoning the Secure tag and the SSL padlock is that, people tend to believe that a site with the padlock is safe. But this isnt always the case as malicious folk simply take on a site’s typo and install SSL then use it to impersonate the legit site. Now that doesn;t make the site safe, does it?

Conclusion

The conclusion of the matter is that, if you havent installed SSL for your site, now is the best time to do so. SSL certificates have become cheaper(some even free) and easier to install. Some SSL vendors will even install it for you. With that said, why don’t you get yourself an SSL for your site? Of course if Google tells your site visitor that your site is not secure, not matter what your explanation will be, the visitor will trust Google – and not you. The world is on the move! So lets move!