Securing website by converting HTTP to HTTPS

 

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is the secured and extended advanced version of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTPS is a protocol that is highly used in protecting the integrity and confidentiality of all types of data that travels through the insecure media – Internet.

 

HTTPS is a process by which you can send the encrypted information between a browser and web server. Thus, with the help of HTTPS, you will be able to protect the user of your website from Man-in-the-Middle attack and prevents the hacker to steal the vital information that is sent to the website.

 

Reasons for converting the HTTP to HTTPS

There are various reasons for which it is necessary to convert the HTTP to HTTPS. It is not only the security; HTTPS also helps in enhancing the ranking of the website in Google search engine.

 

If you observe carefully you can find that more than 40% of websites that appears on the first page of the Google search engine are HTTPS. From this fact you can surely guess that Google favors HTTPS sites.

 

Google, being the world largest search engine always wants to make sure that they give the best user experience to their viewers and as such, they will never like to send insecure websites to their viewers.

 

That is the reason why the ranking algorithm of Google search engine favors the HTTPS sites.  Thus it is very essential to make sure that your website is HTTPS otherwise it may outrank by Google search engine.

 

How to convert websites from HTTP to HTTPS

 

The following is the step by step process by which you can convert your website from unsecured HTTP to HTTPS secure website setup:

 

•    Before you do anything, it is very important to make sure that the host in question can deliver the HTTPS website.
•    Second, you have to purchase an SSL certificate. It is necessary to obtain SSL certificate from the host and one good example of the same is Nexcess.
•    Next, you have to make sure that you’re getting the right certificate meant for you. If one has to explain it without using too many technicalities, it can be said that an SSL certificate creates an inseparable and impenetrable link between the web server and the browser window. There are a number of different SSL certificates available in the market. However, they all vary in cost but their fundamental principles are all the same. No matter how much you pay you to get essentially the same product. Paying more for a certificate does not equal to greater security. What you can expect is different features, all varying from each other.
•   Choose Level of SSL:

 

The Domain SSLs are the entry level SSLs are issued immediately and need only your email to be verified. There is no in-depth process of verifying everything as such. However, they do offer HTTPS browsing with a padlock. These types of SSLs are extremely good for businesses that don’t take a card or online payments and run on a short budget.

 

After this, we come to Organization SSLs which need a much higher degree to get verified. This includes checking the ownership of the company. This type of certificate has to go through a few channels which makes it even more difficult to be issued but it doesn’t take more than two to three days. When you get this certificate you will have your domain name along with your company name appearing on the browser board.

 

Last, but not the least there is something known as an Extended Validation SSL. This allows you to use a green browser bar.  Although they are more expensive than an Organization SSL and a Domain SSL, they make up for it by conducting a thorough research. They involve a big verification process to make sure the company has its required documents. This includes a legal, physical and operational verification. This is the sole reason why SSL can take anywhere from a few days to a week to be issued and to come back to you. Not just that, they will require a number of legal documents to come to them.

 

•    There is another step after this which is to do with getting an SSL certificate installation. Once you get your SSL certificate, make sure you get it approved.  Verification is not the easiest process because there are way too many levels before the certificate finally comes back to you after getting issued. However, if we take Domain SSL, then everything can be done instantly once the Domain owner gets her email address verified.
•    Next, you have to change the link of all HTTP website to HTTPS. Since there will be thousands of HTTP link it is recommended to fist change all the links of non-CMS generated links into HTTPS and then change the Content Management System (CMS) generated links.
•    After that, for all Apache-based website, it is necessary to redirect all incoming HTTP request to HTTPS.
•    Finally, convert all links, articles, blogs and other content of the website into HTTPS.

 

This is how you can convert your HTTP website into HTTPS secured connection which is very essential in today’s generation when security has become a major concern.        

 

Author Bio: Eneet Kaur is a professional content marketer and formally working at Best SEO India. Writing is her strong passion and she has written quality blogs for many high – auditorial blog sites. She is a spontaneous learner in her field of internet marketing. Apart from that, she has a great knowledge of Online Reputation Management, Quality Link Building Tech Consultancy, etc.