Your Connection is Not Private – SSLS & Your Website

Is it time for “HTTPS everywhere” on the web? Google certainly thinks so, and per their recommendation, Resite is following suit. We are planning to make SSLs the default across all our websites in the coming months and for a handful of reasons.

Since Google’s initial push in 2014, they’ve found “HTTPS usage has been increasing over time. More than half of pages loaded and two-thirds of total time spent by Chrome desktop users occur via HTTPS, and we expect these metrics to continue their strong upward trajectory”. (Google)

Whether or not web traffic needs to be encrypted, Google has been pushing for everything to use “HTTPS,” and they are trying to force the transition by giving websites with HTTPS an SEO bump. While it’s currently a lightweight signal, Google has said they may decide to strengthen it to encourage secure sites even further.

“Every unencrypted HTTP request reveals information about a user’s behavior, and the interception and tracking of unencrypted browsing has become commonplace.Today, there is no such thing as non-sensitive web traffic, and public services should not depend on the benevolence of network operators” (CIO.gov).

We have also noticed Google showing increasingly stronger warnings in their Chrome browser for non-SSL websites ( such as “page not secure” messages).

This movement has been picked up by other browsers, so it’s only becoming more prominent. Some web users also have extensions that try to force HTTPS, causing redirect errors if a domain doesn’t have an SSL attached. Lastly, for some users HTTPS may provide a trust factor or “business reputation” boost, albeit that may be minor at this point.

Want more information or need help moving your site to HTTPS? Drop us a line!