A straight answer
Does my website need HTTPS?
Yes. HTTPS is the padlock, the thing an SSL certificate gives you: it means the connection between a visitor and your site is encrypted. Without it, browsers mark the page Not secure in the address bar before anyone reads a word, and a form on that page is flagged as unsafe to type into. For a small business that lives on enquiries, that warning costs more than the certificate ever would.
Most hosts now provide a certificate for nothing and switch it on in a few clicks. The two things to check afterwards are that the secure address loads, and that the old http:// address sends people on to it, so links in old emails, directories and business cards still land on the secure version rather than a warning.
The check below reads your page as a browser first receives it and reports both: whether the page loads securely, and where the plain http:// address ends up.
- The padlock
- The page loads at an https:// address and the browser shows it as secure.
- The old address
- Typing http:// in front still arrives at the secure version, after a redirect.
- The forms
- An enquiry form on a secure page is not flagged, so people type into it.
Now your own site
See whether yours has it.
Next step
When you would rather someone just fixed it.
Growth Audit / within 48 hours, free
Adam reads your whole site by hand.
Adam reads your whole site the way a customer would, then the way a search engine does, and emails you the three things worth fixing first, in plain English.
This form needs JavaScript, which is switched off in your browser. To ask for the audit, email adam@coltura.uk with your website address, and Adam will reply by email.
Rather talk it through? WhatsApp or call 07958 394808.