Secure Sockets Layer or SSL is a hot topic right now. It is the technology which allows a website visitor to connect to your website via an address that begins https:// instead of the usual http:// and in the past you’d really only notice it on banking or retail websites which involve submitting credit card details or other financially sensitive information. Until now it hasn’t really been of relevance to therapists who are primarily providing information to clients. Even if the website shows a PayPal button, the security side of that is handled outside your website.
Google is pushing for SSL
The change is all down to Google, who have decided they would like all websites to use SSL as they feel it is a good idea and generally safer. They can’t force people though, so they have dropped hints for a while about giving SSL sites better ranking. In practice this isn’t a big problem. You can demonstrate this to yourself by doing a Google search for something like “counselling london”. Right now only 2 websites on the whole first page are SSL and nowhere near the top.
Google Chrome browsers affected
The reason it has become important now is due to an update to the Google Chrome browser due to apply in the next week or so. Anyone who receives this update, we are told, will find that any web page (not website) that has an enquiry form on it will cause the text Not Secure to appear in the address bar. This could be offputting to some visitors.
Secured Sites for WebHealer clients
Until recently the only way to get SSL was to purchase an SSL certificate costing typically £100p.a. which WebHealer felt was prohibitive for most therapists. The good news is that we are responding to this gentle bit of pressure by Google immediately and effectively by offering all of our clients a free upgrade to SSL secured sites. You do not have to ask for this, it will automatically be applied to your site!