Anyone who has gone through a website redesign could most likely write down a lengthy list of all the decisions that go into building a new site.
Marketers must think about font types, color schemes, content, usability, overall site structure and hundreds of other details. Many of these detail may end up being minor decisions, while others could prove a defining factor in the success of the site.
If you are embarking on a website design project it’s now essential to think about the security of your site as one of those critical decisions. In a recent research study, HubSpot found that 82% of respondents answered they would not browse a site if the browser indicated the site was not secure. Enabling SSL and committing to a safe website may matter far more to your site’s success than your color scheme or font selection.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security technology that establishes trust between the website visitor and the website. Enabling SSL on your site requires an SSL Certificate and configuring your domain a certain way. SSL allows the website visitor to trust that the site they are visiting is an authentic domain that has gone through validation by the certificate provider.
A simple way to check if your site – or a site you are visiting – has SSL enabled is to take at the URL in your browser. Does it start with HTTPS or HTTP? HTTPS means SSL is enabled. Google recently announced that Chrome will show a message to visitors of non-SSL enabled sites warning them of the lack of security.
What this means for marketing teams is that they need to move creating a secure site up on their priority list. It also means that if you are embarking on a website design you need to ensure your in-house team or outside agency factors SSL in with the project. Our own analysis and data show that website design is the most common project customers want help with from agencies when they search our agency marketplace. It makes sense to roll creating a secure site in with your next website project.
An SSL Certificate alone does not completely secure a website. For example, you may collect credit card numbers or other sensitive information from website visitors. In those cases, extra security is needed to encrypt and protect that data. You don’t need to search very far to read about a major company failing to protect it’s customers data.
Cybersecurity will only grow in importance as more of the world puts trust in conducting business online. A first step to take security seriously is enabling SSL. While it may seem like a complicated topic plenty of resources online exist to help make it easier to understand. Show your customers and website visitors you care by making SSL a priority with your next website design project.
