HTTP vs HTTPS

The Difference, The Benefits and Why It Matters.

In this article we will be discussing what HTTP is, the difference between HTTP and HTTPS, the benefits of using HTTPS and why it is important. We will also be covering how you can implement a secure connection for your website and which SSL certificate providers you can use.

What is HTTP?

HyperText Transfer Protocol or HTTP is an application protocol used to transfer resources across the internet. It is used by web servers to send data to web browsers.

HTTP is based upon the client-server model. A client can be a laptop, desktop computer, mobile or tablet device. The HTTP server is usually a web host operating on web server software.

When you visit a website, your browser transmits a request to the server which then responds with an HTTP status code and the page requested. For more information on HTTP status code please refer to Article of the Website Auditing Guide #5.

The Differences

HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP. It ensures that all data and resources being transferred across the internet are encrypted. To achieve that, a secure connection on your website will be initialised.

With an HTTP connection any data passed is insecure and can be intercepted by an attacker. This is called a man-in-the-middle attack. It is important to have a secure connection for sites where sensitive data is passed across the internet, such as logging into a bank account, an email service provider or a cloud storage account. 

What is TLS?

TLS or Transport Layer Security is used to encrypt internet traffic. You will notice that your browser is connected via TLS if the URL in your navigation bar starts with ‘https’. You will also see an indicator on the navigation bar showcasing a green padlock if the connection is secured.

Encryption is important in order to communicate securely over the internet. The safest method of encryption is called asymmetrical cryptography. This method requires the use of two cryptographic keys, one public and one private.

We will not be getting into the complex mathematics involved in encryption. In essence, you can use the public key to encrypt the data and private key to decrypt. Its complex mathematical formula makes it very hard for an attacker to brute force their way into breaking the encryption. 

Because asymmetrical cryptography involves complex mathematical calculations it takes a lot of computing resources. This would slow down the connection of your computer. TLS makes use of asymmetrical cryptography but only at the very beginning of a communications session, when you first connect with a website. The server and the client agree on a single session key that they'll both use to encrypt their resource packets from then on. This makes your communication with an HTTPS website secure for the rest of the session.

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate, or Secure Socket Layer certificate, is a digital certificate that provides authentication for a website. It also enables encrypted connection. Therefore all data passed between the client and server remain private and secure. SSL encryption can help prevent hackers from stealing private information such as bank account information and other personal details.

The certificate provides authentication as well as security. They create trust with users by verifying that the website they are connecting to is legitimate, especially when user trust is essential. For example, if you have an e-commerce website, it is important for your customer data to be protected so that their payment or personal information will not be used maliciously.

SEO Benefits of HTTPS

Your visitors pay great attention to your site's security and so does Google. Making sure your website is secured greatly improves your website SEO and ranking results. This is directly mentioned by Google as a factor determining your website’s ranking.

As we discussed in our Website Auditing Guide series, having a better ranking leads to more traffic to your website. Making sure users see your website as trustworthy determines whether or not they will click your website over another. So having an HTTPS secured website will bring you greater advantage over a non-secure website, as well as leaving a positive impression which leads to an improvement of your website’s click-through-rate. The CTR is a ratio showing how often people who see your website link end up clicking it. More information about CTR and how you can improve it will be discussed in future articles.

According to a survey by GlobalSign, it was found that 85% of users would abandon a purchase if data was sent over an insecure connection as it made them unsure if their data would be stolen and used for malicious purposes. Having a secure connection benefits your direct conversion rate of how many users end up purchasing a product from your website once they are on it.

SSL Certificate Providers

It is important to use a trusted SSL certificate provider. Most domain registrars and web hosts provide SSL certificates as part of their service offers. Certificates are also sold by SSL specialised websites such as ssl.com, sslmarket.co.uk and comodo.com. 

Finally, it is possible to get a free certificate with letsencrypt.org, sslforfree.com or zerossl.com.

To Summarise

Having an HTTPS secured website is important in improving both your website security and SEO. This is something every website should aim to have as it’s easier than ever to get an SSL certificate.

We hope that you now have a better understanding of the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and the importance of implementing a secure connection protocol for your website.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected], we can help you explain your website audit scores, perform audit tests and help you find out exactly how your website can be improved. 

More information on SEO and Website Auditing can be found in our Website Auditing Guide, found here: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Follow us on our company page for more updates from ZedSoft: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/zedsoft