Security on the Internet and thus the security of websites is becoming increasingly important in times of phishing and hacking. For this purpose, it is possible to encrypt the connection between the browser and a website. But what does this actually mean, and how does it affect me as a website owner?
Web page encryption (HTTPS/TLS)
What do the terms that are always mentioned in connection with website encryption actually mean?
HTTPS:
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a transport protocol that transmits encrypted data via SSL/TLS.
TLS/SSL:
Both SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are protocols that ensure that data is transmitted encrypted on the Internet. It should be noted that SSL is the predecessor of TLS and is no longer technically up-to-date. Both protocols involve end-to-end encryption. This means that the information is encrypted before it is sent and is not decrypted until it reaches the recipient.
An encrypted connection can be recognized in most browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Edge) by a closed padlock, which is usually displayed in green.
An unencrypted or insecure connection is usually indicated by this symbol in the browser address bar:
Do I need a premium package so that my website can be reached via https?
No! We offer https for our users of a free homepage, as well as for customers who have booked a premium package.
What are the advantages of encrypting websites?
encrypted connection, encrypted transmission of form data, confidential data remain private
site looks more serious
better rating by search engines (Google, Bing etc)
As a website owner, what might I need to be aware of, or where do I need to adjust my site?
Unfortunately, it can happen that a page is initially displayed as "unsafe" during the changeover. This is usually due to so-called mixed content. This means that although the page itself is called up encrypted via https, there is content in the page that is called up via http.
This mainly concerns self-integrated widgets, iFrames or images from external sources.
What do I do if there is mixed content on my page?
In the login area of the site, you will get an error message on pages that have mixed content.
Most of the time it is enough to replace http with https. Unfortunately, there are older widgets that may not be available via https. In that case, the most you can do is contact the application provider.
What does not need to be adjusted?
Images or files uploaded via the homepage builder, as well as internal links within the page, are normally not affected. We have already adjusted this.
Are there any problems with encryption as well?
Old browsers may have display problems with encrypted pages, here is a list of affected browsers. However, we generally advise you to keep your browser up to date for security reasons.
Incompatible browsers:
Google Chrome versions older than 6.
Internet Explorer versions older than 7.
Firefox versions older than 2.0
Safari versions older than 2.1
All versions of Internet Explorer on Windows XP