Why A Website Says Not Secure? How To Fix!

what does website not secure mean

If you’re fairly active on your personal computer or smartphone, chances are that you’ve seen a ‘Website not Secure’ warning pop up on your web browser or screen at one point or another.

You’re probably wondering, “What does ‘Website not Secure’ mean? Is it dangerous? Should I be worried?”

Rest assured, a “Website not Secure” error doesn’t necessarily mean that your device or site is infected with a virus, it simply means that the website that you are currently viewing does not have a SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate attached to it.

A website not secure error also means that the site that you are on is in the form of HTTP (hyper text transfer protocol) instead of HTTPS (hyper text transfer protocol secure).

website not secure meaning

What does an SSL and HTTPS do for a website?

Installing a valid SSL certificate on your website will provide a secure version of your site to users and automatically switch your site from HTTP to HTTPS. Site visitors will then have more security when sharing their personal information on your website.

How Important is Website Security?

For website owners - Website security is paramount.

If you manage a website in 2020, you need a SSL security certificate. It’s as simple as that. A SSL certificate is no longer an option; it’s a necessity.

Especially when it comes to e-commerce websites, consumers are less likely to buy from you, share their information, and visit your website if your site isn’t properly protected. If you saw a notification that said “Connection to website not secure” - would you type in your credit card information?

Website not secure in chrome:

website not secure in chrome

Connection to website not secure - would you type in your credit card information?

Site visitors are wary to process financial transactions through web pages that aren’t secure. Most people don’t necessarily understand the meaning of ‘Website not Secure’.

Educating yourself on how to fix an unprotected website is your first step to making users feel more comfortable and confident about browsing your site.

How to Fix Website Not Secure

A couple easy attributes to tell that a website is secure could be; a URL lock icon before the site’s name in the address bar or the http:// will have an ‘S’ at the end and be https://.

There are also indications that a web site not secure such as an ‘i’ in the address bar before the site’s URL, or a security notification that initially warns users of a non-secure website when they enter into it.

When using HTTP instead of HTTPS on your site, any data that a user submits to the site can potentially be accessed by hackers. If a domain begins with HTTP: then the site is not fully secure. HTTPS encrypts and authenticates your website data to be secured and protected because of the SSL certificate.

A SSL certificate secures the connection between your browser and the site that a user is visiting.

Website secure in Google chrome:

website secure message chrome

Website Not Secure How to Fix on Wix.com

NB Media Solutions is partnered with Wix, who is committed to protecting you and your users’ data on your website. All new sites created on Wix have HTTPS automatically enabled in them, at no additional cost. If your site is older and doesn’t have a SSL installed, you can enable this feature on your site’s dashboard under settings..

We like Wix because like everything else on their platform, they make it easy and accessible. If you ever have HTTPS SSL issues with your Wix site - head to the user friendly wix.com/contact portal and talk to the support bot!

Here is a conversation where the SSL certificate was enabled and turned on in less than 1 minute!

Wix SSL Support

Many other web page building platforms on the internet have similar easy on/off toggles for SSL certificates. Below are a few of the directions for some of the most popular platforms:

Website Not Secure How to Fix on weebly

Installing SSL on Weebly Website

1. Log in to your Weebly account.

2. Access Weebly admin dashboard (Edit my site)

3. Click Settings from Weebly Site Editor then select Enable SSL

Website Not Secure How to Fix on squarespace

To choose an SSL setting:

1. In the Home Menu, click Settings, then click Advanced.

2. Click SSL.

3. Under Security Preference, choose your settings. In most cases, we recommend checking Secure and HSTS Secure.

4. Click Save.

Website Not Secure How to Fix on duda

1. In the left panel, click Settings, and then click the Site SSL tab.

2. Click Generate certificate to create an SSL certificate.

3. To ensure your site is always accessed through SSL, click the Force visitors to use secure connection (HTTPS) toggle.

4. Republish your site.

Website Not Secure How to Fix on wordpress

1. Log into the WordPress Dashboard

2. Roll your mouse over Settings in the navigation menu, then click General.

3. In the WordPress Address (URL) field, enter your https address.

4. Enter your https address in the Site Address (URL) field. WordPress advises “Enter the address here if you want your site homepage to be different from the directory you installed WordPress.“

5. Click the Save Changes button on the bottom of the screen. When the changes have been saved you will see a confirmation message.

Once an SSL certificate has been installed in a site, these steps will take place to ensure security:

1. Browser will connect to a website and request the server identity.

2. The server will respond by sending the browser the SSL certificate.

3. The browser will then determine if the SSL certificate is trustworthy.

4. The browser will then send the server a message.

5. The server will respond with a digitally signed document that gives permission to start a session that is encrypted by the trusted SSL certificate.

6. The browser and server share encrypted data and provide security to users visiting the site.

Once you have installed an SSL certificate and your site’s URL changes from http:// to https://, you should stop getting the ‘Website not Secure’ errors on your screen.

The connection to this site is secure. Check out the URL address bar and look for a lock icon. A snapshot of the actual certificate is below.

SSL Certificate Example

Is your website not fully secure? Maybe your website is not secure even with SSL?

If your website is not showing as secure Contact NB Media Solutions and we’ll see how we can help your site gain the security that it needs.