If you are just planning to register your domain for the first time, it can be easy to get confused between all the .com, .co.uk, www. and the http. These prefixes and suffixes are necessary to registering a domain.
Another prefix, https, while not necessary, can bring benefits to your new website. Want to know the difference between http and https, and the benefits of switching the former to the latter? Read on below.
What’s the difference between the two?
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the two are incredibly similar, as it’s only a single ‘s’ that sets them apart. But, this one small change makes a huge difference to your website. The http is the standard internet prefix, found before the www., and will be listed as http://www. [website name].
It stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and is a way of exchanging information over the internet. However, this exchange of data and information wasn’t protected, and so administrators looked for a way to encrypt this information. This is done using SSL certificates, which means that both the sender and receiver of data agree on a code of sorts, that translates all of their data into a bunch of random characters.
Websites using these SSL certificates will have the https prefix, which stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. So what are the benefits of switching from one to the other?
Why you should switch to https
Here are the main reasons you should look at making the switch as soon as possible.
Security for your customers
Security is the primary reason that you want to make the switch. Internet users are becoming more and more savvy with what’s what on the web, and they will regularly look for the ‘https’ prefix. Without this web security being offered to your potential customers, you may find that they quickly leave your site.
Security for you
But it’s not only your customers that will be protected, but yourself as well. Any site that processes payments should be using https as standard. This will protect you from losing any payments or data, which could potentially open you up to lawsuits.
It also prevents any malicious intruders from tampering with your website and its communications.
It’s part of the future
Https is the future, and it’s important you don’t get left behind in the past! The prefix is necessary for many new cutting edge features found on the internet. For example, it is needed to allow for permission workflows between the user and provider on things such as APIs.
Would you like more information?
Here at Shesh Tech, we’re experts in all things domain registration, web protection and security. Not only can we offer advice and support to anyone looking to make their website more secure, but we can also offer a range of remote services to help enhance your protection. If you would like to discuss our IT support contracts further, please contact us here.
Image credit: JanBaby
