In the world of internet security, there’s an ongoing debate over whether or not HTTPS is better than HTTP. Both have their benefits, but they also have some significant differences that you need to be aware of. In this article we’ll take a look at the differences between HTTP and HTTPS, what makes them different, and how it all relates to your website.
What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS? and why is important for any software developer?
According to Britannica.com HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol, it’s a standard application-level protocol used for exchanging files on the World Wide Web. This is mostly used for websites designed for information consumption like blogs. However, it is less secure as the data or files can vulnerable to hackers. So this was HTTPS jumps in, it was designed to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive information. So if you’re asking what is “S” in HTTPS stands for…well it means “Security.”
Why do we need HTTPS?
The internet is a pretty amazing resource. We use it to communicate with people all over the world, share information and collaborate on projects, watch videos, listen to music, and do our banking. But while the internet was originally designed as a way of sharing information between computers on different networks—between research institutions, universities, and government agencies—it wasn’t built with strong security in mind. So here are the reasons why you should use HTTPS for your websites:
- It gives the user to trust your website- HTTPS uses SSL/TLS encryption to secure communications between users and websites, preventing attackers from stealing data. It also confirms that the server is who it says it is—preventing impersonations—stopping multiple kinds of cyber attacks.
- It will protect both the user and the owner- With HTTPS, data is encrypted in transit and the server can verify its source. The protocol ensures that communications are kept secure so malicious parties can’t see the data being sent. As a result, sensitive information such as passwords can’t be stolen in transit when users enter them into a form. If sensitive or personal data is sent from a website to its users (for instance, credit card numbers), encryption keeps that data safe.
- It gives authenticity to your website- In this way, it prevents a malicious user from impersonating or spoofing your site’s identity. Making users think they’re on the site they intended to reach when actually they’re on a fake site. HTTPS authentication also does a lot to help a company website appear legitimate, and that influences user attitudes towards the company itself.
- HTTPS is recommended for SEO Ranking- In 2014, Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal for better algorithm searches to prevent and fix security breaches to their website, and also it gives users the impression that a website was legit and trustworthy.
How do I migrate my site to HTTPS?
If you’re going to migrate to HTTPS, your best bet is to use a 301 redirect. When you do this, your visitors will automatically be redirected from HTTP to HTTPS when they visit your site. This makes it easy for them because there’s no additional action on their behalf required in order for them to see the content that they came for.
If you have an SSL certificate installed and working correctly, then this process should be fairly seamless. However, if something goes wrong during the migration process (for example: a security vulnerability is discovered) then there could be some downtime while waiting for a fix or patching process before continuing with the migration again.
We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between HTTP and HTTPS so that when you’re ready to start developing your own websites, they are secure. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us here on our website. We are happy to help!
