Is Google Marking Your Site as “Not Secure”? (& How to Fix It)

I understand how irritating it may be if you go to your web site and see a giant “Not Safe” warning within the browser. It appears like one thing’s damaged—and worse, your guests can see it too. 😬

That little message can scare individuals off earlier than they’ve even had an opportunity to go searching. They may go away with out studying a phrase, filling out a type, or making a purchase order.

Google exhibits this warning when your website doesn’t have an SSL certificates. Meaning your website isn’t utilizing HTTPS, and the browser is letting guests know their connection may not be non-public.

Fortunately, the repair is easy, and I’ll stroll you thru it step-by-step. I’ve used the identical course of by myself web sites and helped numerous others do the identical with Blogging platform.

Why Does Google Present “Not Safe” on Your Site?

After I see the “Not Safe” warning pop up on a website, I do know it normally means one factor: the location isn’t totally encrypted. Google exhibits this warning when an internet site doesn’t use HTTPS or there’s one thing flawed with its SSL certificates.

For reference, HTTPS (Hypertext Switch Protocol Safe) is the safe model of HTTP. It makes use of one thing referred to as an SSL/TLS certificates to encrypt the connection between your web site and your guests.

And the Google “Not Safe” message isn’t only a minor warning you possibly can ignore. Most guests don’t stick round after they see that alert. It alerts a scarcity of belief, and that impacts all the pieces from conversions to your search rankings.

Let me stroll you thru the 4 most typical causes I’ve seen this warning seem on Blogging platform web sites.

1. Your Site Doesn’t Have an SSL Certificates

SSL certificates encrypt the connection between your web site and your guests. With out one, browsers assume your website is unsafe, as a result of technically, it’s. Any knowledge individuals enter in your website, like private or bank card particulars, might be intercepted.

That’s why Chrome and different browsers flash the “Not Safe” warning for websites that also use plain HTTP. I’ve seen this occur to brand-new websites the place SSL simply wasn’t enabled but, and even older websites the place it was by no means put in.

2. Your SSL Certificates Is Expired or Invalid

Generally the SSL certificates is there, however it’s expired or wasn’t put in correctly. This is likely one of the first issues I test when somebody asks why their website all of the sudden exhibits a warning.

You possibly can normally spot this SSL concern by clicking the padlock (or the lacking padlock) in your browser’s handle bar.

If there’s an issue, then your internet hosting supplier ought to have the ability that can assist you renew or reinstall the certificates.

3. Your Site Has Combined Information Points

Even with a sound SSL certificates, your website can nonetheless present as “Not Safe” if it’s loading some content material over HTTP. I’ve seen this so much when individuals change their website to HTTPS however neglect to replace outdated hyperlinks to photographs, scripts, or stylesheets.

This is named combined content material, and browsers don’t prefer it. The repair is straightforward—you simply have to replace any insecure URLs so all the pieces masses over HTTPS. Later on this tutorial, I’ll present you the way to do that.

4. Your Website Has HTTP URLs in Blogging platform Settings

One other factor I at all times double-check is the location URL settings inside Blogging platform. If the Blogging platform Deal with or Website Deal with continues to be set to HTTP, your website could proceed to set off safety warnings even when SSL is working positive.

You’ll find these settings by going to Settings » Common in your Blogging platform dashboard. Then, change each URLs to make use of HTTPS to make sure that each web page masses securely. I’ll present you the way to do that afterward.

Now that I’ve coated what causes the “Not Safe” warning, let’s check out tips on how to repair it and forestall it from coming again.

The right way to Repair the “Not Safe” Warning in Google Chrome

Seeing the “Not Safe” warning in your website could be irritating. You need your guests to really feel secure, not greeted with a warning label.

Fortunately, the repair normally isn’t sophisticated. Usually, it comes all the way down to enabling an SSL certificates, updating a number of Blogging platform settings, or cleansing up what’s generally known as combined content material.

I’ve gone by means of this troubleshooting course of on dozens of websites—each my very own and for others—and I’ll present you precisely what to do to safe your website and eliminate that warning for good.

Listed below are the steps I’ll cowl:

Step 1. Get a Free SSL Certificates for Your Site

The very first thing I do when fixing a “Not Safe” warning is test if an SSL certificates is put in. This small piece of safety tech encrypts knowledge between your web site and guests—and it’s what permits HTTPS.

Years in the past, SSL certificates might be costly. Some firms nonetheless cost a premium, however the excellent news is you don’t have to pay for one, particularly if you happen to’re simply beginning out.

Most Blogging platform internet hosting suppliers now supply free SSL certificates with their plans. I’ve used this selection on dozens of internet sites, and generally, enabling it solely takes a few clicks out of your internet hosting dashboard.

In the event you’re utilizing Bluehost, simply log in to your account and head to your web site settings. Then click on the ‘Protection’ tab.

From there, you’ll see the choice to allow the free SSL certificates. Simply toggle it on, and also you’re good to go.

Be aware: The screenshots above present the Bluehost dashboard. In the event you’re utilizing a distinct host, then issues would possibly look barely totally different, however the SSL setting is nearly at all times within the safety part.

For hosts that use cPanel, you’ll have to launch it out of your internet hosting dashboard. Scroll all the way down to the ‘Protection’ tab and click on on the SSL/TLS icon.

And in case your host doesn’t supply free SSL, don’t fear—you possibly can nonetheless get one by means of Let’s Encrypt.

We have now an in depth tutorial exhibiting you precisely tips on how to do it: The right way to Add Free SSL in Blogging platform with Let’s Encrypt.

Step 2. Replace Your Blogging platform URLs to Use HTTPS

Even with an SSL certificates, your website would possibly nonetheless load as “Not Safe” if the Blogging platform settings are incorrect. You possibly can repair this by updating your website’s URL.

Merely go to the Settings » Common web page in your Blogging platform dashboard.

Then, be sure each the ‘Blogging platform Deal with (URL)’ and ‘Website Deal with (URL)’ fields use https:// as a substitute of http://.

Don’t neglect to click on on the ‘Save Modifications’ button to retailer your settings.

Blogging platform will now begin utilizing https:// for all URLs throughout your web site. Nonetheless, some HTTP URLs should still be saved in your Blogging platform database, which can trigger points transferring ahead.

Subsequent, I’ll present you tips on how to repair these URLs simply.

Step 3. Repair Combined Information Points in Blogging platform

One cause for the ‘Not Safe’ warning is combined content material points. This occurs when some components of your web site load utilizing an HTTP (insecure) URL.

Nearly all of those URLs are saved in your Blogging platform database and added by your Blogging platform theme or plugins. You might also have http:// URLs in your weblog posts and pages.

To repair this, you will want a search and substitute plugin to seek out http URLs and substitute them with https://. One of the best plugin for the job is Search & Substitute Every little thing.

I take advantage of Search and Substitute Every little thing as a result of it’s quick and environment friendly. Extra importantly, it’s tremendous simple to make use of even for novices.

Tip💡: There may be additionally a free model of Search & Substitute Every little thing that you need to use.

First, you want to set up and activate the Search and Substitute Every little thing plugin. For particulars, you possibly can see this information on tips on how to set up Blogging platform plugins.

Upon plugin activation, go to the Instruments » WP Search & Substitute web page to begin utilizing the plugin.

Within the ‘Seek for’ subject you want to enter http:// and within the ‘Substitute with’ subject add https://.

After that, you want to click on on ‘Choose All’ to make sure all tables in your Blogging platform database are included within the search.

Lastly, click on on the ‘Preview Search & Substitute’ button.

The plugin will then carry out the search and present you a preview of the outcomes. This lets you overview the info earlier than it’s completely modified.

Fastidiously overview the outcomes, and as soon as you might be glad, click on on the ‘Substitute All’ button.

The plugin will then make modifications to your Blogging platform database and substitute all HTTP URLs with HTTPS.

For extra particulars, see this information on tips on how to repair the combined content material error in Blogging platform.

Step 4. Set Up an HTTP to HTTPS Redirect in Blogging platform

After switching a website to HTTPS, one of many steps I by no means skip is organising a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. With out it, individuals would possibly nonetheless land on the insecure model of your website by means of outdated hyperlinks or bookmarks.

Essentially the most dependable solution to repair that is by including a redirect rule to your .htaccess file. Right here’s the snippet I take advantage of on most Blogging platform web sites:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

For particulars, see this information on tips on how to repair the Blogging platform .htaccess file.

In case your web site is working on Nginx as a substitute of Apache, then you definately’ll have to arrange the redirect in another way.

As a substitute of modifying a .htaccess file, you’ll have to replace your Nginx configuration.

Right here’s the code I’d add to redirect all HTTP visitors to HTTPS in Nginx:

server {
    hear 80;
    server_name yoursite.com www.yoursite.com;
    return 301 https://yoursite.com$request_uri;
}

You’ll need to place this block above the prevailing HTTPS server block in your website’s Nginx config file—normally present in /and so on/nginx/sites-available/ or /and so on/nginx/conf.d/.

When you’ve added the redirect, don’t neglect to reload Nginx for the modifications to take impact:

In the event you’re unsure the place to make the change, it’s a good suggestion to succeed in out to your internet hosting supplier.

Step 5. Take a look at Your SSL Setup for Protection Points

After making these modifications, you need to check your web site to make sure all the pieces is working accurately.

You need to use the SSL Labs SSL Take a look at to test your certificates and ensure your website is totally secured. Merely enter your area title, and it’ll test the SSL implementation in your area title.

One other different software that I’ve typically used is Why No Padlock? What I like about it’s that it explains points in plain language, which is useful for novices.

Lastly, attempt visiting your website in Incognito mode. In the event you nonetheless see the “Not Safe” warning, you want to clear your Blogging platform cache or wait a couple of minutes for modifications to take impact.

Make Your Website Really feel Secure for Each Customer

Nobody needs their website to scare away guests with a browser warning. The most important injury is shedding the belief of your clients and guests.

I hope this information helped you totally safe your Blogging platform website with HTTPS in order that your guests received’t need to assume twice about trusting it.

Bonus Sources

I observe this Blogging platform safety information on all web sites I work on. This step-by-step information provides a simple motion plan to correctly safe your Blogging platform web site.

The next are a number of extra assets that I feel you’ll discover useful:

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