What Is HTTPS and What Happens If Your Website Doesn’t Have It?

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It’s the secure version of HTTP, the protocol used to transfer data between a web browser and a website. The "S" stands for Secure, and it’s made possible by an SSL/TLS certificate that encrypts all data in transit.

If your website address starts with https:// and shows a padlock in the browser, your site is using HTTPS. If it starts with http:// or your browser shows a "Not Secure" warning, it isn’t — and that’s a problem that affects your security, your credibility, and your search rankings.

What HTTPS Does and Why It Matters

HTTPS encrypts the connection between your visitors’ browsers and your web server. Without it, any data sent between the two — form submissions, search queries, login credentials, payment details — is transmitted in plain text that can be intercepted by anyone with access to the network traffic. This is particularly risky on public Wi-Fi networks.

Beyond security, HTTPS has become a signal of basic website legitimacy. Modern browsers, particularly Chrome and Firefox, actively warn users when they visit an HTTP site. Chrome displays "Not Secure" in the address bar for all HTTP pages that include a form or input field — and for all HTTP pages outright in some configurations. That warning is enough to turn many visitors away before they’ve even read your content.

Google confirmed HTTPS as a lightweight ranking signal in 2014. It has become increasingly important since then, particularly as Google has pushed for a secure web across the board. Sites without HTTPS are at a disadvantage in search results.

What Happens If Your Website Doesn’t Have HTTPS?

Visitors to your HTTP site will see browser warnings that undermine trust. For contact forms, checkout pages, or login areas, Chrome actively labels these as "Not Secure" — discouraging users from entering any information. Research consistently shows that users abandon sites that display security warnings.

You may also be falling foul of UK GDPR obligations. If your site collects personal data — even just an email address via a newsletter sign-up — you’re required to protect it appropriately, including in transit. Transmitting personal data over an unencrypted HTTP connection is a serious gap in your data protection compliance.

Referral traffic data in your analytics may also be affected. Browsers don’t pass referral information when navigating from an HTTPS site to an HTTP site, meaning your traffic analytics will misattribute referrals as direct traffic, making it harder to understand where your visitors are coming from.

How to Move Your Website to HTTPS

The process of moving from HTTP to HTTPS involves installing an SSL certificate, updating all internal links and resources to use HTTPS URLs, setting up 301 redirects from all HTTP URLs to their HTTPS equivalents, and updating your canonical tags and XML sitemap.

Most modern web hosts provide free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt and can handle installation automatically. Many content management systems, including WordPress, have tools or plugins (such as Really Simple SSL) that help migrate from HTTP to HTTPS with minimal manual work.

Once you’ve migrated, update your Google Search Console property to add the HTTPS version of your site, update any Google Business Profile or social media links pointing to your old HTTP URLs, and check your analytics platform to ensure it’s tracking correctly. The migration is well worth the effort — it’s a one-time process with lasting benefits.