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You’ve probably noticed that more websites have “Not Secure” warnings as of late. Google’s Chrome browser started displaying this message on websites that have not yet made the transition from HTTP to HTTPS in October of last year. The industry standard for data encryption on the internet is HTTPS. The best method for preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information is considered HTTPS, which provides an additional layer of security. The information that website visitors provide to you is transmitted over the internet more securely when HTTPS is used. HTTPS is a necessity if you’re working with financial transactions.
To support authorization and secure transactions, HTTPS, also known as “secure HTTP,” was created. Secure communication of sensitive data is necessary to prevent unauthorized access, and https enables this. Because it adheres to the same fundamental protocols as HTTP, https is comparable to HTTP in many ways. But because https uses SSL to transfer data, it provides an additional layer of security. Google has worked tirelessly for more than ten years to ensure that Google Chrome alternatives users can browse the web in the safest possible manner. Google has flagged every HTTP website as insecure as one step toward increasing web security. Users will then be directed away from risky, insecure, and suspicious websites by receiving the not secure message in Chrome on all websites as a result.
Ways to Fix ‘HTTPS Not Secure’ Message in Chrome
Purchase an SSL Certificate
You must first buy an SSL certificate in order to remove the “not secure” message from your website. These certificates are offered by numerous vendors, including Bluehost, Namecheap, GoDaddy, and others. When someone uses a search engine, an SSL certificate you purchase and install will vouch for the security of your website.
You can buy certificates, like an Organization Validated (OV) SSL certificate, that show your visitors that your site and other content is trustworthy by demonstrating that you are who you say you are in addition to removing the message from the browser’s address bar. Depending on the kind of website you are running, you can choose the SSL certificate you require. You won’t have the warning message for your site when visitors search you in their search engine once you’ve installed your SSL certificate.
Install the Certificate Using Your Web Host
The next step after purchasing your SSL certificate is to install it in your web host’s admin panel. A few web hosts offer SSL certificates for sale. If your web host provides such services, you can buy the certificate you require directly from them to make it simpler for you to buy and install one.
Go to the SSL tab on your web host’s website and select the “Install” button. You will see a list of the SSL certificates that are available to you. Choose the SSL certificate you want to use and add it to the desired domain. Copy and paste the text from your certificate into the spaces provided. Your certificate will be installed immediately after you complete the fields and click the instal button. But bear in mind that it might take a few hours for your changes to appear online and be seen by your visitors.
Change Your WordPress URL
It feels good to have a new SSL certificate for your website, don’t you think? However, completing the aforementioned steps is only the first step in the process of getting rid of a “not secure” message that appears whenever a user accesses your website. This is due to the fact that a WordPress site will continue to load your old HTTP URL, so you must change it before it can operate as HTTPS.
Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to the settings tab to change your WordPress URL to HTTPS. Look for the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address under the “General” tab (URL). Add an EXTRA “S” to HTTP to convert them both to HTTPS. You can now move forward after saving your changes.
Implement a Site-Wide 301 Redirect
Despite switching to HTTPS, most visitors still access your website using the HTTP tag. They may have bookmarked your website or continue to use the previous link to access it whenever they want. You must tell WordPress to direct all HTTP traffic to your new HTTPS URL in order to solve this issue. Your entire website can be redirected in a number of ways, but the most common one is the 301 Redirect.
You can perform a site-wide redirect using plugins, such as Really Simple SSL. Instead of using HTTP, which is what the majority of visitors are used to, these plugins force WordPress to load traffic over HTTPS. If the plugin fails, you can also manually perform a 301 site-wide redirect to prevent issues. You will need an FTP client, such as FileZilla, to accomplish that. In reality, implementing a manual redirect is much more dependable than restarting your website to switch to HTTPS from HTTP.
Final Words
It can be very annoying to deal with Chrome’s “HTTPS not secure” message. The problem is that it could cause a drop in traffic and damage client confidence in your website. You can fix the problem by purchasing and installing an SSL certificate, as described in this blog post. After this error has been fixed, your website is more secure. Users can feel confident using your website without worrying about security issues thanks to it.
Using a different browser, such as Firefox, is an alternative solution. If security and downtime are concerns for you when hosting your website, think about getting a VPS. We offer virtual private servers at Cloudzy in 14 well-known cities around the world. We hope our article on “How to Fix ‘HTTPS Not Secure’ Message in Chrome” will surely help you to do so. Visit their official website for more solutions if the issue with your system is still present.