SSL Certificates FAQ's - In more detail

I don't sell products on my website, why do I need an SSL?

Google has decided that with the increase in cyber crime all websites should have an SSL certificate and encrypt all data between site visitor and Website. So unfortunately they have made this decision. (it used to be just sites who captured sensitive data on their website, and then sites with forms, and now it is all websites).

What do I have to do for the renewal in a year?

We will automatically renew your certificate for you as part of the monthly billings.

Will it affect my rankings on Google when my SSL certificate is added?

There may be a temporary change to your rankings while google re-indexes the site using the ssl certificate.You can speed up the process by alerting Google's Search Console. At the moment, Google are aware that many websites are doing the transition, so are working hard to minimise the delay. They have said that ‘No 301 redirects will cause a loss in PagerRank

What happens to my Sitemap. Will these be updated with the new https?

Yes we are doing this automatically for you.

What happens to my Robot.txt?

We are updating this automatically for you.

What happens with any external link coming to my website that was in past http now https?

We will be setting up an automatic 301 redirect - sending anyone that goes to a page linked that has http:// to your new https://. You can also, through your Search Console account to view backlinks.  This will give you the list that you can download of where the links are from.  Then manually make the changes there eg. update the links on the directories or sites you are listed on.

What about links within my website, to pages within my website

These will be automatically updated to the https, if created using the insert link tool in the editor. Also they will be covered by your 301 redirects. You can check this after the SSL has been implemented in your Search Console

My images, PDF’s and downloadables are stored separately to my website for speed, will these be updated as well?

Yes, we are migrating these across in October as well 

I have a .com and a .com.au domain - do I need more than one certificate?

This program will only install a single certificate on your website. You should redirect aliases to the original domain in the advanced settings of your website.

I have a iframe running within my website, is there anything I need to do?

You will need to update the iframe source from http to https (If the source of the iframe supports it). If you don’t, you may get warnings from the browser that parts of the page are unsecure.

Not sure I have Google Search Console, how can I find out?

Navigate to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en and login with a gmail account you may have setup in the past.

How do I set up Google Search Console

There are a lot of helpful videos online, here is one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPO781TYHI (Moz).  NB/ your website sitemap address, is your domain/sitemap.xml

How can I speed up the process with Google (to know http is now https)

In Google’s Search Console and you will need to "add a property" for the https:// and the https://www versions of your website. You'll then need to make sure you have the preferred domain https: selected and mark as the default version. Then you can resubmit your sitemap.xml files and you should be good to go. Do not remove the original property as indexing can be slow and is a gradual process. The search console will also highlight any indexing issues during the migration.

How do I make changes to my Google Analytics to register https:

In your adwords account click Admin and in the Account column select the account you want to add the property. In the Property column select Create New and then enter the url including https://….. From there you click on Get Tracking ID which will then start collecting data from the site

Can I purchase my own SSL Certificate?

You can, we charge an $80 to produce the CSR file, and then install the certificate when you supply it to us.

If I want my website added to the program after the 14th October, what do I need to do?

Contact your consultant, and they will get the certificate added for you (please note, the extra billing will start immediately, as we are only able to gift the certificates authorised prior to this date) 

My website is not live yet, with you. What will happen when it goes live?

One of the tasks the team will implement with you when go live, will be to ask if you want the SSL Certificate. Important to note: if you have a current website with http, before you go live you will need to give your consultant a list of all pages within your current website so we can implement 301 redirects (along with any page name changes).

Now I have an SSL certificate, can I take credit card details on a form on my website?

No, your storage of the credit card is not at the level needed.  You still need to use third party suppliers to take that information eg. PayPal, Your Banks Payment Gateway.

My current website with you, has a lot of shares and likes for the blogs, as the address will be changing - will it affect them?

Yes. Unfortunately with the change, as soon as we add the SSL Certificate that history of number of likes and shares per blog will be lost.