Why do I get the message “This web site is not secure” when I visit my web site?

Standard web sites use an unencrypted connection to display their information to visitors. For web sites that process or store sensitive data such as personal information or credit card details, something called a “Security Certificate” can be installed to force an encrypted connection before transferring data.

Installing a certificate is quick and easy but there is an annual cost of £70 per year for the certificate. This will stop the insecure messages appearing.

However, if you are not processing or storing sensitive data, you don’t “Need” a certificate. Instead, just make sure that any links to your web site are directed to a standard rather than a secure link.

Secure links look like this: https://www.websitename.co.uk
Standard links are missing the “s” i.e. http://www.websitename.co.uk

Directing people to the HTTP:// version will stop you getting the insecure messages.