Why you need an SSL Certificate

Have you noticed the little green padlock symbol with the words secure starting to show up on the latest edition of Google Chrome? That little green padlock is an increasingly good thing to have. As birth professionals, trust is absolutely Key to your success as a practitioner, and that little green padlock can work wonders.

Conversely, sites that are Not secure are starting to show up with a “Not secure” label below. I think it’s easy to see how this might be concerning or off putting for potential clients who are new to your services.

Right now the “Not secure” label is meant to be showing only on those sites that have password protected pages or ecommerce, so may not be showing up on your site in Google Chrome, but this will be expanding in the near future to a broader range of sites as SSL becomes more established as the norm. At that point, sites without SSL will be labeled as:

I know, it’s just one more thing to deal with – but the good news is that it is relatively simple to get set up. Really don’t want to deal with this yourself? I’m here to help.

I can help most WordPress sites convert to https:// function with the SSL certificate installed & Google Search Console updated in 30 minutes of paid time. If you need help, use the form below and select “Help with my SSL Certificate” and we will book a time to get started!

SSL Certificates on WordPress

Ok, now for those of you on WordPress. First, most hosts will offer a free SSL certificate option with your hosting package. You can google your hostname + SSL to find out more about your options. Setup generally involves asking the host to install the SSL certificate on your site, and then using the Really Simple SSL Plugin to do all of the needed adjustments. If it still isn’t working, you should go through your site and look for any links or image uploads that are still using the http:// part of the address instead of https://.

SSL Certificates Website Builders

Let’s start by looking at website builders beyond WordPress > 1) Weebly – Good news! They have finally added SSL to all plans! Previously only available to business plans.
2) Wix – All sites have an SSL option. >Learn more here, and see the tutorial here
3) Squarespace – Set up your SSL using this tutorial.

Your SSL Certificate & SEO

Google has stated that it is starting to give search results preference to those sites with the magic green padlock. It’s just one of many factors, but one well worth exploring. For your SSL certificate to help give you an SEO boost, you need to make sure the following factors are in place:

1) Once you’re all set up, go to your site in Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools and add both the https://www.awesomedoula.com and https://awesomedoula.com versions, while keeping the http:// versions in place. Then set your preferred version.

2) Set up a permanent 301 redirect for your http:// versions of the site to the https:// versions. Contact your host for help.

3) Resubmit your sitemap to Google Search Console with the https:// version

4) Review your social media profiles and sites that link to you such as DoulaMatch to ensure that the URL you have provided uses the https://.

Utterly Confused? I don’t blame you! I’m here to help.

I can help most WordPress sites convert to https:// function with the SSL certificate installed & Google Search Console updated in 30 minutes of paid time ($125/hour). BOOK A COACHING CALL HERE.