HTTPS for Therapy Websites

Is Your Website Secure? Get an SSL Certificate to Protect and Optimize Your Website

The success of your practice can depend on the strength of your website. Chances are you’ve invested dozens of hours and hundreds or thousands of dollars in site design, content creation, and marketing. But, is your site secure?

You’ve probably heard about the importance of creating a “secure” website. But, you may not understand exactly what that means or how to get started. You might worry you will do something wrong or forget a step and “break” your website if you try to make the update on your own. Or, maybe you put it off because it didn’t seem to be affecting your site’s performance.

Besides, website and SEO requirements are always changing. Often, the changes are relatively minor, and performing an SEO check-up once or twice a year is all you need to maintain your site rank.

But, in addition to smaller SEO changes, Google is now pushing sites to purchase and install an SSL certificate. And, that requirement has left many site owners with questions.

What is an SSL certificate? How can you get one for your site? And, why is it so important?

What Is an SSL Certificate?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard process for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and browser to protect user data.

SSL certification has always been required for pages that collect login or payment information. But, Google is now requiring the security certificate for all websites.

So, how will this affect your website and user experience?

One of the most noticeable changes after getting an SSL Certificate is that your URL will now begin with https:// instead of http://. This gives clients a quick, clear way to know that your site is secure.

Without SSL certification, your URL won’t show as secure.

Or, worse, visitors could receive a warning that your site is “Not Secure,” which could cause them to navigate away from your content.

With SSL certification, visitors will see that your site is “Secure” and can feel confident that any information they access or enter is safe.

In addition to adding an extra level of security to your site – and increasing client trust – SSL certification factors into SEO and where you rank in search results. There’s simply no better time than right now to get an SSL Certificate for your practitioner website.

Why Use CounselingWise for SSL Certification?

Getting an SSL Certificate for your website can be as simple as pressing a button. In many cases you can install an SSL certificate directly through your web host. But, the process can be a little more complicated than you are comfortable with, especially if you have a large site with lots of media files. If you want to maximize the benefit and minimize the risk while making the change, there are a few important extra steps you need to take.

The web developers and site managers at CounselingWise understand the changes that take place when you add an SSL Certificate and the many small but significant ways those changes can affect your website.

We can help you:

• plan the transfer
• check that you have a site back-up (just in case anything doesn’t transfer correctly)
• add the SSL Certificate
• take follow-up steps to further boost site SEO for your new https:// URL
• track performance data to call out wins and identify opportunities
• quickly troubleshoot any issues that arise

Issues during SSL transfer are rare. But, they can be complicated when they do arise.

When you come to CounselingWise for an SSL Certificate, you can rest easy, knowing you have a safety line in place and an expert to help you through.

How Does SSL Certification Work?

If you are new to CounselingWise, we’ll assign a Project Manager (PM) to your project to provide personalized help and support.

That’s because – while many SSL Certification sites only give you the barebones help you need to update your site – we will take a deep dive into your site to ensure you get the most out of the change, both now and in the long run.

So, what is our process?

1. You fill out our form, providing us with all of the information we need to access your site.
2. We help you take steps to back-up your site. Transfer errors are rare, but we won’t start SSL certification until we are sure your site information and files are safe.
3. You purchase the SSL certificate from your web host. If you host with us, we’ll take care of this for you ☺
4. We install the SSL certificate and test the site
5. We begin tracking keywords and site performance
6. We review Google+, Google Business, and Google Search Console (if you have them) to update key backlinks and test site performance
7. We update privacy policy to reflect the increased security

 

You may know you need to update your website but still have questions about SSL/HTTPS…

If SSL is standard now, why didn’t you use it when I had you build my website?

Search engines are now favoring SSL certified sites and are factoring it into ranking. But, that wasn’t always the case. If we built your site in our Smart Therapy Websites Program before 2017, we recommend you get a security certificate and move to HTTPS soon to make sure it doesn’t negatively affect your ranking and conversion rate.

Will old backlinks still bring visitors to my site if the URL changes from HTTP to HTTPS?

When your site changes to HTTPS, a permanent redirect is created to ensure you don’t lose any visitors who click on old backlinks. That said, Google values direct links, and we recommend resubmitting your site’s URL to Google+, Google Business, and Google Search Console after your SSL Certificate is in place. If this sounds too complicated, we’re standing by to take care of this technical work for you.

Want to learn more of the nitty gritty technical details about SSL Certificates? Check out this great article from Samsung Business Executive Jay Jones.

We’re Ready to Get Your Site SSL Certified!

SSL is quickly becoming the standard procedure for websites. Half of the internet has already made the change to https, and updating your site now can “future-proof” your business.

But, it isn’t easy to add an SSL Certificate, especially if you aren’t comfortable making backend technical changes to your website. That’s why we’re here to help! We have the know-how and experience to make the change as seamlessly as possible. So, why not give us a call and take the “uh?” out of SSL update.

If you have any questions or you’d like to learn more, click the “Let’s Talk” button below to schedule time with our team. We can discuss your site and the process for adding an SSL Certificate.

Or, if you’re ready to get started right away, select your plan below.

HTTPS for WordPress $240

HTTPS for SquareSpace $100

*Prices do not include the cost of the SSL Certificate you purchase from your host.

[notification style=”warning” font_size=”12px”] REFUND POLICY: No refunds will be provided for work already performed. [/notification]