Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

[Protos]

I use a "mixed mode" http for unsecure traffic and https for loged-in customers.
I guess it is MIVA-Merchant standard by default.
It felt like a reasonable scenario and it works really good.
I notice a trend that many sites use HTTPS as default or the news:
"Google to prioritise secure websites" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28687513)

Shall I switch to HTTPS and do it all the way. How do I redo the inner linking if I tell Google that https is my standard address

Or will the search enginge notice that I have cert and secure site behind the http - front.

The last question, shall I do the change in MIVA or in Google Webmaster tools. In Site-Control Panel I can only administer my certificates and activate SSL protection.

I have not seen anyone disussing "Google to prioritise secure websites" since it became public knowledge, so I give it a try

Regards
André Loutchko
Stockholm

[ILoveHostasaurus]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

I'm personally not a fan of all-https because https is slower due to the encrypting and decrypting. To make the change though, you'd just need to update the "insecure" URL's in your store's domain settings area to use https instead of http, basically make them match the "secure" URL settings, and then all the store's generated links will use https instead, including images and other content.

[Protos]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Thanks for a quick answer. I have not thought about speed issues. I guess I am spoiled by MIVAs SAAS excellent hosting and great performance. I understand now how I can proceed through Site Configuration - will test it on my dev site. And consult my SEO on Google side of the issue.

[Rick Wilson]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

If you do this, make sure you set the Cookie setting too, to always secure.

[PCINET - Andreas]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

André,

could you let us know what your SEO guys opinion is. I'm tending to David's opinion not to favor https for all pages but if Google bumps you up for using secure then ...

[Dan - Glendale Designs]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

I say it depends on the specifics of a given store as to if it is a good fit/option. If a store is already stressed with overhead from extensive module usage, customizations, poor coding, shared hosting etc., then switching to https throughout could worsen user experience, which would most likely outweigh any slight bump Google might give you for full-https. Heavily customized and/or older stores will often require additional template changes as well to ensure full-https throughout. External scripts/solutions will need to be tested in order to determine if they support secure connection too.

I highly recommend looking at things on a case by case basis before pulling the trigger.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Well put Dan. The likely-hood of most sites who do this generating the Dreaded "this connection is secure but contains un-secure content" alone probably out weighs any possible benefit.

[Protos]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Hello Andreas,
I will do it in a couple of weeks. The firm we work with is based in Barcelona and they have summer holidays right now.
David Hubbard pointed out that "https is slower due to the encrypting and decrypting." I see CASHE-loss as a huge obstacle.

I start to realize that getting half a point with Google score is not worth the loss av CACHE-possiblities. My son just moved his sites to "all https". I asked him just for fun about his experience. I enclose Google translate from Swedish here:

"How to get around the performance hit and cache option on https. Https can not be cached because they are encrypted which provides performance loss and may in turn require extra CPU power for encryption as well. But I see CACHE as a huge problemor NOnexistent cache and secondary problem: the power that it takes to encrypt packets.


So then there's the weird solutions one can do to get around the cache problem, one of them I can find is this:


Nginx = web server
= Varnish cache server
Apache / IIS Web server =


Https Nginx HTTP varnish HTTP Apache


So when you put Nginx to act only https trunk which in turn retrieves cached http data from varnish, which in turn retrieves from Apache or IIS at the back."

Well none of this can be applied to a hosted environment. I guess I will stick with mixed-mode. But I will be back when I get SEO angle on this. Thanks guys for giving me insight on CONS of this.

//André Loutchko
Stockholm

[Protos]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Dear Andreas,
I promised to get back to you. Here is google translated answer from my SEO
Quote:
"Regarding https, so it is not priority to switch to https in full in the current situation, then this still affects ranking very little. I think we risk losing more than winning in the current situation, because we would need to create new URL with https, and re-index the whole site.

Anyway, this is still NEW and before we know how much impact this has, or will have, it is recommended not to make any changes"

A good technical description and some tips in Swedish can be found here.
http://www.sesnordic.se/nyheter-pres...lutning-https/

Thanks for your feedback and best wishes.

André

[PCINET - Andreas]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Thanks for getting back to me and those following the thread :) The Swedish article seems interesting, although I'm a polyglot, Swedish isn't one of them.

[Protos]

Re: Can I use HTTPS secure mode only?

Well, the main point is that it´s a lightweight factor for now

In the current situation affected very few searches of ranking factor HTTPS, only less than 1% of global searches affected. Ranking Factor HTTPS classified today as a very lightweight factor and still content, relevance and clarity is far more important ranking factors to take into consideration. Most likely ranking factor HTTPS to get a bigger role in future, but will probably get more or less important depending on the type of site, if sensitive information is handled, whether it is an e-commerce, in which industry and so on. Google has also, by classifying ranking factor that is very lightweight, giving us time to change to HTTPS if that's what we want.

I guess many of us will agree on this, but it is good to hear it from the SEO experts... :-)