Google has announced a deadline of July 2018 as the date for when Chrome will begin explicitly warning users if a site is insecure.
More than 50 percent of Internet browsers worldwide are Chrome, meaning this change may have a significant impact on web publishers.
A prominent warning may affect how secure users feel and may cause some visitors to leave a site, which will negatively impacting a sites bounce rate, advertising impressions, affiliate clicks, and e-commerce sales.
How Will Chrome Warn Users of Insecure Pages?
A prominent warning will be shown in Chrome’s address bar (also known as the Omnibox), indicating that an insecure website is “Not secure.” This warning will show for all http websites.
Google’s announcement was firm about their goal to warn users of insecure sites, with the intent of further shepherding more web publishers into upgrading to HTTPS.
“Chrome’s new interface will help users understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and continue to move the web towards a secure HTTPS web by default.”
Google’s announcement provided an example of how the “omnibox” address bar security warning will appear.
