If your website contains Mixed Content, starting in December, your website could start experiencing a loss in visitors as Google Chrome will start blocking certain content from being displayed. Google announced in early October that they will push out an update to the Chrome browser to start blocking content from sites that are not completely using https.
This block will only be from visitors using Chrome as their browser but Google has already started listing sites that don’t use https as insecure in search listings so you will want to resolve any non-https objects on your site as soon as you can.
Most organizations are pushing for all sites to be https so visitors will know they have reached the site they intended and know their information is safe. But, if you have https, you still may have some issues.
A website can contain mixed content which means that the site may have a secure connection but some of the content may not be which will lead to what is called mixed content. This is what Chrome will start notifying visitors about.
So, what is mixed content?
Think of the items on one page of your website. You have some text and maybe some pictures. If all of these objects are not falling under your https certificate, then a web browser will see it as mixed content.
They could occur if you have built out pages on your site before you installed the security certificate needed to make your site https. After installing the certificate, you will need to go back and fix this or install a plugin that will go in and fix this for you.
When will my content start being blocked?
Google will use a phased roll out on blocking mixed content based on the following schedule.
December 2019 – Google will introduce a new setting to unblock mixed content on specific sites. This setting will apply to mixed scripts, iframes, and other types of content that Chrome currently blocks by default.
Users can toggle this setting by clicking the lock icon on any https:// page and clicking Site Settings. This will replace the shield icon that shows up at the right side of the address box of the browser for unblocking mixed content in previous versions of desktop Chrome.
January 2020 – Mixed audio and video resources will be auto-upgraded to https://, and Chrome will block them by default if they fail to load over https://. Users can unblock affected audio and video resources with the setting described above.
Also in Chrome 80, mixed images will still be allowed to load, but they will cause Chrome to show a “Not Secure” chip in the address bar of the browser. We anticipate that this is a clearer security UI for users and that it will motivate websites to migrate their images to HTTPS.
February 2020 – Mixed images will be auto-upgraded to https://, and Chrome will block them by default if they fail to load over https://.
So, what do you need to do?
Check your site to see if you are using https and not http. If you are still using http, then you need to get your site secured. A lot of hosting companies are now offering free security certificates and should be able to help you get your site secure. If they don’t offer a free one, then they will offer one you can buy one.
Once you get your site secure, you should see a padlock in the bar where your web address is. Then go to https://www.whynopadlock.com, and enter your website address and let it scan your site. Once it completes its results, you will see near the bottom a section for mixed content. If it shows a green check box, then you are good to go.
If not, then you need to see what information it gives you so you can resolve those issues.
To help in resolving mixed content, you can install the SSL Insecure Content Fixer plugin to help you in finding the content and fix it. If you are unsure on if your site is secure or not and want us to help, sign up today for a free site audit and we will review your site for you. We can also help you in getting your site secure and make sure there is no mixed content on your site.
If you are getting the mixed content errors and need help and resolving this, feel free to take advantage of our free site audit. We will review your site and find the errors and help you in resolving them.
