If you’ve ever visited a website that begins with “https://” instead of “http://”, you may have noticed that your browser displays a little padlock icon next to the address. This is because the site is using a protocol called SSL, which encrypts data sent between the web server and your browser.
SSL is an important security measure for any website that collects sensitive information from visitors, such as credit card numbers or login credentials.
If you try to visit a website that doesn’t use SSL, you’ll see a warning message in your browser saying that the site is “not secure”. Squarespace sites automatically use SSL, so you shouldn’t see this message when visiting a Squarespace site.
However, there are a few circumstances where you might see it.
Circumstance #1: You’re using an outdated browser
Browsers are constantly being updated with new features and security improvements. If you’re using an older browser, it may not support the latest SSL technology. To fix this, simply install the latest version of your browser.
Circumstance #2: You’re visiting an external link
If a Squarespace site has links to external sites that don’t use SSL, you’ll see the “not secure” message when you click those links.
This is because browsers can only apply SSL to pages within the same domain. For example, if you visit https://www.example-site.com, and that site has a link to http://www.anotherexample-site.com, your browser will only display the padlock icon when on the first site. Once you click the link to the second site, the icon will disappear because SSL can’t be applied to pages on a different domain.
Circumstance #3: Mixed content warnings
If some content on a page is not being loaded over SSL, you may see a mixed content warning in your browser console. This typically happens when site owners try to load resources like images or videos from a non-SSL URL (http://) on an SSL page (https://) . These warnings won’t affect how your site appears to visitors, but they’re worth fixing because mixed content can make your site vulnerable to attacks.
Why Is It Saying My Squarespace Site Not Secure?
There are three primary reasons why your Squarespace site might say it’s not secure: using an outdated browser, visiting an external link, or mixed content warnings.
Browsers are constantly being updated with new features and security improvements, so if you’re using an older browser, simply install the latest version.
If a Squarespace site has links to external sites that don’t use SSL, you’ll see the “not secure” message when clicking those links because browsers can only apply SSL within the same domain.
Lastly, if some content on a page is not being loaded over SSL, you may see a mixed content warning in your browser console. These warnings won’t affect how your site appears to visitors but they’re worth fixing because mixed content can make your site vulnerable to attacks.
-Your site may not be using SSL. SSL is required for all Squarespace sites, and you can learn more about it here.
-Your site may be using an outdated SSL certificate. You can learn more about updating your SSL certificate here.
-There may be a problem with your domain’s DNS settings. You can learn more about DNS settings here.
