Every website needs to use secure HTTP, better known as HTTPS. HTTPS secures information sent between the server and the client (i.e., device browser). It keeps your customer’s browsing information private and secure.
Going digital is among the trends in the escape room industry. A digital presence allows your customers to book rooms in the comfort of their homes and leave reviews. But the digital space is not without its share of problems.
For long, safety within the physical escape rooms has been a paramount concern. And with the shift to the digital space, there are even more safety concerns. It is not just about a physical injury in the escape room. An escape room website also needs to protect the customer’s information. From session identities to sensitive customer information submitted on the website, information integrity cannot be understated.
HTTPS is crucial for escape rooms that process payments (e.g., when booking rooms) to ensure the safety and privacy of the buyer’s information from unauthorized access.
But even when your website does not take payment, you still need HTTPS. With HTTPS, nobody can decipher information sent between the client and server even if they managed to capture the data. HTTPS encrypts information passing between a server and the browser.
HTTPS is a proactive website security strategy. It provides a safe environment for your website visitors.
What Https Does For Your Escape Room
HTTPS is the secured version of HTTP (Hypertext transfer protocol). HTTP defines how information is transferred between a browser and the website server. For the browser to communicate with the server (e.g., when fetching a web page), the browser sends a HTTP request to the server through the internet service provider (ISP). The website server responds with a HTTP response, either delivering the webpage or an error message.
The HTTP problem is that the information sent between the browser and server is in plain text. Meaning that anyone who intercepts the communication (e.g., man-in-the-middle attack in public WIFI) can read everything information sent in the communication channel with the right tools.
HTTPS solves this problem by implementing an encryption protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
SSL, previously called TLS (Transport Layer Security), assigns encryption and decryption keys to information passing between a server and browser. An SSL certificate defines the authentication, encryption and decryption of information between the web browser and server.
HTTPS gives you control over the security of your website.
Ensure Data Integrity
A third party can look at users’ information over an unprotected website (e.g using cookies) and profile your users despite your efforts to maintain their anonymity. Such information is sold to third parties. Unknown people basically benefit from your lack of protection and exploit your users’ information without your knowledge.
With HTTPS, the browser’s information to the server (e.g., customer name and payment details) is scrambled in transit. And when it arrives in the server, the server uses its encryption key to decrypt the information. After processing it, the server encrypts the response (e.g., approval message) before sending it back to the browser. The browser will use its encryption key to decrypt the message and deliver it to the user.
Even if an attacker managed to eavesdrop on the communication, they cannot read the information without the encryption keys.
SSL ensures that information is not altered in transit.
Secure Your Website
HTTPS protects your website from malicious additions to your website. For example, a malicious ISP (internet service provider) can add advertisements to your website without your knowledge or approval. The ad could redirect users to an infected website that steals your client’s information. Even if the ad is legitimate, the website owner does not share in the advertisement’s proceeds. It is classic exploitation of resources that could be avoided with HTTPS.
Authentication prevents anyone from injecting anything into your website.
Prove That Your Site Is Trustworthy
Website users have learnt to rely on HTTP to prove the credibility of a website. Through a browser like Chrome, users don’t even need to know anything about HTTPS. The Chrome browser’s Safe-browsing tools alarm users when they visit insecure websites.
For example, a danger sign and the words “Not Secure” on the address bar alert the user that they should not submit any sensitive information on the website.
Safe-browsing is a Google initiative to protect its users from malicious websites. If Google does not trust your website, it warns your users not to trust it, which harms business. Your customers lose confidence in your escape room altogether. If you can’t protect their online information, why would they trust you with their lives in the escape room?
On the other hand, if Google marks your website as secure, it encourages users to explore your pages comfortably and submit their personal information. When a user has to submit their banking details to your website, a security approval is all they need to proceed.
Optimize Page Experience
Page experience influences your escape room’s ranking on Google Search results. The websites with the best page experience rank higher in the Google results pages. Page experience measures how your website users feel when interacting with your website. The page experience is a culmination of metrics measuring loading performance, mobile-friendliness, visual stability, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and more signals that determine the best user experience.
How To Check The Security Of Your Website
HTTPS needs to be implemented in its entirety on your domain. Securing your website’s aspects, like the check-out page and leaving out other pages, is not effective. You need to pass all your data including images, cookies and all page information over HTTPS.
To find out if your escape room’s connection is secure, test your domain using a security audit tool.
Test Your Website Security Using The Rocket Effect Security Checker
Our website security analyzer tests the vulnerabilities of your website including HTTPS. When you run your escape room website through our security checker, you get a full security performance report. The detailed security report shows you all the security aspects that you need to improve on your website. Take control of your website’s security today!
