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Get HTTPS Secure

Improve the security of your website to avoid 'not secure' warnings and protect patients.

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Secure your URL and protect patients

HTTPS adds a layer of protection to prevent tampering between your website and your patients' web browsers. 

This is essential when patients are sharing information via your website by submitting a form or signing up to an email newsletter. 

Google wants every website to be secure and have introduced measures that force website owners to improve security by displaying 'Not Secure' messages next to URLs that don't have HTTPs. 

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Secure your site with HTTPS

  • Our web development team will source and install your SSL certificate and redirect pages on your website from http to https.

Get Started

Securing your site with https

You may have noticed a padlock symbol in the address bar of your internet browser when you visit a website. This indicates that a website has a correctly installed SSL Certificate.

An SSL certificate provides a layer of protection between your website and your visitors’ browsers to prevent tampering. This is of particular importance as without this layer of security your patients’ data can be compromised.  Secure websites start with https instead of http.

SSL is recommended for every website on the internet. In fact if you don’t have it, your website visitors will see a warning that your site is not safe. This means if you are not using SSL on your website, you will lose the trust of your patients.

Many hosting companies offer free SSL certificates. The first step is to activate the certificate which is easy enough to do. The second step is where many practice owners get stuck and that is updating their URL’s from http to https. It’s best to trust this step with an experienced web developer and that’s where we can help.

HTTPS - The Basics

SSL Certificate

To secure your website, you need a SSL certificate. These are usually free and are sourced from your website host or CDN.

Making the Switch

Once your SSL Certificate is installed, you need to update all of the URLs on your website to be https instead of http.

Not Secure is a turn off

Without HTTPS security on your website, you risk your patient data being compromised and patients being warned your site is not secure.

FAQ:

How is https different from http?

HTTPS is one of two elements that can appear in front of your clinic's URL in the Google search bar. The other element is HTTP.

For example:

a) https://yourclinic.com.au

b) http://yourclinic.com.au

When you have https at the beginning of your URL, this indicates your website is secure and sensitive information is protected by encryption. Therefore it cannot be read by third parties if intercepted.

Is an SSL certificate free?

Many web hosts provide SSL certificates for free. Cloudflare SSL and Let's Encrypt are free, well documented and don't require regular maintenance. 

What happens if I don't secure my URL?

Without HTTPS on your website, you risk:

  • Patient data being compromised
  • Patients being warned your website is not secure, which reduces trust
  • Your Google ranking dropping below your competitors

Can I do this myself?

Potentially!

First step is to source your SSL certificate, usually via your website host. Then you need to ensure a redirect is set up from the http version of your website to https. You can look up how to do this yourself on Google or YouTube, engage a freelance web developer on a site like Upwork or choose our service. 

Ready to get secure?

Start Now

See how we can help you transform your practice

Learn with Local MD
  • 5 Reasons your Website's Not Ranking on Google

  • Local MD Covid-19 Resource

  • Patient-Centric Website Resource

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Google Rating
5.0
Local MD
Local MD
5.0
Simon Wilson
Simon Wilson
19:19 12 Nov 21
Maz and the team have been very proactive with suggestions around our new website for directaccessvasectomy. They set out the steps clearly and although Covid has been a real pain we look forward to the next steps around some SEO updates together.
Kath Hinde
Kath Hinde
01:37 29 Sep 21
I engaged Maz to help me communicate with Google to get the verification code I was having trouble getting, and then a once-off GMB optimisation of my page. She was wonderful, and in a very short time had transformed my GMB page with content, photos, and all the bells and whistles needed to raise our profile. I am very glad I engaged her services and thoroughly recommend you do the same
roovawal
roovawal
03:06 27 Sep 21
Our two large Medical Centre's have been working with Maz for many years now. I absolutely cannot fault her professionalism, promptness and skill. Our website is kept looking great, any changes (and they have been constant over Covid!) are dealt with at lightning speed and there are often improvements suggested which make a huge difference. Great job Maz (and colleague Andrea). We really appreciate everything you do for us and highly recommend Local MD to anyone else.
Peter Holsman
Peter Holsman
07:02 24 Sep 21
"Covid arrived and my patient numbers dropped dramatically. It was clear that I needed to market my clinic a lot better if my clinic was to survive and preferably prosper in the future.Maz showed me how my website was largely "invisible" to google and my potential client base. It turned out that most of my posts weren't working.Maz was incredibly helpful in understanding my business and coming up with an attractive new website that engaged with my patients.The feedback from my patients has been terrific.I absolutely recommend her services for anyone looking to build a new website or optimise their GMB profile."
See all reviewsWrite a review
powered by Google
Google Rating
5.0
Local MD
Local MD
5.0
Simon Wilson
Simon Wilson
19:19 12 Nov 21
Maz and the team have been very proactive with suggestions around our new website for directaccessvasectomy. They set out the steps clearly and although Covid has been a real pain we look forward to the next steps around some SEO updates together.
Kath Hinde
Kath Hinde
01:37 29 Sep 21
I engaged Maz to help me communicate with Google to get the verification code I was having trouble getting, and then a once-off GMB optimisation of my page. She was wonderful, and in a very short time had transformed my GMB page with content, photos, and all the bells and whistles needed to raise our profile. I am very glad I engaged her services and thoroughly recommend you do the same
roovawal
roovawal
03:06 27 Sep 21
Our two large Medical Centre's have been working with Maz for many years now. I absolutely cannot fault her professionalism, promptness and skill. Our website is kept looking great, any changes (and they have been constant over Covid!) are dealt with at lightning speed and there are often improvements suggested which make a huge difference. Great job Maz (and colleague Andrea). We really appreciate everything you do for us and highly recommend Local MD to anyone else.
Peter Holsman
Peter Holsman
07:02 24 Sep 21
"Covid arrived and my patient numbers dropped dramatically. It was clear that I needed to market my clinic a lot better if my clinic was to survive and preferably prosper in the future.Maz showed me how my website was largely "invisible" to google and my potential client base. It turned out that most of my posts weren't working.Maz was incredibly helpful in understanding my business and coming up with an attractive new website that engaged with my patients.The feedback from my patients has been terrific.I absolutely recommend her services for anyone looking to build a new website or optimise their GMB profile."
See all reviewsWrite a review
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