If you’ve been wondering about website not secure salem, here’s the plain-English version for Salem-area owners. By Melody Campbell, The Small Business Guru
Imagine a customer in Keizer searches for a plumber on her phone, taps your website, and sees a warning across the top: “Not secure.” Would she keep scrolling to find your number? Most people wouldn’t. They would hit the back button and call the next business on the list.
A website marked “Not Secure” is one of the simplest problems to fix, and it is one of the most common ones I see when I look at a local business’s online presence. In this post I’ll explain what that warning means in plain English, how to check your own site in about two minutes, and what to ask your web host or builder to do about it.
You don’t need to be technical for any of this. You just need to know what to ask for.
In a nutshell
- “Not secure” means your site is missing an SSL certificate, the thing that gives you the padlock and the “https” in your web address.
- Visitors see that warning before they read a single word about your business.
- Many web hosts include SSL for free, and turning it on is usually a quick job for whoever manages your site.
- A secure site is a basic trust signal. I can’t promise it alone will bring in calls, but a warning on your site can quietly cost you them.
What does “Not Secure” actually mean?
Your website needs something called an SSL certificate. That is a small file on your web host that scrambles the information passing between your visitor’s phone and your site. It’s what puts the little padlock next to your web address and the “https” at the start instead of plain “http.”
Without it, browsers warn visitors that information they send to your site, like a name and phone number typed into a quote form, isn’t protected. The browser isn’t saying your business is shady. It’s saying the connection isn’t private.
That warning is a human problem, not a technical one. A stranger deciding whether to trust you sees a red flag before they read a word. If you are a septic company, a landscaper, or a lash studio, you are asking people to let you into their yard, their home, or their face. Trust matters from the very first tap.
How do I know if my site has it?
Open your website on your phone. Look at the address bar at the top. If you see a padlock and “https,” you’re good. If you see “Not secure,” keep reading.
Here is a quick way to check everything you own:
- Type your web address into your phone browser exactly as you would tell a customer, with no “https” in front.
- Check whether the page loads with a padlock or a warning.
- Try the old “http” version of your address. It should jump to “https” on its own.
- Click through your Contact page and any quote request form, since those are the pages where people share their information.
Check every site you own, including extra landing pages, old microsites, and the booking page you set up years ago. Those get forgotten, and a visitor who lands on one of them still judges your whole business by it.
Why does a security warning cost me customers?
Think about how a local customer actually shops. They search, they see a few options, and they pick the one that feels safest. If your Google listing looks great and your website throws up a warning, you’ve created a gap between what they expected and what they got.
In my experience, owners often blame the wrong thing when the phone goes quiet. They think they need more ads or more social posts. Sometimes the real leak is a website that scares people off at the last step.
This also connects to how your business shows up across Google. Your Google Business Profile links to your website, so a warning on that site undercuts the good work you’ve done on your listing. It is one piece of what I call getting trusted: the things customers need to see before they feel comfortable reaching out.
What should I do about it?
Here is the simple path. You can do the first step yourself, and the rest is a short list to hand to whoever looks after your site.
- Ask your web host or website builder to turn on SSL. Many include it free. If yours charges a lot or says it can’t be done, that is worth a second opinion.
- Make sure your pages load as “https” and that the old “http” version redirects to the secure one, so nobody lands on a broken copy.
- Fix mixed content. Sometimes a page has the padlock but still shows a warning because one image or script is loading the old way. Ask your web person to check for this.
- Update your Google Business Profile website link to the secure address so customers go straight to the safe version.
- Update other places your web address appears, such as social profiles, email signatures, and directory listings.
A secure, well-built site is part of a website that actually earns trust. If your site is old, slow, or hard to read on a phone, the warning is often just the first symptom, and it may be a good time to look at the whole thing. I wrote about what every local website should make clear if you want a simple checklist for that next step.
What if I don’t know who manages my website?
This happens more than you’d think. A nephew built it, an old agency set it up, or you paid someone years ago and lost the login. Start by finding where your domain name is registered and where the site is hosted. Your email inbox is a good place to search for old receipts and renewal notices.
If you can’t get in, don’t panic. A web professional can usually help you regain access or move the site to a hosting setup you control. The point is that you, the business owner, should be able to reach your own website.
What to do this week
- Open your website on your phone and look for the padlock.
- Test the “http” version and see whether it redirects to “https.”
- Write down every site and landing page your business owns, and check each one.
- Contact your host or builder and ask them to turn on SSL and fix any mixed content.
- Update the website link on your Google Business Profile and your social accounts.
- Submit your test form once the fix is in, to make sure the inquiry still reaches you.
Frequently asked questions
Is SSL the same thing as having a secure business?
No. SSL protects the connection between a visitor and your site. It doesn’t say anything about how good your service is, but it does remove a warning that makes people hesitate.
Will fixing this help me rank higher on Google?
I can’t promise any ranking change from one fix. What I can say is that a secure site is a basic expectation, and a warning works against the trust you’re building everywhere else.
Do I need to pay for an SSL certificate?
Not always. Many hosts and website builders include it, so ask before you buy anything extra. If you do pay, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting.
My site shows a padlock on my computer but a warning on my phone. Why?
That can point to mixed content or a redirect problem on certain pages. Send your web person a screenshot of the warning and the exact page, and it will be much faster to sort out.
I’m Melody Campbell, The Small Business Guru, and I help business owners in Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley get found, get trusted, and get chosen.
Get Found. Get Trusted. Get Chosen.