HTTPS

In this article, we’ll dive into HTTPS—what it is, why it matters, and how to implement it to secure your website and boost SEO.

Why HTTPS Matters

1. Security

When you access a website via HTTPS, all communication between your browser and the server is encrypted. On an unencrypted connection (HTTP), anyone on the same network—such as a coffee shop Wi-Fi—could intercept your passwords, credit-card numbers, or personal details.

With HTTP, data is sent in plain text. An attacker can easily read it.
With HTTPS, intercepted data is encrypted and unreadable.

2. SEO Benefits

Search engines like Google prioritize secure sites in search rankings. Enabling HTTPS not only protects user data but also improves your site’s visibility and trustworthiness.

SSL and TLS Protocols

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are cryptographic protocols that secure data in transit. Although we still colloquially call them “SSL certificates,” modern sites use TLS under the hood.

SSL vs TLS: A Quick Comparison

How TLS Works: A Checkout Example

Imagine you’re on an e-commerce checkout page and submit your name, address, and credit-card details. TLS protects this process in four steps:

1. Connection Initiation
   Your browser connects to the server over HTTPS.

   

2. Certificate Exchange
   The server responds by sending its TLS certificate, which includes its public key and identity details.

   

3. Certificate Authority (CA)
   A trusted CA—like Let’s Encrypt, DigiCert, or Comodo—verifies the domain owner and signs the certificate.

   

4. Domain Verification
   Your browser checks that the certificate matches the domain (e.g., https://onlinestore.com), ensuring you’re communicating with the real site.

   

Asymmetric Encryption Explained

TLS employs asymmetric encryption (public-key cryptography), similar to SSH. A public key encrypts data, and only the corresponding private key can decrypt it.

1. The server publishes its public key (an “open padlock”) to your browser.
2. Your browser encrypts sensitive data—like credit-card details—using that public key.

3. The server applies its private key to decrypt the data, keeping it secure even if intercepted.

Obtaining TLS Certificates

Choose a tool and provider based on your environment:

1. Let’s Encrypt + Certbot

Certbot is an ACME client that automates issuance and renewal of free TLS certificates from Let’s Encrypt.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot

sudo certbot certonly \
  --standalone \
  --preferred-challenges http \
  -d example.com \
  -d www.example.com

Certificates are saved at:

• /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
• /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem

2. mkcert (Self-Signed for Local Testing)

mkcert sets up a local CA and issues certificates trusted by your development machine. Not suitable for production.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mkcert

# Change to your certificates directory
cd /etc/ssl/private

# Install mkcert’s local CA
mkcert --install

# Generate a wildcard certificate for *.example.com
mkcert *.example.com

Configuring Nginx for HTTPS

Once you have your certificate and private key, update your Nginx server block to listen on port 443:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name honda.cars.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/ssl/certs/honda.cars.com.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/certs/honda.cars.com-key.pem;

    root  /var/www/honda.cars.com/html;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Reload Nginx and verify your site at https://honda.cars.com.

Links and References

• HTTPS on Wikipedia
• TLS on Wikipedia
• SSL on Wikipedia
• Let’s Encrypt
• Certbot
• mkcert
• Nginx