HTTP and HTTPS are the cornerstones of Internet data transmission. The editor of Downcodes will take you to understand their differences and connections in depth. This article will elaborate on the differences between HTTP and HTTPS from various aspects such as data encryption, digital certificates, port numbers, performance impact, and SEO optimization, and answer some common questions to help you better understand these two protocols. Let's explore a safe and reliable online world together!
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) means "Hypertext Transfer Protocol" and is a basic protocol for web page data interaction. HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) stands for "HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure", which is an extended version of HTTP and is mainly used for secure communication. The difference is that HTTPS adds the SSL/TLS protocol to HTTP to ensure the security of data transmission and uses port 443. HTTPS encrypts data at the transport layer through SSL/TLS to protect data from eavesdropping, tampering or impersonation, while the content transmitted by HTTP is unencrypted and more vulnerable to third-party attacks.
The most important advantage of HTTPS over HTTP is security. When accessing a website using HTTP, the transmitted data is unencrypted, which means that all information, whether it is the transmitted content or the authentication information in the session, may be intercepted and read by a third party. HTTPS establishes an encrypted link between the client and the server and encrypts the data through the SSL/TLS protocol. Even if the data is intercepted, it will be difficult to crack because it is encrypted.
In the HTTP protocol, data is in clear text during transmission, and anyone interested in stealing the data can easily intercept the data. In contrast, HTTPS uses a combination of symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption to ensure data security. Asymmetric encryption is used to exchange keys during the handshake phase. Once a secure link is established, subsequent data transmission uses symmetric encryption, that is, the same key is used for encryption and decryption. This ensures the security of the interaction process and improves transmission efficiency. .
The HTTPS protocol uses the SSL/TLS protocol to provide authentication. When a website uses HTTPS, it must obtain a digital certificate, which is generally issued by a third-party authoritative certificate authority (CA). Digital certificates not only confirm the identity of a website, but also enhance users' trust in the website.
When a user visits an HTTPS website, the browser automatically asks the server to provide a digital certificate. The browser has built-in a series of trusted CA root certificates to verify the authenticity of the server certificate. If the certificate verification passes, a lock icon will be displayed to indicate that the website is trustworthy; if the verification fails, a warning message will be displayed to remind the user that the website may have security risks. In addition, the digital certificate also contains public key information, which is used to encrypt the transmitted data when establishing an HTTPS link.
HTTP and HTTPS also use different ports for data transmission. The HTTP standard port is port 80, and the HTTPS standard port is port 443. A port number is a numerical label used to distinguish different services on a network link.
The main function of the port number is to help the server distinguish which service process the request should be processed by. When a website supports both HTTP and HTTPS, the server needs to listen to different ports and respond to the corresponding service according to the requested port number. When a user enters a URL in the browser address bar to access a website, if the port number is not specified, the browser will automatically select port 80 or 443 based on the protocol used.
In some cases, because HTTPS requires encryption and decryption operations, it may have an impact on website performance. HTTPS may cause additional resource consumption due to the encryption process, which will have a certain impact on performance.
The SSL/TLS handshake takes time, making HTTPS connection establishment more time-consuming than HTTP. In addition, the computational consumption during the encryption and decryption process will increase the CPU load of the server, especially when processing a large number of HTTPS requests. In order to mitigate this impact, current improvements in server hardware performance and optimization of encryption technology have reduced this impact. For example, using hardware that supports SSL/TLS acceleration and enabling session reuse can reduce the performance consumption caused by HTTPS.
From an SEO perspective, search engines, such as Google, have begun to use HTTPS as one of their ranking signals. This means that using HTTPS can help your website rank better in search engine results.
Encrypted websites are considered more trustworthy and therefore more likely to be favored by search engines. This is particularly important for sites that handle sensitive user information, such as e-commerce and online banking sites. SEO experts recommend that websites use HTTPS, not just because it provides better data security, but also because it is a key factor in optimizing search engine rankings and improving website credibility.
Ensuring that a website using HTTPS has a valid SSL/TLS certificate, appropriate 301 redirects, and updated internal links are all important steps in optimizing the search engine friendliness of an HTTPS website. In addition, HTTPS websites generally achieve better user trust and satisfaction, which may also indirectly contribute to better user behavior signals, further supporting SEO effects.
1. What is HTTP protocol? What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
HTTP, the full name of Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is a protocol used to transmit hypertext on the network. HTTP is responsible for sending web page requests and responses between the server and client, and is one of the most important protocols on the Internet.
HTTPS, the full name of Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, is a protocol that ensures the security of web page transmission through encryption and authentication. HTTPS adds SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol to HTTP to ensure that data is not stolen or tampered with by encrypting data transmission.
2. What are the differences between HTTP and HTTPS? Why use HTTPS?
First, the most obvious difference is security. The data transmitted by the HTTP protocol is in clear text and is easily eavesdropped and tampered with, while HTTPS protects the data through encryption to ensure security during the transmission process.
Secondly, HTTPS requires the use of SSL certificates or TLS certificates, which need to be obtained from a certificate authority (CA) to verify the identity of the server. To ensure that the communication between the client and the server is safe and trustworthy.
In addition, most web browsers will mark websites that use the HTTP protocol as "unsafe" and websites that use the HTTPS protocol as "safe" to increase users' trust in the website.
Therefore, in order to protect users' privacy and data security, as well as establish a good reputation, more and more websites choose to use the HTTPS protocol to encrypt data transmission.
3. Will HTTPS affect website performance? What are the performance and security trade-offs between HTTP and HTTPS?
Using the HTTPS protocol will have a certain impact on the performance of the website, because encrypting and decrypting data requires more computing resources. The HTTPS protocol involves steps such as certificate verification and handshake, which will increase the loading time of the website.
However, modern computers and networks are already very fast and powerful, so most users will not notice the performance impact of the HTTPS protocol. In addition, by optimizing the code, pictures and other elements of the website, the impact of the HTTPS protocol on performance can be reduced.
When weighing performance and security, you can choose to use HTTPS for pages involving sensitive information such as user login and payment, and use HTTP for other ordinary pages. This can reduce the impact on website performance while ensuring the security of user data. For some websites with very high security requirements, such as financial institutions, the HTTPS protocol should be enabled on the entire site to protect user data.
I hope this article helped you understand the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. The editor of Downcodes is committed to providing you with high-quality technical content, thank you for reading!