News

There are 2 posts filed in News (this is page 1 of 1).

Securing Your Website Over HTTPS

Over the past couple months we have received several emails asking why the most popular web browsers are now displaying a notification that their website is “Not Secure”?

The answer to this question is fairly technical so we’re not going to go into detail here, but if you would like to learn more we encourage you to google, “What is mixed content?”

What is HTTPS?

As a practical matter, we’re referring to whether or not your website runs over an HTTPS connection type, or a non-secure HTTP connection. The “S” in HTTPS stands for “Secure” and it means that the content on your webpages are being encrypted as data travels between your website and a visitor’s web browser.

In the past, it was only necessary for online shopping sites, banks, etc to be secure, but as of late 2019 popular web browsers like Google Chrome began mandating that all sites to be secured. Therefore, if your website is still loading over a non-secure HTTP connection your visitors will be notified by their web browser that your website is not secure. Obviously, a website that is perceived as unsafe will lead to a loss of traffic and, ultimately, a loss of business.

So what can you do to secure your website over HTTPS?

In order to move your website from HTTP to HTTPS you will need something called an SSL certificate. Some web hosts still charge for an SSL certificate, but many now offer this as a free upgrade.

After your SSL certificate is acquired through your web host you will need to apply it to your website through your WordPress admin as well as through the .htaccess file associated with your website.

Getting help

Now, we understand that all of this technical talk can be intimating or overwhelming. So, we’re offering our expertise to help secure your website for $50. Hopefully, your web host is one of the many that offer a free SSL, like SiteGround, Bluehost and WP Engine. If not, you’ll have to buy that too.

To secure your website over HTTPS, please contact us and request our SSL service and get a spot in the queue.

The Bright Future of WordPress + Minimal Themes

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the progress and rapid development of WordPress 5.0 which features a new block-based post editor nicknamed Gutenberg.

For the past several months we have been working hard to ensure WordPress 5.0 compatibility and also to offer Gutenberg support for all of our themes, starting with our Signature themes (Made and Eero) as they are the richest in terms of features and performance. Our Basic themes (Milo, Eames, Dorsey and Wright) are also in the process receiving a complete code base overhaul to optimize compatibility, performance and security.

We’re making great progress, but we’re not there yet. This means that if WordPress 5.0 is released before our next round of updates you should wait for my official announcement (check email and blog) before updating your site.

As of now, the WordPress 5.0 release date has been pushed back from it’s previous target of November 27th. The new release date is yet to be announced.

We are committed to the exciting future of WordPress, to the artists and creative professionals around the world who trust our themes to present their online portfolio, and to successfully integrating the new Gutenberg editor into the Minimal WordPress theme catalog.