What is the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?

HTTP and HTTPS are both protocols used for transmitting data over the web, but they have a crucial difference concerning security.

HTTP transfers data in plain text, making it vulnerable to eavesdropping or tampering by malicious entities. In contrast, HTTPS incorporates an additional layer of security using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security). This layer encrypts the data being transferred, ensuring that any intercepted information remains unreadable.

While surfing the internet, you might have noticed http:// or https:// before the start of a URL in a browser’s address bar. If you are keen on finding out what these two are, this post will help you. Here, we will understand what is HTTP and HTTPS. We will also explore the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and understand how to move to HTTPS from HTTP.

Table of Contents

• What is HTTP?
• HTTP Request/Response
• What is HTTPS?
• What is the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?
• Which is Better – HTTP vs HTTPS?
• How to Switch from HTTP to HTTPS?

What is the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?

What is HTTP?

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the foundation of any data exchange on the World Wide Web (www full form). It provides a set of rules and standards that control how any information can transfer on the World Wide Web.

HTTP is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model (TCP/IP). It is a client-server protocol that enables web browsers and web servers to communicate. When a user makes an HTTP request on the browser, the server sends the requested data to the user in the form of web pages.

HTTP is a stateless protocol. This means that every transaction will be executed separately. On completion of a transaction between the web browser and the server, the connection gets lost.

HTTP Request/Response

Here is how the communication between clients and servers takes place with HTTP requests and responses:

• The client (browser) sends an HTTP request to the web
• A web server will receive the request
• The webserver will run an application to process the request
• The server will return an HTTP response to the browser
• The client will receive the response

What is HTTPS?

HTTPS refers to the secure version of HTTP. It establishes a secure connection between client and server. It uses the Transport Layer Security (TLS) security protocol, the successor of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt the data before transmission. Thus, the data remains safe throughout the connection path.

The TLS protocol uses an asymmetric public key infrastructure with two keys –

• Private key: This key decrypts the information that is encrypted by the public key. It is available on the webserver and is managed by the website owner.
• Public key: This key converts the data into an encrypted form and is available to everyone.

Which is Better – HTTP vs HTTPS?

If you want to start a new website, you can use the HTTPS protocol, which is more secure. If your website currently uses HTTP, then you can switch to HTTPS. While there are many benefits of HTTPS over HTTP, there are some challenges that we may face if we do not follow the correct procedure to switch from HTTP to HTTPS.

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How to Switch from HTTP to HTTPS?

Here are the steps to switch from HTTP to HTTPS:

• Prepare: Moving from HTTP to HTTPS is a big move. Thus, you must conduct it when your website is not very busy.
• Purchase and Install an SSL Certificate: You can purchase an SSL certificate from your website host. They can also install and configure it. You will have to decide which of the three certificate types is best suited for your website needs – Domain Validated (DV SSL), Organization Validated (OV SSL), and Extended Validation (EV SSL).
• Enable HTTPS: Migrating to HTTPS will depend on the size of your website. If your website is huge, you must perform it in phases. Going from subdomains to the most crucial part of your website.
• Once the HTTPS is correctly installed and running, you can access the HTTPS version of your pages.
• 301 Redirects From HTTP to HTTPS: 301 redirects will tell the search engine that the site has changed. It needs to be indexed under the new protocols. You can set up 301 redirects to redirect traffic from servers to your new HTTPS protocol automatically if you use a CMS. Otherwise, you will need to do it manually.

Conclusion

In this blog, we learned what are HTTP and HTTPs as well as the difference between the two. HTTPS offers many advantages over HTTP in terms of security. HTTPS is better when it comes to accepting sensitive information from users. Today, web browser users are encouraged to trust only websites implementing HTTPS. As it can help them reduce hacking threats and attacks.