Mixed content occurs when a website is upgraded to HTTPS (the now expected secure standard for web requests) but some of the content within the page is still coded as and requested using HTTP. This means that these elements are insecure, thus comprising the security of the entire page. The problem is quite common, with many web masters scrambling to update sites to HTTPS as Google increased its punishments on sites not using the secure protocol over the past couple of years.
Now the time has come for Google to crack down on sites with mixed content as well, considering that aren’t really secure anyway. They’ve announced that from January 2020 Chrome will either attempt to automatically serve HTTP audio and video over HTTPS or otherwise block the content. Then in February 2020 images will get the same treatment.
If not fixed up, this could create some big holes on some websites. Mixed content such as images and videos will simply not load if Chrome is unable to find the HTTPS equivalent. This will result in the site looking broken and untrustworthy. I also bet that there will be further negative SEO impacts for having mixed content.
Look for the warnings seen in the images below to discover if your site has mixed content (the little exclamation mark will be seen to the left of your website URL at the top left of your browser, the other is from the console in F12 developer tools). If your site has them, there’s some work to be done.
Fixing up these issues is fast and straight forward. If you need help, contact TC Web to ensure your site is fully served over HTTPS.
