Enhanced Security For Your Real Estate Website

Enhanced Security For Your Real Estate Website

 August 15, 2017

Security is a major concern for many Americans, but when it comes to online data transmission, few Americans know who to trust. Websites like Google and Amazon are inherently trusted due to brand recognition, while lesser-known entities are often scrutinized in spite of stellar security measures. But in many cases, the greatest threat to your data is not the website that you are connected to, but unscrupulous third-parties attempting to intercept your data transmissions. The solution to this threat is SSL.

What is SSL?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for encrypted connections between a server and a browser. It allows sensitive data to be transmitted securely, preventing data from being exposed to “eavesdroppers” seeking to intercept your data. Without SSL, any data submitted through a form on a website could potentially be viewed by an uninvited 3rd party.

Benefits and Consequences of SSL

SSL encryption is an optional layer of security, but it is standard for online shopping and online banking because it is necessary to protect sensitive data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and passwords.

Websites using SSL are given clear security indicators in the web browser’s URL bar.  Forms are labeled “secure” with a green icon when SSL is used, while an alarming “not secure” icon is displayed in its place when SSL is absent.

Google favors websites that are safe and secure, so your pages may even rank higher in search results with SSL enabled.

When SSL is enabled, URLs are prefixed with “HTTPS” rather than the usual “HTTP” protocol. Therefore, when adding SSL to an existing website, URLs must change and page redirects should be implemented to route traffic from the old HTTP URLs to the new HTTPS URLs. The redirects should be configured with a “301”response code so that established PageRank is passed to the new page.

SSL for iHOUSE Elite websites

All iHOUSE Elite websites are now secured with SSL at no extra charge. If you were recently migrated to SSL, we already added 301 redirects to ensure that your old pages route to the new pages. We allow you to disable SSL if that is your preference, but we strongly recommend against it.  If you have any questions or concerns about SSL, please call the iHOUSE Elite Service Team at 866-645-7700.


Kevin Ashley

By Kevin Ashley

Kevin is a Web Developer and Marketing Expert for iHOUSEweb. He has a degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and he specializes in front end web development, web advertising, and web analytics. Kevin works closely with real estate agents all over the US, and he helps to communicate their needs to the team of Software Engineers at iHOUSEweb.