Want to know what is the Difference between HTTP and HTTPS? We are here to tell you that. HTTP full form is a Hypertext transfer protocol while the full form of HTTPS is a Hypertext transfer protocol secure. The major difference between HTTP and HTTPS is the word S. Yes, s in HTTPS Stands for secure and s is the very important factor that makes both different.
If you ever visited any website on the world wide web then you may have noticed http:// and https://. You may wonder, are they different? If yes then How?
This post is about HTTP vs HTTPS in detail to clear all your doubts. Let’s dive deep into the topic with a simple definition.
What is HTTP?
HTTP full form is a Hypertext transfer protocol. It is the protocol that allows systems to communicate with each other. HTTP is a protocol or set of rules for browsers and server uses to talk.
Let’s understand this in an easy way. Suppose you are using the internet and you browsing a website. The website is stored on some server, so the server sends data to the browser when you ask, all of this is possible because of HTTP.
In the HTTP case, The data transfer between the browser and server happens with plain text which can be easier to understand by humans.
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS means Hypertext transfer protocol secure. Yes, you are thinking right, HTTPS is an advanced and secure version of HTTP. HTTPS is more secure than HTTP. When you use the HTTP protocol, it transfers data in plain text. In HTTPS, data transfer happens with an extra layer which is encryption. The data will be secure and humans won’t be able to understand it directly.
HTTPS adds an extra layer, the Transport layer which adds an important factor as an encryption protocol.
When we do a private task like logging into our bank account or using websites and want our data to remain private, we should only use sites with HTTPS. In easy words, if you want privacy, HTTPS is the solution.
Check out: Difference between NPM and Yarn
HTTP vs HTTPS: Which is more secure and How?
As I said, S in HTTPS stands for secure, which is because of the SSL certificate. HTTP is more secure than HTTP.
When we browse with HTTP, the data transfer happens with plain text like the below:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
User-Agent: curl/7.5.1 libcurl/7.5.1 OpenSSL/0.9.7l zlib/1.2.4
Host: /www.yourwebsite.com
Accept-Language: en, mi
Date: Fri, 03/03/2023 12:10:23
Server: Apache
Last-Modified: Fri, 01:04:23
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 51
Vary: Accept-Encoding
Content-Type: text/plain
This is just an example to make you understand how things look like with HTTP.
On the other hand, when we use HTTPS, the data transfer happens and data will be encrypted. Encrypted data is secure and hackers won’t get anything from that.
Data transfer with HTTPS looks like below:
regtjhfbb3e8990435+bdsjfbjhyu4ybfnjdbsjkfnjvjhieiriui4weuri34bewtkif34hihThis data is encrypted and secure.
HTTP vs HTTPS: Performance
HTTPS is secure but what about performance and speed? Which is fast between HTTP and HTTPS. Well, you might be amazed to know that HTTP is faster than HTTPS.
HTTPS has an extra layer, which is the transport layer that is used for encryption and that step takes some time that’s why HTTP is ahead in this part of the comparison.
HTTP vs HTTPS: which is better for SEO
Search engine decides the ranking of pages according to users. Search engines will serve the best picks to their users. If we talk about Google’s search engine then it uses many factors to rank a website and security is really essential for search engines nowadays.
That’s why in a term of SEO, HTTPS is better. Search engines care about their users and they always try to keep them secure, and they take many steps for that.
So in terms of SEO, HTTPS is better.
Other differences between HTTP and HTTPS?
There are some other differences that also exist between HTTP and HTTPS and we will let you know some of them to make you understand more.
HTTP transfers the data over Port number 80. On the other hand, HTTPS transfers the data over port number 443. If no port number is mentioned then the transfer will happen in HTTP.
HTTP works on the Application layer. HTTPS Works on the transport layer which is responsible to add encryption protocol in transfer.
HTTPS is common and highly used nowadays and HTTPS is a better choice for privacy. In private tasks, like when you dealing with money, using net banking, trying to log in somewhere, and other private things then you must check for HTTPS.
How to convert HTTP into HTTPS?
If you want to convert HTTP into HTTPS then you need to install the SSL certificate. Now you may wonder what is SSL certificate? SSL stands for Secure Sockets layer. SSL is s S in HTTPS which enables encryption in data transfer between browser and server.
You can get free SSL with the hosting you are using. You can also buy SSL from various places or you can use many services like Cloudflare to install free SSL certificate on your website.
Key difference table between HTTP and HTTPS
| HTTP | HTTPS |
| HTTP Stands for the Hypertext transfer protocol | HTTPS stands for Hypertext transfer protocol secure |
| HTTP is not secure | HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP |
| HTTP transfers the data over port number 80 | HTTPS transfers the data over port number 443. |
| HTTP works on the Application layer | HTTPS works on the Transport layer. |
| Data transfer happens with plain text | Data transfer happens with encryption |
| Hackers can easily see the transferred data | Hackers won’t be able to see transferred data, data will be encrypted. |
| In the browser’s address bar, it will be shown as http:// | In the browser’s address bar, it will be shown as https:// |
| It provides great performance, slightly good than HTTPS | Performance is a little bit slower in HTTPS there is an extra encryption protocol. Negligible amount |
| It doesn’t use SSL | It has SSL |
| HTTP is not good for the SEO perspectives | HTTPS is good for the SEO Perspective, |
| Search engines like Google don’t give preference to HTTP sites | Search engines like Google give preference to HTTPS sites |
| Good for websites like normal blog reading and other normal task sites | Recommended for websites that transfer the data of bank details and other important private stuff |
| HTTP is used to transmit text and media in web pages | HTTPS is used to transmit data securely on a network. |
| HTTP is not reliable | HTTPS is reliable. |
Conclusion:
Thus these are the major points about HTTP vs HTTPS. We saw that HTTP is a protocol that allows two points to communicate while HTTPS is also a protocol but the secure and advanced version of HTTP. HTTPS is secure and there are more advantages of using HTTPS nowadays.
FAQs related to topic:
Que: Why HTTP is not secure?
Ans: it transfers data in plain text which can be seen by hackers easily that’s why HTTP is not secure.
Que: What is the major difference between http:// and https://?
Ans: The major difference between http and https is security. https is the secure version of http.
Que: Can HTTPS be hacked?
Ans: There are many factors that affect the security of web pages. HTTPS is one of them Installing HTTPS can give you security but you have to secure all the other ways to secure your website.
