Google has started displaying the “Not secure” message in Chrome browsers for non-HTTPS sites with any form of data collection (i.e. mailing list signup form) as of October 2017. For brand reputation and safeguarding visitors’ data, migrating to HTTPS is now becoming less of an option and more of an imperative. Although many Canadian post-secondary institutions have already made the move, some have yet to make the leap (hint hint, Western U!).

Unless you’re an experienced developer, HTTPS migration may sound scary. Not only does it involve a series of highly technical maneuvres, it also carries the risk of hurting your website’s search ranking if done without careful planning.

By working collaboratively between the marketing and IT teams, The Chang School at Ryerson University was able to migrate to HTTPS without a hitch, and even gained a significant amount of organic search traffic as a result. Because organic search traffic has a higher conversion rate than other traffic channels in our case, we were able to boost enrolment as an added bonus. My presentation will give an overview of the steps we took pre- and post-migration, and the underlying strategies behind them.