Did you notice anything in your browser? Mixed content often goes unnoticed by webmasters. However, mixed content on your site can both negatively affect your user experience and decrease your SEO ranking.
What is mixed content
Secure websites use HTTPS to protect data, but it's important to protect the content on your site as well. On a web page with mixed content, you can see both HTTP and HTTPS material together. So essentially an HTTPS page can contain links starting with http://. Therefore, your codes may be changed by someone else and your connections will not be secure.
For example, when you access an HTTPS page that you think is secure, content types exposed by a not-so-secure protocol (HTTP) may be hidden. Mixed content occurs if items such as images, videos, and scripts are uploaded over HTTP to an SSL-protected page.
Browsers report warnings about pages with mixed content like in the example:
Error warning in Chrome:
Mixed content types
1. Passive mixed content contains items that are generally accessible but do not allow the extraction of confidential data. Even if such data is somehow stolen, the scammers do not provide financial gain. However by changing these contents, they can harm your site.
Passive content list:
- src attributes of <img>
- src attributes of <audio>
- src attributes of <video>.
2. Active mixed content contains scripts that can cause serious damage to the site and its users. This type of content compromises important personal data such as passwords and bank card numbers.
Active content list:
- src attributes of <script>
- src attributes of <iframe>
- href attribute of <link> tag
- data attribute of <object> tag
- url parameter in CSS styles
- XTMLHttpRequest including its queries.
Suggestions
- Do not enter your card data even if you have the slightest doubt about site security.
- Replace links that start with http:// with https:// .
- Upload the necessary items to your own site instead of using links that lead to untrusted sites.
Conclusion
Mixed content weakens site appearance and SEO; therefore, it must be detected and removed in a timely manner. It contributes to SEO, helps eliminate browser warnings, and ensures user safety.
All browsers are obligated to notify users if a site contains unsafe elements; potential visitors want to choose a site that provides safe content.
The site should be scanned for unsafe links shortly after it is created or protected by https.
To deal with errors, you should replace the links with the https:// variant or download the necessary information from other sites, then upload the necessary files directly to your server and then use the relevant links.
