The padlock icon and the https prefix in a browser address bar indicate that an SSL certificate is active on the site. When a visitor submits a contact form, enters their email address, or completes a purchase, SSL ensures that information travels encrypted rather than in plain text that can be intercepted on a public network. Without SSL, every piece of data your website collects is potentially visible to anyone positioned between your visitor and your server.
The security argument alone is sufficient, but the business consequences of missing SSL extend further. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox actively flag non-HTTPS sites as Not Secure, often with a prominent warning that appears before visitors can access the site. That warning stops conversion. A potential customer who sees a Not Secure warning before your homepage has an immediate reason to distrust the business, regardless of the quality of what sits behind it.
Google has included HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014. A non-HTTPS website is at a measurable disadvantage in search rankings compared to an equivalent site with a valid SSL certificate. For a new website trying to build search visibility from scratch, accepting any unnecessary ranking disadvantage is particularly costly. The equity you do not build in month one cannot be recovered in month six.
The good news is that SSL is effectively free and simple to activate. Let's Encrypt, a nonprofit certificate authority, provides free SSL certificates accepted by all major browsers. Most modern hosting providers activate SSL automatically when you set up your site. If your hosting provider does not include automatic SSL, that is a reason to switch providers.
After activating SSL, set up a redirect that automatically sends anyone visiting your http URL to the https version. Without this redirect, visitors who type your domain without the https prefix land on the unsecured version of your site. This redirect is typically a single setting in your hosting control panel. Set it up the same day you activate your certificate.