@adactio on Google: “And isn’t it an uncomfortable feeling to think that there’s a third party service that you absolutely *must* appease?”
I’ve been feeling that way about Google for years. With 1) its algorithm that makes popular sites even more popular; 2) its pushing of everyone to HTTPS regardless of need or utility; 3) its pushing “performance”—the latter two supposedly to improve the web for everyone, but feed back into the algorithm.
1/2…
These make website owners spend inordinate time or money
1) in “optimising” text so that it will please the Googlegod and achieve high rankings;
2) in switching blogs and other simple sites that do not collect any user data, and are unlikely to be subject to serious man-in-the-middle attacks, to HTTPS;
3) in trying to achieve perfect Lighthouse scores when in practical terms, their site is fast enough.
I simplify, of course, but I have only 500 characters here!
2/2
Well, since many people uses the same password for all their logins, putting HTTPS on a blog that requires a login for commenting is a must.
For the very few sites that don't have any kind of logins, nor any of the HTML5 features that require HTTPS, I agree it may be a waste of time.
A bit pointless, anyway, since all main browsers actively block or show scary warnings for HTTP sites nowadays, which is much more pressing than anything Google may do.
Where Google pressure gets hypocritical is performance, since the most effective and easy single thing you can do to get better performance is to remove any ads from your site, Adsense included.
@jgg
I did say on sites that collect no user data when questioning universal application of HTTPS.
I completely agree with you on the advertisements point!