What is HTTPS?

HTTP carried over TLS, so the network in between cannot read or alter it

Reviewed by Abhijith N M · 24 October 2026 · Editorial standards

The Simple VersionNo jargon

HTTPS is ordinary HTTP sent over a TLS connection. Before the first request, your browser and the server agree on keys and verify the server's certificate. From then on, every request and response is encrypted and integrity-checked. The padlock means the certificate chain validated and the connection is encrypted. It does not mean the site is honest or safe; a phishing site can buy a certificate too.

What is HTTPS? — Visual Breakdown

flow

Click any step below to inspect

Browser

Certificate Authority

Web Server

Sequence of Events

Why It Matters in Production

Without TLS, anyone on the same Wi-Fi, or any proxy between you and the server, can read cookies, passwords and page content. HTTPS also stops intermediaries from injecting ads or scripts into the page. The costs are a TLS handshake on new connections and some CPU, both small on modern hardware. Use it for every page, not just login and checkout. HSTS removes the insecure first request. Internal services should use TLS too; a flat network is not a security boundary.

Implementation & Syntax

Read-only example

🐍Python

# Check if a URL uses HTTPS
import urllib.parse

url = "https://nexgencoders.com"
parsed = urllib.parse.urlparse(url)
print(parsed.scheme)   # 'https'
print(parsed.netloc)   # 'nexgencoders.com'

# Default HTTPS port
HTTPS_PORT = 443

Quick Concept Check

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Related Concepts

Complementary topics

How DNS Works

What is TLS?

How CORS Works

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Written and edited by the nexGenCoders team. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.