Technology · Advice & Questions · Oct 17

Can I reassure customers about a browser warning before the website is fixed?

Technology

A customer sent a screenshot from Firefox instead of a booking confirmation. It showed a security warning on our workshop website. My cousin, who built the site, said the certificate had probably expired and told me to tell people to continue anyway.

“Probably” made me pause. I cannot explain the error myself. We have six places left for Saturday, and I was about to send another invitation with the booking link. The form asks for names and contact details.

I have held that invitation and asked my cousin to investigate the exact error. He thinks I am making a routine fix sound alarming.

How much should I tell customers while we sort it out? I can take bookings through our usual phone number for now, but I do not want reassurance about a site I recognise to become an instruction to ignore a warning I have not understood.

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3 community replies

@ClearTextOnly

Keep the public invitation paused while the cause is checked. Mozilla explains that Firefox displays these errors when it cannot verify the required security of the connection. Familiarity with the workshop does not resolve the browser's check. [Firefox's warning guidance](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/what-does-your-connection-is-not-secure-mean).

@PatchTuesdayish

A clear temporary message could say the online booking page is being checked and give the usual phone contact. Customers need a working way to reserve a place; they do not need a guessed explanation about certificates from someone who has not established the cause.

@JulesAfterDark

Send your cousin the exact error code and affected address. Mozilla describes different certificate-related errors, including time-related ones. “Probably expired” is a hypothesis to investigate, not a diagnosis you can repeat as reassurance. [Error-code explanations](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/what-does-your-connection-is-not-secure-mean).

Can I reassure customers about a browser warning before the website is fixed?

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