What You Need to Know About Website SSL Certificates

What Are Website SSL Certificates by Mawazo Marketing

When a visitor comes to your website and submit information, then they want to make sure that it is safe secure. SSL, also known as Secure Sockets Layer, provides this reassurance. It is a security protocol intended to safeguard data and maintain privacy. It increases your visitor’s confidence knowing that their personal and financial details are safe and encrypted.

For sites that request personal data such as credit card information and other sensitive information, it is imperative to have an SSL certificate (TWEET IT) . This online credential tells shoppers or users of your website that their personal and financial details are safe and encrypted . It gives them more confidence to trust your website and provide personal information when it is required.

You can easily see whether your company's website is secured by SSL. If it is, then a padlock will appear next to the URL, and the URL will be preceded by "https" instead of "http":

Unfortunately, many websites still are not secured:

SSL can be difficult for website administrators to set up. Configuring SSL requires going to a Certificate Authority (CA) to verify your identity and authenticity of your website, installing the certificate on your server, and constantly keeping it up-to-date.

If your website does not have an SSL Certificate installed, then the easiest way to get this done is to contact your hosting company and get one installed for you. Most hosting companies will offer a variety of SSL certificates from different vendors, with differing levels of security and insurance. They can cost anywhere from a few dollars per year, to hundreds of dollars. This depends on:

• is the SSL for one domain or multiple domains, and does it include subdomains?
• do you need insurance, and how much?
• the type of SSL certificate, with "standard" being the most common. "Extended" certificates show the company's legally incorporated name and turn the address bar green.

For most companies, however, the free SSL certificate offered by Let's Encrypt or CloudFlare will be sufficient.

• Let's Encrypt is offered by many hosting companies. It provides a 3-month certificate which automatically renews
• CloudFlare offers a number of excellent services, many of them free, which improve the speed and safety of your website.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is a primary component of digital marketing that fuels traffic to a website. It ensures that your website can be found on Google and other search engines. Without SEO, getting the right audience to your site is almost impossible.

Websites with an SSL certificate are likely to rank higher and be considered trustworthy by individuals perusing the internet. So, having an SSL certificate improves your chances of being discovered online.

In Conclusion

Every website should be protected by an SSL Certificate, since it gives your visitors confidence and helps in improving your Google ranking.

If your website doesn't have an SSL Certificate installed, then we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For most websites a standard certificate will be sufficient, and depending on your hosting company you may be able to get it for free, e.g. through Let's Encrypt.

You can also establish a free account on  CloudFlare and activate an SSL certificate there. This will improve the speed of your website, and improve the security of your website overall.

If you have a website with some type of eCommerce functionality, or if you are an organization that attracts donations, then you may need a more extensive SSL Certificate which covers subdomains, certifies your organization, and possibly even includes an insurance.

Do you have any questions on SSL Certificates or the security of your website? Please reach out to us on our website or by writing to ideas@mawazo.ca.