Security is an issue when it comes to doing business on the web. Website owners need to secure their user’s personal information, as well as keeping their websites safe from hacking. That’s where an SSL certificate comes in.
What is an SSL certificate?
SSL is short for Secure Socket Layer. Simply put, this is a technology that encrypts sensitive information as it passes between websites and web servers to protect it from attackers. It ensures that the data remains private and intrinsic as it passes through.
This data could be login details, payment details, and other personal information.
How does it work?
The role of SSL is to encrypt the data transferred between a client and a server so that only the receiving party can utilize the data. If such sensitive data comes into the hands of cybercriminals, they won’t be able to understand the encryption.
When a website has an SSL certificate, a green padlock icon appears in the website’s URL, and ‘HTTP’ will be replaced with ‘HTTPS’. This provides confidentiality and authentication to visitors and they will be more likely to stay on the website for a longer time. That’s because they will feel that their personal information that is being transmitted is safe and secure.
Once you Buy an SSL certificate and have it installed on your web server and then you connect with the users, a Hand Shake takes place.
What is a Hand shake?
A handshake takes place when the server and the client come across each other for the first time. They validate each other and a secure connection is then established.
Why should you Buy an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate is an industry-standard that all businesses must have on their websites.
The world of e-commerce is experiencing a lot of data breaches, so you need to protect your website, your brand image, and your user’s personal information as well.
SSL certificate is a great way to show your visitors that you care for their security. This will make them stay assured that this website is legitimate and trustworthy, and you will be able to position yourself as a worthy contender in your field.
With that, your users will be encouraged to visit your website more often, and they will more likely become your future clients.
However,
If your website lacks SSL security, this will damage your brand image as your website will be associated with amateur websites and companies.
SEO and SSL certificates:
Google prioritizes websites with SSL certificates and gives them higher ranking results. Also, Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers issue a warning “This website is not Secure” in the URL of unsecured websites.
When website visitors find this warning, they will bounce from your website (because we are all looking to browse on secure websites), affecting your Google rankings negatively.
There are several types of SSL certificates with different levels of validation. You can choose the one that best suits your security needs.
Want to learn more about the different types of SSL certificates?
Read our blog on Everything you need to know about SSL certificates.
In Conclusion
If you are running a business website or looking to create one, then you should consider an SSL certificate as an indispensable part of your digital marketing strategy.
Internet users don’t trust websites that don’t put their security as a priority. If your users recognize that your website is not safe, they will instantly leave the website and they might never visit it again, which will further hurt your traffic, brand image, revenues, and rankings on search engines.
Put another way: owning a secure website will allow you to enhance your user’s experience, perform based on industry security standards and it will save you the horror of cybercriminals. With that, Google will reward you with boosting your rankings on its results page.
Want to Buy an SSL certificate online?