Importance of SSL in your website

Quick resume

Quickly resuming this article, there are many reasons why you should have a website with an SSL certificate, between those reasons security, visibility on search engines like Google, and so on. Especially if you ask for any type of information on your website, SSL is a must for security.

Browsers like Chrome and Firefox will inclusively have a warning displayed if you don’t have an SSL certificate, this is something that might scare off uninformed viewers and even the informed one.

Google also announced that SSL is one of their recent metrics to display a website in higher positions on searches.

So, if you don’t have SSL on your website, consider getting it, otherwise, it might impact your traffic and consequently your revenue and image.

Let’s get started understanding what is SSL

For sure you might already have noticed websites which their URLs are http, while others have https. Well, this extra “s” makes a huge difference regarding security, it actually stands for secure encryption, and it will only display if you have an SSL certificate. It is normal websites requiring pieces of information from users and some of these tend to be sensitive information, such as personal details like address, card numbers, passwords, etc…

With nowadays broad usage of the internet, it is of extreme importance to avoid fraud and stolen information from normal websites. Sometimes the website owner might not even be aware that information is being stolen, so SSL helps a lot preventing that by encrypting content in a secure way.

Especially in eCommerce (online stores), data breaches often happen and every website owner should have a basic understanding of these subjects to keep their users/shoppers safe.

Without SSL, your visitors are way more vulnerable. SSL protects websites from phishing scams, data breaches, and other threats as it builds a safe environment for both users and the owner of the website.

People using the internet are now getting more aware of this and access non-https websites with more caution avoiding sharing data and making many actions, just as Google, which now doesn’t give as much priority as non-https websites. Basically, Google wants its users to have a good and safe experience on the web, this is the basics of Search Engine Optimization, so you might understand why SSL is important for them.

Now, if you are still not sure if your website needs an SSL certificate, keep reading this article and by the end of it, your understanding will be much broader. Actually while studying all this from trustable sources like security focused websites and domain providers (as they usually provide the licenses as well) my understanding got much deeper as well.

What does SSL stand for?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and it is a certificate that encrypts the data inputted by the user when sent over to the website server and vice-versa.

For the website owner, this means, the website can safely communicate with the user and share information. Allowing the user to use the website platform safely, especially when performing actions such as the purchase of an item or service.

Websites are not required to have an SSL certificate in order to be live and function well, but you need to ask yourself if you want to take the chance and be susceptible to hacking. Probably you don’t want that, besides all the other consequences that came aggregates with it, that we discussed above.

The bright side is that now, to acquire an SSL certificate is cheap. Besides, most trustable hosting and some domain providers, when you buy their services, they will give you a free SSL certificate to enhance the security of your website.

Some good examples for hosting are both Kinsta and Siteground, Siteground being a cheaper option but extremely powerful for WordPress, they also bring along a free option for CDN services that also boost your website speed and security.

Advantages of having a website with SSL encryption

• Website is protected from attacks, which reduces the risk of being hacked, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle types of attacks;
• Encryption protects the user’s data from attacks and phishing scams;
• High level of encryption of up to 256-bit so that user information is protected;
• Positive influence on Google and other search engines, resulting in better rankings;
• Provides a safe shopping experience – Necessary for websites which accept payments;
• The website won’t display the red non-secure icon in most browsers providing trust and comfort to the user.

And in the end, having an SSL will save you money in the long run. A security breach is a legal problem. So any customer details that are leaked can result in legal repercussions for your business. Using this and other types of preventing measures can and will, save you from many financial problems.

Having a website with an SSL certificate in order to avoid compromising your website security will both protect you, your customer, and your business.

My website doesn’t have SSL! How should I proceed?

Maintain yourself calm, we can help! If you a running eCommerce or online service or some other business where your users insert information or credentials, a certificate is a must.

Start by checking with your domain provider or hosting if their services provide you with an SSL certificate. Many times they do but they don’t always inform you, if so, the installation is very easy and their customer service will inform you how to proceed. If they don’t, get in touch, we can see how we are able to help.

The service you hired doesn’t provide you with SSL? That’s ok, you can always acquire it from an external source as well, there are great SSL providers out there, one our recommend is from NameCheap, they not only provide domains for a fair price (one of the fairest out there), but they also provide you with any type of SSL that you might need for your business.

Any further questions about SSL? Leave us a comment and we help you out!

Stay safe!