What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for “Secure Socket Layer” they provide secure, encrypted communications between a website and an internet browser (Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome). If the website that you are viewing has a green padlock and or says “secure” in green then that website has a SSL Cert.
Up until recently you mostly only
saw them on e-commerce websites or sites where put a credit card number or sensitive information on. You should never use a site that isn’t secure to make credit card transactions or give sensitive information to.
Moving forward all websites will need to have a SSL Certificate, if you do not have one, Google will flag your website as not secure. It will also affect your Google ranking, they will penalize sites without a SSL for those that do have them.
Why do you need an SSL Cert.?
Well, a couple of reasons.
1. Encrypts Sensitive Information
Information that you send over the internet goes from computer to computer until it gets to the destination server. Meaning without a SSL any computer between you and the server can see you credit card information and any other sensitive data such as username and passwords. With a SSL the information becomes unreadable to anyone but you and the server it is going to.
2. Protects You From Cyber criminals
They are smart! and of course it doesn’t make you 100% safe from cyber criminals. Without a SSL they can find a weakness in your network when data is transferred, making it easy for them to steal sensitive information. You can help protect yourself from them by installing a SSL Certificate and keeping your customers information safe.
3. Builds trust with you customers and visitors
When your customers and visitors see the green padlock they know that your website is secure and they trust that they can use sensitive data on your site. As a customer when I see this I am assured that this is a legit website that I can do business with.
Need Help getting Set up with a SSL?
Contact me to get your website set up with an SSL Certificate. They are inexpensive (under $100) and will show your website visitors that you website is safe and secure.
For more information check out the Google security blog.
