Three reasons why your website needs an SSL Certificate

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Business owners and heads of organizations are generally unaware of the constant stream of technological updates and changes that affect their websites. These issues are normally highly technical and are handled by either in-house or outsourced IT personnel. However, every once in a while something comes along that is a game changer and should be made known to whoever is in charge. The SSL Certificate is one of these things.

It’s not often that new protocols or technologies emerge that are this important and carry this much weight, and for relatively little effort and expense, can be put in place. This one thing — an SSL Certificate — will secure your website, boost your search ranking, and build trust with your visitors — all in one fell swoop.

 

1. An SSL Certificate keeps your website safe and secure

Ever notice how most website addresses start with an “HTTP” and only a few start with “HTTPS”? The added “S” means the site has SSL security. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer.

Without getting too geeky, SSL technology creates a secure connection by encrypting data as it passes between web servers and browsers. It basically prevents sensitive information like credit card numbers and passwords from being intercepted by bad guys.

The certificate part serves as an electronic document used to verify credentials like the certificate holder’s name, the certificate’s serial number, expiration date and the signature of the certificate-issuing authority. When a user sends confidential information from a web server, the user’s browser accesses the SSL certificate and establishes a secure connection.

This is a big deal. In fact, it’s so big that beginning this year (2017), if a website doesn’t have an SSL Certificate, Chrome will start marking pages that collect passwords or credit card details as “Not Secure”. That’s a pretty big deterrence. Seeing “Not Secure” will have most clients running for the hills.

 

2. An SSL Certificate boosts your search ranking

Google wants to maintain its reputation by ensuring that the websites people access from its search results are safe and secure. To that end, they’ve started using HTTPS as a ranking signal. It will become increasingly more important as greater numbers of websites come on board. It won’t be long before having a secure HTTPS connection becomes an essential component for ranking.

 

3. An SSL Certificate establishes trust

You don’t have to be an online seller of goods in order to establish your website as a secure and safe place to visit and interact. If you want to show your visitors that you value their security and that you are keeping up with best practices, then an SSL Certificate will go a long way in establishing trust. In fact, there will come a day in the not-too-distant future when not having an SSL Certificate could cost you your visitors and perhaps even your business.

The good news is that an SSL Certificate is relatively easy to implement and won’t break your bank account. There are also different levels of SSL Certificates to match the level of security you need. Whether you’re an online store or a blog that collects emails and passwords, there’s a right SSL Certificate for you.

With so many benefits, doesn’t it make sense to implement one sooner rather than later?

 

 

Contact Neglia Design if you would like to discuss moving forward with an SSL Certificate.

Want to discuss a future website project? Please contact us for a complimentary appointment.