SSL Certificates: What They Are and Why You Need Them

Because we live in a digital age and everyone is almost always accessing a website, the need to secure information being sent out online has become imperative. Hackers or data phishers have become increasingly clever when it comes to stealing information from users on the Internet. For this reason, the need to get SSL certificates have become almost like a requirement for site owners.

Google has started tagging which sites are secure and which are not. One of the ways they do this is through finding websites who have SSL certificates. So imagine a user opting out of visiting your website because yours has been tagged “not secure.”

But what is an SSL certificate and what benefits can be gained from getting them? This article will explore the answers to those questions.

What is an SSL Certificate?

The acronym SSL means “Secure Sockets Layer.”  For websites that usually deals with sensitive or personal information like names, addresses, and credit card numbers, this is the type of security HAG you should be getting. What it does is create a safe connection between a user’s browser and the server of your website. While bloggers can also get an SSL certificate, this is especially important for eCommerce websites.

Advantages of getting an SSL Certificate

Information is encrypted

Understand that when you send information on the Internet, sometimes it does not pass through one path. Sometimes, these packets of information pass through many stops before ending up in its intended destination. An SSL certificate encrypts that information so that it can only be received and read by the user and/or your website.

Encryption happens when the SSL puts random characters in the information users are sending out to make it unreadable to those who do not have the right encryption key. In the event that the information is obtained by a third party, it will remain incomprehensible.

As mentioned before, there are ways to know if a website has an encryption system. One is through the “Secure” and “Not Secure” tagging; the other one can be seen in the URL. Websites with the”https” protocol have an SSL certificate. Users can also see a padlock image beside the URL.

Note that most users are pretty much updated with security measures like this. They know what to look for on a website, so make sure yours is employing information encryption.

Prevents information phishing

Recently, there have been numerous reports of websites being replicated and unknowing users have fallen victims to them. What these replicas do is phish for emails by copying interfaces like Gmail or Yahoo Mail, to a point that do not even notice that they are giving information away to a fake site. Some phishing techniques also include purchase confirmations that will ask users about their credit card information. An SSL certificate lets the customers know that every page and every link they are clicking on your website are malicious sites phishing for information.

To assure users that the information that they are giving up on your site will remain safe, you can always add an SSL seal on your website. This shows them that you have taken the necessary steps to keep your website secure. You can also allow them to view the certificate so they can check if it is up-to-date.