What is an SSL certificate, and why do you need them for your own website?

What is an SSL certificate?

The acronym SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is a technique for encrypting information when it passes through the Internet, in order to guarantee that private or sensitive data always stays secure.

Because of the way that the Internet is designed, when clients send private data to a site, it might actually pass through dozens of different servers and network systems before it reaches the destination it was intended for.

At that stage, any one of these other networks or servers could steal your clients’ data unless it is properly encrypted.

Understanding what are SSL certificates will help your platform from being data robbed.

Do you really need an SSL certificate for your website?

Common sense dictates that securing your data using encryption is a must in any situation in which there is a chance of incurring monetary losses or legal damages due to a lack of protection and security.

Let’s take a look at the various circumstances in which SSL certifications might be required:

1. An ECommerce website

In case you’re accepting card payments directly on your site, you most certainly require an SSL set up to encrypt your clients’ card data.

That, however, doesn’t really mean that you require it on the entire website; you have the option of using SSL just on the store or checkout pages, for example.

Also, if you exclusively utilize PayPal to accept payments, you needn’t bother with SSL since your clients do not pay you directly, but rather, through a third-party wallet.

2. A membership website

If the website that you run is an enrollment site, whether free or paid, SSL should also be a must.

This is because your members provide you with their email ids, names, passwords, and other private information, all of which they probably use on several other websites as well.

In case, any kind of an unforeseen security breach occurs, there would be a high probability of your members’ data being stolen or leaked to the entire web!

3. Form data

On the off chance that your website’s visitors submit any personal data, archives, photographs, and so on through forms, you should seriously think about using SSL to keep that data safe.

We can even leave aside HIPAA compliance since that is an entirely different issue, but you would still be shocked at the amount of data you unconsciously gather about your visitors regardless of the fact that you don’t sell your products or offer any kind of subscriptions or memberships.

4. Blog sites

In case you just have a blog site, or a website without any products, enrollments, or any sensitive data, aside from blog entries, and at most a contact form, SSL would be an exercise in futility, exertion, and cash.

Any conceivable advantage from Google would be excessively minute, making it completely pointless.

How Does SSL work?

SSL secures your online exchanges and builds trust in your website in three key ways:

1. An SSL Certificate encrypts all sensitive information during any online transactions so that it stays secure.

2. The SSL Certificate is a special qualification recognizing the proprietor of the site.

3. The certificate owner’s identity is first confirmed, and only then is the certificate issued so that your clients can be guaranteed that you are exactly who you say you are.

How can customers check whether the connection is secure?

The URL in your address bar will start with HTTPS instead of HTTP which indicates that it is secure. Newer browsers will also show the address bar in the green, along with a “Lock” symbol.

You can get more information from the SSL certificate by clicking on that lock symbol.

A few sites additionally show a “security seal” that lets you know who the certificate is issued by and permits you to check the authenticity of the website by clicking on it.

How can you obtain an SSL Certificate?

You can begin by buying an SSL certificate from a trusted SSL Vendor. Your Web Development or Hosting Company can suggest one.

Normally, there is a yearly charge for the certificate, and the one who issues the SSL might need to confirm your identity or the identity of your organization before issuing it.

Once issued, the SSL certificate should be installed on your server before the secure “HTTPS” connection works.

This is taken care of by your hosting company, and for the most part, in the event that you get the SSL through your hosting provider, they will deal with that as well.

Lastly, your web development organization should design your site so that it can make maximum utilization of the secured connections when essential (for instance, when signing in or finishing a buy at your online store).

You can also avail of our SSL certificate free for one year, to know more about this offer contact us.

Keeping in mind all of the above, you can decide whether your own website needs SSL encryption or not.

You can also check out the several different types of SSL encryptions available to decide which one to get for your website.

Hope you got an idea of what are SSL certificates.