You have likely heard a lot of talk about Google flagging websites without SSL certificates as “Not Secure” and potentially penalising sites without https:// in google search results.
Buying and selling online is the way of our future, and therefore online security has become a necessity.
As more of our spending is completed online, Google is coming up with every possible way to make us feel secure doing our transactions. With this in mind, earlier this year, Google announced that they will be stepping up it’s security requirements and will flag all unencrypted websites.
This means if your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, it will display a ‘Not Secure’ in the URL bar.
Do I need to Worry About SSL?
Chrome browser will soon flag every site that doesn’t use HTTPS encryption. Starting in July, ’18 with the launch of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as ‘not secure’ and prominently highlight this in its URL bar.
Working with some of our clients, they have said, “but I don’t sell products. Why would I need my site to be secure?”
In our opinion, whether you have an e-commerce site, a blog, an information site, a small business page, you should install an SSL certificate and convert your site to https://
Why?
Do you have a contact form on your site?
Display your email address or phone number?
Have comments enabled on your website or blog?
Do want visitors to your website to browse your site? Return to your site? Customers to have buyer confidence?
What about your rankings in search results?
This is just a very small handful of reasons to make your site secure.
What is SSL Certificate? And How it Works?
An SSL Certificate is your electronic passport…
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.
If you don’t have an SSL certificate, a secure connection cannot be established. This means your information (company, business, personal or other) will not be digitally connected to a cryptographic key.
SSL Certificate has following information:
- Name of the holder
- Serial number and expiration date
- Copy of the certificate holder’s public key
- Digital Signature of the certificate-issuing authority
Why is SSL Certificates Critical?
Below are the reasons to have an SSL Certificate:
1. Encrypts Sensitive Information
The information you send on the Internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the destination server. Any computer in between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted. When an SSL certificate is used, the information becomes unreadable to everyone except for the server you are sending the information to.
2. Protects You From Cybercriminals
It is impossible to escape the rising tide of cybercrime if your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate. They will identify weakness(es) in your network…mostly, when information is transmitted. Be smart, protect yourself and your website visitors.
3. Build Trust With Your Website Users
Think about it… the whole reason we have our websites is to encourage end users to visit our site, browse, interact, and/or purchase. Just like in real life, first impressions can determine which stores we choose to step into and browse. It makes perfect sense that our site should encourage user confidence on the first visit.