3 Reasons You Should Consider Getting a SSL Certificate for Your Website

As a website owner, you are probably put in a position to facilitate the transfer of customer data or user information through your website. Whether a customers elects to purchase something through your Ecommerce website, sign up for your newsletter or just needs to fill out your contact form, you, the website owner, are partly responsible for this information transfer. A SSL Certificate can help keep user data secure and private from third parties. A SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a web-based security certificate that can be issued to your website to make it secure from online threats. A SSL Certificate’s main function is to encrypt data that is passed between a website and a user’s computer to ensure the information stays private. SSL Certificates can be purchased through your hosting provider or a third party service. SSL Certificates expire after a certain time period and must be re-issued, typically after 1 or 2 years. If you are a website owner and your site facilitates the transfer of customer data or user information, it is important to keep that data and information secure.

3 Reasons To Consider a SSL Certificate

Security

SSL Certificates add a layer of security that fends off online threats. This secure layer prevents hackers from stealing your user’s information or any other data that is transmitted between your site and other computers. It is recommended that companies who use their website to handle sensitive information have a SSL certificate installed and set-up properly. Ecommerce companies rely on users to enter credit card information, shipping address information, and other personal information when purchasing products. This information is vulnerable without a SSL certificate. Even non Ecommerce sites can be at risk. Sites that encourage minor data transmissions, such as through the use of a contact forms or newsletter signup form, can put user data and information at risk if it’s not protected. If your website is used to transmit sensitive and/or valuable data – you should consider getting a SSL Certificate installed and set up properly on your website to prevent security breaches, and to ultimately protect user data and information.

User Trust

SSL Certificates keep a website safe. We’ve all heard about major companies going through security breaches where customer information is stolen by hackers online. This has made many online consumers think twice about giving out their personal information on the web. Sites that have SSL Certificates installed display certain symbols such as a Green Lock image in the browser window that proves the site is secured with a SSL Certificate. Secured URL address will also begin with HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) instead of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), verifying that the domain is secure and your information is protected. These symbols represent trust. Web users who don’t see a SSL symbol or HTTPS connected to a website are more likely to leave a site and bounce right to a competitor who has invested in a SSL Certificate. Investing in a secure website can have a huge impact on web traffic and web conversions.

Search Ranking Factor

In August of 2014 –Google stated that they “we’re starting to us HTTPS as a ranking signal.” Google is a huge advocate of online security and has called for “HTTPS everywhere on the web.” There is no direct evidence that having a SSL Certificate installed and set up properly on your site will have a major impact on your search rankings and Google has stated that “for now it’s only a very lightweight signal – affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than other signals such as high-quality content.” But it would be a good idea to understand that Google wants to encourage a safer Internet and might reward websites that help make the Internet a safer place sooner rather than later. If Google decides to make this a major ranking factor – unsecured sites could see their rankings fall. Currently SSL Certificates are not installed on most websites, but interest is growing as major web companies advocate for a more secure Internet.

Tags: Ecommerce • Web Design